Suffolk double raid for Red-throated Pipit & Radde's Warbler

Red-throated Pipit

Landguard Point

 Landguard Observatory

Redstart

Radde's Warbler (File image)

This time last year I spent four days birding in Norfolk seeing not a lot and just getting frustrated with rogue reports of Radde's Warblers. This Autumn my plan was not to fix myself to one place giving me more flexability but perhaps a few more miles on the car. 

The plan on the day was to head to Durham for the reported Scops Owl but negative news early diverted us to Spurn but unfortunately there had been a clear out over night restricting our sightings to a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling, Scaup, 2 Great Skua, 2 Red-throated Diver, 20+ Gannet, 5 Sandwich Tern, 30 Common Scoter. 

Saturday was a new day so when the Red-throated Pipit was reported in Suffolk again at 7.15am I took this as a good sign & worth the risk. A smooth passage across to Suffolk was easier than expected and I was quickly parked at Landguard Fort. Negative news greeted us on the car park that the pipe had been flushed by a dog but after a brisk walk and a five minute search myself & @1stbirdoftheday were watching the white mantle stripped pipit with its distinctive red throat. There were a huge number of Meadow Pipits on the ground and with them were Wheatears and two Redstarts. 

With tasty views of the Pipit in the bag we thought we would try again for an elusive Radde's Warbler at Bawdsey about 30 minutes to the north. There were plenty of buoyant birders who had reported short views of the bird in the previous hour so we were hopeful. Those early hopes were dispelled as we didn't get a glimpse for over 40 minutes, even then a flight view with a positive identification wasn't possible. We then switched sides of the hedge line where a fellow birder continued to "trump" loudly whilst waiting for the bird ! After about 90 mins we picked up another bird calling territorially & upon checking a bird moved quickly left, as it perched we both got on the bird to ID it as the Radde's ! the bird flew another five yards to the first where we got amazing views & alerted other birders. What did surpass us was how strong & distinctive the super cilium was. We both spent a serious amount of hours trying to see this species & it was a fantastic feeling driving home having finally seen this elusive species.