Bempton & Flamborough, East Yorks, and South Gare, Cleveland - 16th Oct 2005.

Starting off at Bempton, the Rustic Bunting gave distant, but satisafactory views despite the fact that the designated viewpoint meant looking directly into the sun, as the poor videograbs demonstrate. Other notables seen at Bempton included a Yellow-browed Warbler, 1 Ring Ouzel, 1 Whinchat, num Bramblings and Goldcrests but with much fewer Thrush numbers as seen the previous day at Spurn as a result of the clear night and morning.
Next was a visit to North Landing, Flamborough, where a walk round a 1st landfall valley produced 1 female Common Crossbill, briefly perching up before continuing inland, 1 Short-eared Owl in-off the sea at height, Blackcap, Bramblings and Goldcrests, Redwings, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds.
The lure of a Raddes Warbler at one of my favourite sites, South Gare, was impossible to resist. The Raddes, although elusive gave a few very good binocular views, but unfortunaley no pics. The River Tees side of the gare in the vicinity of the Bombhole-Coastguard station was alive with Golcrest, inc several that were amongst the most tired migrants i had encountered during my two days on the east coast, approachable to a few inches. A humbling sight. A superb Yellow-browed Warbler chose to feed on the rocks and cliff nr the Bomb-hole, a few Blackcaps were in the vicinity as well as obviously tired Redwings & Song Thrushes and several obviously continental Robins. A Woodcock came in-off the sea, but most unexpected were a flock of 5 Velvet Scoter thet flew out of the Tees, over the Gare, and onto the sea.