Week round up: 24th-30th October

The week started in frustrating fashion, with a Monday morning text that an Isabelline Shrike had been present the previous afternoon at Horsey. Most annoying. Anyway, all was well in the end...

Tuesday 25th October. Fieldfares over home and Nunnery. Vapourer at the Nunnery.

Wednesday 26th October. Got up early and pegged along to Horsey. Had a tense wait, due to a train to catch, but at the 11th hour the Isabelline revealed itself and showed splendidly. Appears to be a nominate race bird (same as my previous record, at Holme in 1996). Also a brief Firecrest and 34 Cranes. Then bombed back for the train and spent the day in London with the family at the coolest building in Britain, the NHM. Posh BTO do in the evening too on the Mall.

Thursday 27th October. Nothing much at the Lakes.

Friday 28th October. Little Egret and Water Rail at the Lakes. Decent mothing at home overnight with 25 of 11 species, including Sprawler and Feathered Thorn.

Saturday 29th October. Bit of a waste of a morning really. Went to look for a Grey Phalarope at Breydon south wall and failed. Then up to Horsey for a second look at the shrike, but that had gone. Seawatching pleasant but nothing exciting. Then news of a Grey Phal still at Waxham. Decided to twitch it but in the time it took me to drive north, it clearly flew south and was then showing from Horsey. Went home, Phalarope-less. Walked at Surlingham Church Marsh in the afternoon, where 70 Teal on the pool.

Sunday 30th October. Around home all day. Walk around the fields in afternoon turned up an unusual late sighting of an Aeshna hawker at Stubbs Green Pond but I didn't clinch it. Looked blue spotted, but with spots too large for Migrant, and overall too large. Perhaps a late Southern. Perhaps a mega, thrown away.

Isabelline Shrike, Horsey