Taiga Flycatcher, Flamborough

Taiga Flycatcher
(Photo: © Brett Richards)

I can’t remember now where I was birding on the morning of Saturday 26 April 2003, but plans for the day changed abruptly when I got a call from Paul C. An adult male Red-breasted Flycatcher had been found at Flamborough Head, and Paul had just had a call from Brett Richards to say it had been trapped and identified as albicilla, the eastern race, known colloquially then as Red-throated Flycatcher. The first British record of what we knew was an imminent split (which happened not long after, as did renaming the new species Taiga Flycatcher). No question what to do then - twitch on!

There’s not much to say about the journey – a fairly standard five hours’ drive from Somerset to the Yorkshire coast, finally arriving at the car park at South Landing. There was a line of birders along the edge of the car park nearest the ravine. I jumped out of the car, but they didn’t look enthusiastic, and I quickly found out the bird had not been seen for quite a long time. Oh well, in for the long haul then. I paid for the car park ticket, then nipped into the loos – after a long drive, and with a potentially long wait ahead, it seemed a wise move.

When I came back out, no birders! None. Bird must have shown and I don't know where. Ulp! A couple of non-birders wandering through the car park clocked the bins round my neck and my evident confusion, pointed, and said, ‘They all just ran down there, mate.’ I said thanks and legged it.

I didn’t have to go far round the corner and down the road into the ravine to find the birders lined up along the verge, looking over into the trees on the other side. The flycatcher had apparently been seen again, but only briefly, and no-one I spoke to knew for sure exactly where – false alarm? Thankfully, no. It was another anxious wait, but eventually someone picked it up in some tall, leggy gorse bushes on the opposite slope. Still tricky to get on and stay on, but good enough views – at one point it even sat still for long enough to get scopes on it. Phew!

Taiga Flycatcher
(Photo: © Adrian Webb)

It’s still a tricky species to separate conclusively from Red-breasted Flycatcher in most plumages, and there have only been two further accepted British records to date, both autumn birds on Shetland, so seeing the Flamborough bird pre-split has proved a very good move for the large number of birders who did so. Not only the best-looking one so far, but also by far the cheapest to get to - insurance well bought!