A little drop left in the bottle!

The clocks may have gone back and we may be just five weeks away from Christmas but there's still a little trickle of Autumn left!
On Saturday, James Appleton had found a late Yellow-browed Warbler along the path to the old coast-watch buildings at Happisburgh. Hot on the heels of a notable arrival of Hume's Warblers that week, it must've got his pulse quickening! For me, it didn't seem right to let the autumn slip away without seeing a Yellow-browed Warbler, so we made Happisburgh the first stop on Sunday morning.

Yellow-browed Warbler, Happisburgh, Norfolk

Just before the coast watch Nick picked up this Woodcock as it came in off the sea and made its way hurriedly inland.

Incoming Woodcock!

We completed a full circuit of the village before making our customary pit-stop at the excellent Kingfisher Cafe in Walcott (I've yet to come across a better full English!) and then headed towards Cley to see the long-staying Isabelline Wheatear (an excellent find by Mark Golley).
At Cley, a small crowd was gathered on the south-facing slopes overlooking Arnold's Marsh. The Wheatear was on the nearby shingle bank but soon returned to wooden gates where it spent most of its time perched on or preening. It once or twice dropped down on the short turf and bounded around looking for food. It did look a little listless at the time, but one week on its still surviving so possibly those mealworms are keeping it going!

Isabelline Wheatear, Cley, Norfolk - November 2019

Time and light was running out. We would have loved to have taken in the Hume's Warbler at Holkham but opted instead for the Rough-legged Buzzard at Wells (perhaps we should have skipped the full English earlier). The Buzzard was distant, but perched in beautiful sunlight. My crappy shot doesn't do it any justice, a stunning looking raptor and a great bird to complete the autumn!

Rough-legged Buzzard, Wells, Norfolk