News broke early one afternoon that an Alpine Accentor had been discovered at Slaughden, Suffolk. The adult bird was showing exceptionally well, roosting on a pipe on the southeast side of Martello Tower—a perfectly visible perch that would tempt even the most seasoned twitchers.
Plans were swiftly hatched for a morning raid with Malc Curtin and Mark Payne. By 6 a.m., we arrived, shivering but excited, with word that the bird had remained on its roost all night. Thermal images confirmed its presence, and a small group of eager birders waited silently for sunrise, coffee in hand, cameras at the ready.
Thermal image of the bird
Birders waiting for sunrise
Shortly after 7.20 a.m., the accentor finally stretched its wings, flying from the pipe toward the beach. There it lingered, hopping among rocks and low scrub, allowing several hours of superb views for those lucky enough to witness it. Its delicate streaked plumage and subtle alpine tones were visible in the morning light—a stark reminder that Europe’s high mountains can sometimes reach England’s coastline.
The bird showed well, having roosted on the pipe all night
Alpine Accentor
The Alpine Accentor is primarily a high-altitude species, breeding in the crags and alpine meadows of central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees and Alps eastwards into Scandinavia and central Asia. In Britain, it is an extremely rare visitor, with just 38 accepted records. Most birds arrive in spring or summer, with only six autumn (October–November) records, the most recent being a one-day visitor at Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire, in October 1997. This made the Slaughden bird not only a spectacular sighting but the first truly twitchable individual in Britain for twenty years.