A Siberian Double - 22nd October 2026

c  Adrian Webb

On the 1st of October 2026 I saw a Siberian Blue Robin  on Shetland and today I saw a Rufous tailed Robin  at Flamborough in Yorkshire.

Both these birds are fabled, mega rare and utterly desirable vagrants from Siberia, their combined occurences in Britain not even reaching double figures. 

There have been nine in total. 

Four Rufous tailed Robins and five Siberian Blue Robins.

Basking in the satisfying glory and envy of birding colleagues at having been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to see a Siberian Blue Robin I was taken aback when reports surfaced a week after my return from Shetland of a Rufous tailed Robin being found mid morning at South Landing, Flamborough, Yorkshire on the 20th of October.

Rufous tailed Robins breed in damp forests with dense undergrowth in southern Siberia  and winter from China south of the Yangtze River to northern Indochina and Thailand so this bird at Flamborough was a very long way off course.

My heart sunk as I knew I had to go for it if possible.The bird was inhabiting a well vegetated, wooded gully with a small stream at the bottom but the prospect was daunting as the crowds would be enormous. The bird being on the mainland of Britain would mean many people who would baulk at travelling to remote islands would welcome the opportunity to see a major rarity at a popular and easily accessible birding spot on the mainland. To further compound problems the viewing opportunities  of the gully were very limited, any view being confined to looking down from a narrow path of less than a hundred metres and  the bird, being even more of a skulker than the Siberian Blue Robin, would be very difficult to see. These days twitches that attract very large numbers of people are becomng less and less bearable from my point of view. It's nobody's fault, that is the way of things nowadays and I accept this but if this bird was still present tomorrow it would definitely attract a very large number of birders craving a sighting of it.

With a hospital appointment and a car needing mechanical attention I was in no position to travel north until Thursday the 21st of October. I called Justin, a fellow Oxonbirder and occasional twitcher, the day before to see if he would be interested in going and the upshot was that we agreed to meet at his place at 3am on Thursday and Justin would drive us to Flamborough with an estimated arrival time at around 0635.

During the day before we planned our visit it became apparent that, as I feared the crowds had been extremely large and viewing as a consequence very difficult and not helped by the bird's characteristically elusive behaviour, whereby it would disappear for hours before granting a seconds only view then melting away into the undergrowth once again.

All went well on our drive north and we duly arrived on time, still in darkness, in the designated car park which was already well occupied by cars - birders cars.Dawn was just breaking  as we got ourselves together and Justin paid £6.00 for a day's parking.

We followed the track towards the robin's location, a narrow gully through which trickled a stream overlooked and guarded by a fence of wooden railings.As the light increased we crossed Whale Bridge and came to the hallowed fenceline that overlooked the gully. Even at this hour the path by the fence was crammed solid from one end to the other with birders,  leaving absolutely no room for us to actually stand by the fence. An impenetrable line and crush of birders forced us to stand two deep with little prospect of any possible view of the stream below, which the robin according to all previous reports favoured.The best that could be said of our current situation was that we were positioned directly opposite a leaning sycamore that grew up from the gully bottom and was the prime landmark to see the bird, so we were in pole position to see the robin provided we could get to the railing.

There came a rare moment of joy as the sun filtered through the trees and took the edge off the cold air.

Justin wandered off to try and find a gap somewhere, anywhere in the line of birders.

At this point no one knew if the robin was still here or not.

I remained standing where I was and hoped someone would move but there was little sign and for forty five minutes there was nothing I could do but look at the back of other birders heads in mute frustration. Then with twenty minutes having passed excited cries came from further along the fence to my right. The robin had been seen. so at least I knew it was still present. Everyone in front of me craned over the fence with some even selfishly standing on the fence rails to get a better view which rendered mine non existent.

Tired and now throughly morose I had to settle back to wait until someone vacated their spot on the fence which duly happened but I was too slow and someone slipped in front of me.More frustration ensued. but then a touch of good fortune, as with another forty or so minutes having passed there came a report of a male Siberian Rubythroat having been seen at Spurn. Cue a number of birders immediately abandoning their spot on the fence to try and seize this opportunity to get an equally if not more alluring bird on their list and as a consequence my gaining a prime position overlooking the stream and now famous sycamore below me in the gully.I was not going to be so tardy in bagging a place by the fence this time.

Congratulating myself on having finally got a good spot I soon found myself lapsing into more frustration as the robin continued to remain unseen for a very long period and when it did appear I missed it by seconds, failing to locate it at the bottom of the gully before it slipped behind the sycamore's trunk and out of sight.

A few minutes later two small brown birds shot along the gully below me, one pursuing the other.The bird in front was the Rufous tailed Robin chased by a European Robin that over the subsequent hours was to prove persistently annoying, giving the Rufous tailed Robin no peace and frustrating any chance I had of a prolonged view of the star of the show.

At least I could now claim to have seen the Rufous tailed Robin  in flight but I wanted a full unexpurgated view of this arch skulker on the ground and relatively still.

I have only seen a Rufous tailed Robin once before and that was in September 2008 at Rudong in China. On that occasion it was in very similar habitat to that I was currently looking at and behaving in a similarly elusive manner as it appeared out of similar low cover near water and like the bird today managed to disappear without trace although being just a few metres away.

A couple of Wrens kept us on our toes with sporadic appearances, whizzing in and out of the brambles that spilled down the opposite bank and there were two more very brief and tantalising sightings of the robin but not from my present location so it was tempting to move. However. I was not prepared to relinquish my place under any circumstances until  I had satisfied my desire to see the robin well. I had all day after all. 

Hours had by now passed, it seemed later than it was and then finally the robin appeared on a low moss covered bough of the sycamore, hopping along before once more disappearing into a mess of wet muddy leaves and branches. It was a seconds only view through my bins but from  no more than twenty metres away. I saw a non descript brown bird with a greyish breast and flanks the feathers of which were noticeably scalloped with dark edgings. As it moved off I caught a hint of rufous on its upper tail. At last! I had seen it well  and properly and spontaneously I and my immediate neighbour, having shared an extended vigil for just this moment shook each others hand in mutual congratulation and relief.

Then it was back to more prolonged. hopeful staring down into the tangle of bramble and wet leaves  at the bottom  of the gully. I had another very brief view of it hopping on the stream bed and then it was gone again.

A tap on my shoulder and turning there was a very relieved Justin who also had endured similar frustrations but finally seen it at roughly the same time as myself. It was now two in the afternoon and I estimated I had been standing for seven and a half hours in the same spot and with that we decided we had achieved what we set out to do and departed for home, the crush of birders never for once diminishing, for as we left others were arriving.

Shetland Miscellany - 17th October 2026

Here as a finale to my  stay on Shetland this autumn are a few images of less rare birds but nonetheless ones that were good to see and added to the overall enjoyment of this year's trip

Commencing (see above) with a Hornemann's Arctic Rdpoll at Burn of Sound

Common Redstart - Sumburgh Quarry

Little Bunting - Sumburgh Head Lighthouse

Citrine Wagtail - Quendale Mill

Red breasted Flycatcher - Ollaberry

Siskin - Clickimin Loch, Lerwick

Birds seen on Shetland from 16th of September-17th of October 2026

Red throated Diver;Great Northern Diver;Little Grebe;Slavonian Grebe;Northern Fulmar;Great Cormorant;European Shag; Grey Heron; Mute Swan;Whooper Swan; Pink footed Goose; Greylag Goose; Barnacle Goose; Common Shelduck; Eurasian Wigeon; American Wigeon; Eurasian Teal; Mallard; Northern Shoveler; Common Pochard; Tufted Duck; Greater Scaup; Eider; King Eider; Long tailed Duck; Common Scoter; Common Goldeneye; Red breasted Merganser; Pallid Harrier; Eurasian Sparrowhawk; Common Kestrel; Merlin; Red Grouse; Common Quail; Moorhen; Common Coot; Ringed Plover; European Golden Plover; Grey Plover; Lapwing; Knot; Sanderling; Baird's Sandpiper; Purple Sandpiper; Dunlin; Buff breasted Sandpiper x 2; Ruff; Jack Snipe; Common Snipe; Black tailed Godwit; Bar tailed Godwit; Eurasian Curlew; Common Redshank; Turnstone; Great Skua; Black headed Gull; Common Gull; Herring Gull; Great Black backed Gull; Kittiwake; American Black Tern; Guillemot; Razorbill; Black Guillemot; Rock Dove;Wood Pigeon; Collared Dove; Kingfisher; Skylark; Swallow; Olive backed Pipit x 2; Meadow Pipit; Rock Pipit; Citrine Wagtail; Grey Wagtail; White/Pied Wagtail; Wren; Siberian Blue Robin; Robin; Bluethroat; Siberian Stonechat; Common Redstart;  Northern Wheatear; Grey cheeked Thrush; Blackbird; Fieldfare; Song Thrush; Redwing; Reed Warbler; Barred Warbler x 2; Lesser Whitethroat; Blackcap; Common Chiffchaff; Willow Warbler; Two barred Greenish Warbler; Arctic Warbler; Yellow browed Warbler x 7; Western Bonelli's Warbler x 2; Common Chiffchaff; Willow Warbler; Goldcrest; Firecrest; Red breasted Flycatcher x 3; Pied Flycatcher; Golden Oriole; Red backed Shrike; Great Grey Shrike; Rook; Carrion Crow; Hooded Crow; Common Raven; Common Starling; House Sparrow; Chaffinch; Brambling; Eurasian Siskin; Common Linnet; Twite; Common Redpoll; Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll; Common Rosefinch; Lapland Bunting; Black faced Bunting; Little Bunting.

There were four megas on this trip in the form of:

Siberian Blue Robin - the only new addition to my British List that now stands at 546. It was also a lifer

Grey cheeked Thrush - my second for Britain

Two barred Greenish Warbler - my second for Britain

Black faced Bunting - my third for Britain

Mammals

Minke Whale

Bottle nosed Dolphin

White beaked Dolphin

Risso's Dolphin

Atlantic Grey Seal

Common Seal

Another Mega on Shetland - 12th October 2026

On Saturday afternoon the 10th of October I was waiting for a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll to appear at a place called Burn of Sound which lies on the southern outskirts of Lerwick. 

As I waited, news came through of another mega rare bird  being found on Shetland.The bird was reported as a Swainson's Thrush, normally to be found breeding in North America and spending the winter in South America. It was just a few miles down the road at a place called Easter Quarff that lies close to the main A970 road.

Cue a mass exodus of birders, no one now interested in the redpoll.This included yours truly as I needed Swainson's for my British list

We returned to my car and drove a few miles south to Easter Quarff taking extra care to park carefully beside the busy A970, crossed the road and walked up a tarmac drive passing some houses and gardens and tramped onwards along a muddy and wet farm track into a hinterland of rough pasture and moorland with a burn running down through some wind blown willows that were situated to one side of the track

A huddle of birders were stood on the track scrutinising the willows.It was obvious they could see the bird. 

Joining them we learned the bird was partially visible, perched low down on the far side of the willows but I failed to see it. Then it moved further down the line of willows and everyone followed.The light was beginning to fail and I was growing ever more anxious about setting eyes on this potential addition to my British list.Then it flew once more and I saw it

Yes. Thank you very much but my rejoicing was to be short lived as the elusive thrush was quickly re-identified as a Grey cheeked Thrush, closely similar to a Swainson's Thrush but with a greyer face and only a partial or absent buff coloured eye ring. It is marginally the  rarer of these two Catharus thrushes on Shetland with 12 records (the last being in 2015) as opposed to 15 for Swainsons. A much prized, very rare Nearctic vagrant no doubt but from my point of view mildly disappointing as I had already seen a Grey cheeked Thrush a very long time ago in November 2005, which was frequenting a wood in Hertfordshire of all places.

Grey cheekedThrushes breed in northern boreal forests from Newfoundland to Alaska and across the Bering Sea to eastern Siberia and winter in northern parts of South America, mainly east of the Andes including the Amazon basin..

Never mind it was a great bird to see and my fourth mega on Shetland this autumn, commencing with the unforgettable and forever memorable Siberian Blue Robin at Hillwell followed that afternoon by a Two barred Greenish Warbler at Quendale just a few hundred metres down the road and then a Black faced Bunting seven days later that was present for only one evening and also at Quendale 

The Grey cheeked Thrush moved down the track to the houses and was briefly located perched on a wooden fence in a garden and although we and a lot of other birders waited for it to re-appear it was not seen again. Reluctantly everyone departed but we would be back tomorrow to try and get better views of this small North American thrush

Sunday morning arrived with light winds from the southwest and sun. The thrush had been relocated fairly early, feeding alongside the tarmac drive that led up to the houses.A cramped line of birders two deep were spread right across the drive when we arrived. I feared I would have no chance of getting to look up the drive but by sheer luck I arrived just as a gap appeared in the squash of birders and the bird hopped out of a hedge and along the drive, moving away all the time but I clearly saw a greyish brown small thrush with pale  underparts, a spotted breast and with noticeably pale pinkish legs.Then it was gone. A long wait ensued but the bird never re-appeared and it was eventually located back amongst the willows.

We vowed to return in the afternoon when hopefully most people would have left and it would be quieter.Never a bad thing in such situations

Returning mid afternoon we found the thrush was still loitering amongst the willows, feeding alongside the burn, low down amongst the tangle of branches and grass.It showed fairly regularly but the big problem for photography was the sun which shone directly through the willows into our faces with the consequence the bird was backlit. I alternately watched it feeding, even bathing in the burn and tried my best with the camera but it was far from satisfactory.

The thrush favoured  the far end of the willows in particular and would show itself well  in the open although usually partially obscured by the long grass it sought its prey in.Invariably it returned to the sanctuary of the willows after a brief excursion into the open.

The thrush finally flew back to the gardens and we gave it up vowing to return the next day. That evening we discussed a plan on how to get close to the bird and get the photos we so desired.The morning turned out to be grey and cloudy which was ideal as there was no chance of bright sun to get in the way but the morning proved fruitless with only one  brief view of the bird hopping across another driveway before being chased off by the inevitable pugnacious Robin.We waited a very long time but never saw it again and others could not find it in the willows where it always seemed to end up.

I left to try again with the Arctic Redpoll and Mark said he would call me if the thrush re-appeared.An hour later with no sign of the redpoll my phone rang and Mark confirmed the thrush had been re-found and guess where - yes of course in its favourite willows.

I made my way back to Easter Quarff and soon saw the thrush. We positioned ourselves at the end of the  willows where the thrush liked to linger on and under the willow branches just above the water and come out onto the partly waterlogged long grass to feed.

Most people present having seen it well departed and we were down to a small group of half a dozen or so.The thrush had moved off and was thought to be in the gardens.So in its absence we did a bit of landscaping, treading down the grass to create a more open area where the thrush could come out and would not be obscured by the long grass.An impromptu stage if you like.

The next hour and a half became an endurance test of both mind and body as there was nothing to do but stand stoically awaiting any development on the thrushfront.Surely it would return here as it had done so many times before. It was beginning to seem a forlorn hope and optimism was beginning to fade.

Finally a birder further down the track signalled the thrush was working its way back along the base of the willows by the burn. Everyone of us  became energised and the sense and feel of expectation was palpable.This was what we had been waiting for.A quick check of camera settings, un-necessary really but an instinctive form of re-assurance and calming of apprehension.

Tensed and ready for action we awaited the arrival of the star guest which duly came in the form of an indistinct dark shape hopping towards us over some almost water level willow branches. I lost sight of it. Panic. But then suddenly and thrillingly there it was perched briefly in full view on the fretwork of thin  willow branches growing over the amber water of the burn. 

In the few seconds  granted to me I noted its pale off white underparts and diffuse black spotting on its breast, greyish brown upperparts, pale pinkish legs and sparkling dark eyes.Then it dropped down into the shallow water below before moving onto the grass in a series of hops.

As it moved out of cover we held our breath.In total silence we watched the thrush move out onto the flooded grass as we had planned, coming ridiculously close at times.

It hopped around and then retreated into the base of the willows.We waited, as from experience we knew it was likely to return imminentlywhich it duly did.

The same perfomance then repeated itself 

The thrush had, when first seen thought to have a damaged wing but some of the photos I took showed it was missing the two inner tertials from its left wing and possibly an inner greater covert which caused one or more underlying white feathers to protrude prominently on occasions. Certainly its flight was unimpeded whenever it decided to leave the willows and move back to the gardens

Would it come back for a third time? Unbelievably the answer was yes and it was just as good as the previous two visits with the addition of it venturing onto the wet muddy track and then into the grass on the other side  of the track as we filled our memory cards with this unforgettable close encounter, so very different to my experience in a wood in Hertfordshire twenty one years ago

The thrush departed once more and we decided that we could do no better and so headed for home.

Our good friend Lee Mott, for now confined to a wheelchair, having seen the
Grey cheeked Thrush  which was a lifer for him

I never thought that I would get to see this shy North American thrush so very close and for such an extended period.

A Bluethroat at Boddam - 10th October 2026

A very confiding Bluethroat at a small village called Boddam in South Mainland found us standing beside a area of waste ground awaiting its arrival amongst the weeds,spoil and stones.

For a while, quite a long while in fact there was no sign of it but then a small movement in the weeds,  stones and grass revealed the bird scuttling along, alternately in and out of sight

It did not hang about but made short runs and then paused to survey the ground for seconds only before it was off again.Much like a Blackbird in feeding action  but robin sized and with the latters perky personality

Aware of its confiding reputation we were unsurprised at its close presence but when it came within ten feet to perch briefly on a small rock we certainly were taken aback!  It did not remain long before retreating but then returned to repeat the exercise all over again. I was hardly complaining.

On occasions it would fly to a large garden a hundred metres away but invariably returned to hunt for invertebrates amongst its favoured  weeds and stones

As most are at this time of year on Shetland it was a juvenile and consequently showed no evidence of blue across its breast only a necklace of large dark spots. On Shetland in autumn they are an annual scarce migrant and always nice to find or see.