Siberian Stonechat and Isabelline Shrike

On the 16th October the plan was to wait for news of either the Arctic Redpoll at South Gare or the Siberian Stonechat at Scalby in North Yorkshire. I woke up quite late and news came out saying the stonechat was still their so I got the next bus to Scarborough and walked from their. I arrived at the site and was told the the stonechat might of flown across the vally so my hopes had dropped slightly but it wasn't long until it was relocated and it gave fantastic views fly catching over our heads. After missing the one in Cleveland by half an hour a few years back it was great to catch up with this recently split species. After that some Yorkshire birders gave me a lift to Flamborough with some fantastic med gulls at Holbeck on the way. The main bird was the Isabelline (Daurian) Shrike and we had reasonably good views of it in the back gardens near the light house. We dipped the two Olive-backed Pipits but that wasn't a problem...the problem was that a Pallid Swift had just been found at Hartlepool Headland and I wouldn't get their before dark. I got home at about 20:00 so long after light but the swift had gone to roost on the church and it was present the next day until 10:30 when it wasn't seen again so I missed this real rarity for the county... or did I?...

(Isabelline Shrike - Harry Murphy)

(Siberian Stonechat - Martin Garner)