Lots of scarce but no rare

Despite promises that Earl might deliver a Gloria-like array of Nearctic goodies and despite a pretty spectacular migration of the eastern seaboard of the states, the Lizard has been completely devoid of Dendroicas . It hasn’t been devoid of birds though.  I’ve probably seen more Wheaters, Yellow Wagtails and Whinchats in the last week than I have in the entire time up until now, with at least 100 of the first two and at least 30 of the latter.  However, despite thrashing the entire peninsula for pretty much five days solid, I haven’t really connected with anything.  The best I managed was a single flyover Lap Bunting. West Penwith has played host to flocks of Ortolan, Wryneck and Melodies with a supporting cast of Wilson’s Phalarope and Citrine Wag, Tony’s found c. 6 wrys and 3 orts and Steve managed a woodchat and a flock of black terns. I just haven’t been in the same place as the goodies though. On the plus side, I’ve found a couple of new migrant hotspots, but to be honest, birding has been pretty dispiriting of late. I blame my new camera, which as the shots above attest, I haven’t quite mastered. It should be pretty good for record shots, but it seems to have prevented me from finding any records to shoot! It should hopefully allow me to prettify this blog though.

Edit: any thoughts on the race of these yellow wags anyone?