Red-breasted Flycatcher

It was a stunningly beautiful autumnal morning today with light easterly winds and a clear blue sky. With several days of easterlies I felt positive about finding something good at Nordhavn. There was a good passage of visible migration with the first notable movement of Bramblings (mostly north!), Chaffinches, Siskins, Meadow Pipits, the odd Tree Pipit and 2 Grey Wagtails. I began to check the scrub with the thought of Yellow-browed Warbler in my mind. There were good numbers of Goldcrests and the odd Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Then, as I turned a corner into a very sunny and shaded area, I caught sight of a flycatcher that flitted up and over the top of the shrub. I didn't get much on it at all except that it looked rather plain and small. It's a little late for Spotted or Pied here in Denmark but, of course, both were more likely than anything rarer. For the next 10-15 minutes I saw nothing, despite searching the surrounding vegetation carefully. So I wandered off thinking that I'd cover the rest of the scrub before returning later to see if the bird had returned to the original spot. After half-heartedly searching the rest of the area with my mind on what might have been, I began to convince myself that the bird was a probable Red-breasted Flycatcher. So I returned and, almost immediately, there it was - a first-winter Red-breasted Flycatcher (Danish name - Lille Fluesnapper) feeding very actively. My first half-decent find in Denmark, at last! I watched it for about 15 minutes and managed to take a few decent photographs before putting out the news. After a further 30 minutes people began to arrive, most of them in suits or office attire skipping off for an hour or so to catch up with this scarce Danish bird. Just as I thought the excitement was over a ringtail harrier appeared from nowhere and flew almost tern-like over the scrub before disappearing behind some ships in the dock. It had to be a Montagu's or Pallid but unfortunately I didn't get enough on it... Then, as I turned back towards the flycatcher, a monochrome bird caught my eye. I managed to get my bins on it and there was another decent bird - Great Grey Shrike!

Carlsberg don't do birding but if they did, every day would be like today!