My first opportunity of the year for a "Lifer" arrived Wednesday 8th May at the tiny village of Low-Newton-by-the-Sea in Northumberland. It was a first summer male Collard Flycatcher, unmistakable and a superb little bird. Many thanks to the finder and I am sure a well deserved find. I decided that if it was still present Thursday morning (9th May), I would go. Sure enough the pager announced that the bird was still present and by 7:30am I was on my way. I was watching the bird around 11am as it performed, in front of a relatively small crowd, along a gorse hedge and in bushes running alongside a field.The bird could be well watched from the roadside but was allways at it's closest around 50-60 yards away and around a 100 yards or more at it's furthest distance and so was difficult to obtain any decent images. The Collard Flycatcher is a summer migrant to Eastern Europe and a rare migrant to Britain, with May being the prime time for an over-shoot arrival. The bird was not present today (10th May) but another, this time an adult male, had arrived on Whalsay, one of the Shetland Islands. A new bird for me, my first British Tick for over 12 monthsd and not far off the magic 500 now!!
Above images – 1st summer male Collard Flycatcher – Low-Newton-by-the-Sea, Northumberland – Tony Davison©
