I have been dying to get out to the Yorkshire coast in the autumn time for a long while now. For whatever reason, i just haven't been able to do it over the past few years. Whether living abroad in Dublin, or being without a car in Liverpool, I have year on year missed the boat with autumn migration. Despite a pretty rammed schedule consisting of trips back to London and plenty of uni work to be getting on with, I managed to set aside a weekend in mid October to live out my migration fantasies.
18/10/2025
Marc agreed to join me on this endeavour, providing some much welcome company. So after a 7am start, we hopped into the trusted Mini and headed east towards the coast - with hopes of seeing something special. The journey was fairly straight forward and passed quickly. Our first stop of choice was to be the South Landing car park next to Flamborough observatory where, upon arrival, we could immediately tell that there were a gluttony of birds to be found. In the car park alone there were dozens and dozens of Redwing with the odd Fieldfare passing over our heads. The bushes were alive with birdsong and a number of tit flocks held the promise of something rarer to be found amongst them.
We had barely even turned the corner towards the ravine when Marc drew my attention to the call of a Yellow-browed Warbler. This small migrant which travels from as far as Mongolia was my target bird for the trip, the calling of this bird certainly raised my hopes that I might see one. With other birders by the ravine looking, it was not long until I finally caught a glimpse of one of these bright birds hopping around in a sycamore tree. Moving quickly and easily obscured the bright yellow leaves, the individual proved difficult to pin down but eventually, we managed to get a good glimpse of that striking supercilium as well as the wing bar to confirm our first sighting of this special species.
Having our first significant sighting of the trip in the bag within 20 minutes was certainly a relief. But the excitement was not going to stop there. Walking further down the ravine resulted in us hearing other Yellow-Browed Warblers, the ravine was seemingly alive with the high-pitched call of these birds amongst the other tits and warblers. I managed to get a good sighting of another individual as it climbed into a berry bush, eventually yielding some solid views. After a while I really got a feel for the fast flight and small size of these remarkable birds; I began to feel more confident in picking more individuals out.
Of course, there were many other species to be observed in addition to the star of the show. Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler were aplenty whilst Goldfinches and Long-tailed Tits were in good supply. Often taking cover in the bushes and trees on the ravine. Redwings were often flying from bush to bush when they were not sailing over our heads. Goldcrests were also in remarkable numbers, their size often producing a good impression of the yellow-brows. Another birder very kindly alerted us to the presence of a local Tawny Owl which had been day roosting on its favoured log pile. Despite being relatively out in the open, this bird was still difficult to pick out with binoculars. However, it was an absolute treat when myself and Marc eventually got onto its location.
Further along, the beach held more birds of interest. Most notably, a Bar-tailed Godwit paraded the shoreline among Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Dunlin. A Rock Pipit could also be seen and heard as it did as its name suggests - taking refuge in rocks. A loan Razorbill floated on the sea meanwhile a pair of stonechat could be seen gracing a bush on the side of a hill.
After heading back to the bird observatory for a quick snack, we stumbled upon a ringing session which revealed amazing views of Goldcrest followed by a Mealy Redpoll. Seeing these birds up close in the hand allowed us a fine chance to observe their beautiful feather patterns, including the orange on the crest of the male Goldcrest.
After a bite to eat, we bided our time in the car park waiting for the next ringing session to begin. This proved not to be a waste of time, as more thrushes passed over our head. Things began to get interesting as a flock of Siskin flew over calling, before a surprise Barn Owl put in a brief appearance before briefly disappearing again over the tree line. Our wait for the ringing session was more than rewarded when we received news that a Yellow-browed Warbler had been caught and was about to be shown to the small crowd in the hand. Marc and I were absolutely buzzing with this! It was beyond a treat to see this rare species at such close quarters and a birding experience that we will both cherish for a seriously long time. The bright feathers, the bold supercilium and the tiny size were all evident - plus it gave me a rare chance to actually get a good picture of the bird!!
With this, our day - and our whole trip - was made. Unable to top this sighting, we decided to head onwards in the hope of glimpsing a Long-eared Owl at the North Landing. This brief excursion however was worthwhile as we witnessed several Goldcrests resting on the clifftops after having just arrived from a long migration! To cut a long story short, we managed to miss it by a mere 10 minutes! After this we headed towards RSPB Bempton to try our luck at seeing a Ring Ouzel which had been sighted. Upon arrival we had no joy with this species. However, checking the ploughed field at the Owl Viewpoint, we could see that this section of the reserve was absolutely filled with birds. An assortment of Redwing, Fieldfare and Blackbirds were mixed in with lots of Chaffinch and Linnet. But best of all, a lone male Brambling could be found among its cousins; its strikingly orange feathers giving it away.
Sadly it became clear that we were to have no luck with the Ouzels, so we headed to our final destination of the day: Filey Brigg. A walk down the Head proved relatively uneventful. A few Oystercatchers could be seen on the rocks below. More interestingly, our first Red-throated Divers of the trip could be seen on the sea whilst a lone Guillemot floated on the waves. Yet it was on our final walk back to the car that a Snow Bunting - which we had come with the hopes of seeing flew in and landed right at our feet. With some careful, fieldcraft we were able to get within a metre or two of the bird, glimpsing remarkable views. This was a fantastic end to the first day of our trip!
19/10/2025
The next day we headed down to Flamborough lighthouse for around 8am with the hope of doing some seawatching. Upon arriving it quickly became evident the seawatching hut was in fact closed - disaster!! While trying to figure out how we could seawatch in relative shelter from the increasingly intense gusts of wind, we glimpsed a flock of Eider passing by the shore. This provided some nice entertainment to lighten this slightly frustrating situation. We decided to go for a walk to try and cover some of the nearby bushes - potentially good habitat for migrant birds. We were proved right with this gut instinct as, among the Tree Sparrows was another loan Brambling - a nice surprise to start the morning.
Eventually, we figured out where the other birdwatchers were sitting - on what was a rather precarious cliff top. However, it was slightly sheltered and surprisingly fairly comfortable. We spent a short while watching the sea and the horizon. We had at least a dozen Red-throated Divers either on the sea or passing close by. Whilst a pair of Pintail provided a new edition to the trip's list. But best of all was an Arctic Skua which came close in, giving us some relatively good views before flying off into the distance.
Content with this sighting, and with the other observers clearing out, we decided to move on and head elsewhere. Compulsively refreshing the bird news, nothing too interesting had been found locally so we headed down the road back to Flamborough South Landing where we had had so much joy the day prior. Once more, the sound of Yellow-browed Warblers were audible in the car park, but with the wind at a higher rate than the day before, it proved more difficult to catch a glimpse of one. Walking down the ravine, we eventually caught a decent glimpse of one as it flitted across the pathway and clearly into view.
But this was about the best we could muster up, as the quantity of birds seemed fewer - with many presumably taking cover in the heightened winds. A walk by the house yielded little to nothing so we decided to head back up towards the car park. We ended the trip with a final check os the nearby RSPB Bempton. Again, the Owl Viewpoint yielded more Redwing and Fieldfare but sadly no Ouzel. With a long journey back home ahead we decided to call an end to our trip.
A fantastic weekend was had with plenty of much-hoped-for migration. Marc was excellent company as usual. I certainly hope to do a trip like this again next year; who knows what future autumns will bring!
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