Well, what a week! I returned to work in Oxfordshire on Tuesday after a good week birding on the Isles of Scilly, and I couldn't believe it when news broke after lunch that a Rufous-tailed Robin had been found at South Landing, Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire.
The Rufous-tailed Robin (Larvivora sibilans) breeds in central Siberia and parts of eastern Asia, favouring damp forests with dense undergrowth. It migrates south-east for the winter, spending this period in South-East Asia. It is an extremely rare visitor to Britain, with records tending to occur in October, mainly in the Northern Isles and along the east coast of England.
The first accepted British record came from Fair Isle, Shetland, on 23rd October 2004. The bird caused quite a bit of confusion when it was first found, with some birders initially thinking it might be an American thrush, and Hermit Thrush was among the possibilities discussed. Nick Dymond eventually suggested Rufous-tailed Robin around lunchtime, and after checking reference books and photographs, the identification was confirmed. The bird was trapped and ringed before being released. It remained until dusk but had disappeared by the following morning.
The second British record was found dead on North Ronaldsay, Orkney, on 2nd October 2010. The next was at Warham Greens, Norfolk, on 14th October 2011, where the bird was only present from mid-afternoon until dusk before disappearing. The fourth accepted record was found at Feal Plantation, Fetlar, Shetland, on 6th October 2019. Unfortunately, the bird was only seen for around five minutes before disappearing and was never seen again. There was also a report from Lurand, North Ronaldsay, on 21st October 2025, but this remains provisional and has not been accepted onto the British list. With such a poor record of birds staying around, the Rufous-tailed Robin has become one of those mythical birds that birders dream of catching up with. The discovery at Flamborough was therefore a fantastic find and a chance for more birders to finally connect with this Siberian rarity. You can read the rarity finders' write-up here.>
What followed was three days of absolute torture, as I couldn't get up to Yorkshire until Friday morning, and that was only if the bird was still there. It was a four-and-a-half-hour drive, and I wouldn't make it after work to try to see it before dusk. For the next two days, birding social media was in meltdown. Practically everyone I knew had seen the bird. What an absolute nightmare! By Thursday evening, the weather was changing. After two nights of rain, it was going to be clear. This wasn't good news, as birds can easily move on overnight in settled conditions. I packed my belongings at the Airbnb and could only hope it would stay until the morning. The next morning, on the way into work, news came through just after 8am that the bird was still there. I went into work, finished a few jobs and set off from Oxfordshire, arriving in East Yorkshire just after 1pm. As I arrived on site and walked down towards the bridge, a shout went out that the bird was showing.
