Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Pallas's & Hume's Warblers= at last a great Autumn 2019 day!

On Saturday 9th November, hearing of a putative Eastern Yellow Wagtail (now split by BOU as a separate species) I drove down to Walberswick Hoist covert car park hoping to park up and walk out, but inexplicably wooden logs had been put across to stop access (??) so I parked on the verge just beyond it afterwards handily parking behind Paul & Jane F. I thought it was bound to be a successful twitch I though even in this this the worst autumn ever! Walking through the woods, always a nice walk and even better today with such good company, we enjoyed a couple of groups of irrupting Bearded Tits flying over the reeds. We saw the crowd assembled on the beach and joined them just north of where the public footpath met the beach, looking at few pools just in from the beach, initially no sign but within 20 minutes, it flew calling a rasping call, and settled into a slightly more distant small pool where a monochrome bird generally grey above and white below wagtail seen with supercilia and yellowish wash to the vent and a yellow spot on the upper breast, and a little yellow down the middle of the breast (seen in photos). Crucially also seen in photos was the long hind claw (pics 3 & 4 below which is indicative of this species). It then flew to the nearer pool and was seen well through the scope between the grass. It flew and was joined by another Western Yellow Wagtail and they flew around and on a couple of occasions both birds would fly back and the Eastern Yellow Wagtail often settled on the edge of the pebble beach giving a couple of minutes photo opportunity. The last time it did this it spent some time preening on the edge of the beach which helped. Again the Wagtails flew around flew past the assembled throng of admirers on the beach over the sea and then back again. Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipts also seen here. Plus, while we were watching a fine small flock of "tinkling" calls of 7 Snow Buntings and flew in the weeds in front of us. We also saw a Great White Egret flying north over the marsh. Walking back again we saw irrupting Bearded Tits and a female Marsh Harrier quartering the reeds. Hearing of a Pallas' Warbler at Kessingland, Julie had tweeted a picture in the hand of the bird. We drove to Kessingland and spent around half an hour waling the patch, Tit flocks were non- existent until one flock of Long- tailed Tits, south of the Sewage works which included a Chiff- Chaff. Walking past the filter beds we saw a group of people at the northern gate looking in the hedgerow forming the northern border of the sewage works, where the Dusky Warbler had been a couple of years ago. The Pallas's was being seen, initially in a Sycamore but it flew into a closer tree and I saw the bird, thanks to great directions from Paul & Jane, half way up the tree mid right looking through foliage I could see the wing- bars and a broad yellow supercilia and the yellow rump seen briefly too when it hovered and that was it, it flitted away. A text came through from Rob Will that he had found a Humes at Flycatcher Alley, so we decided to carry on there. Parking along North Parade, overlooking the Oval, the Hume's Warbler was seen from the top low down in the vegetation, initially in an elderberry bush. But by far the best views for me when we saw it perched in dead sycamore branches lying on the ground and it spent around 3 minutes hopping around here. A great day finally for the Autumn of 2019, with great weather and great company accompanied by the usual Ferguson luck (so sorely lacking when I'm on my own!)