[seanofford]

OK - this is a bit of a weird one I'm afraid.

I live on the east coast of Norfolk (Winterton, for those of you who know it) and there's lots of good habbo around (probably too much - and some of the best woodland is out of bounds).

The trouble is I'm slowly becoming obsessed with finding my own RBF. It's pathetic I know, but ever since I managed a fleeting view of what may have been one, when it virtually landed on my foot as it came in off the sea, recovered, then flitted off never to be seen again one rainy, dark, blustery evening, I have been dreaming of finding one and clinching it. So anyone have any tips?

For example, there is a stand of very tall trees, some oaks, some with a nice covering of ivy on the trunks. They are also quite sheltered in easterlies. Is it worth me hanging around there in bad weather and easterlies, like I did this evening, or am I better off going for more isolated, but less grand, patches of habitat? How many RBFs are found in bushes when there are bigger trees nearby?

What about using a tape of the call or song and just playing it every time I reckon the conditions are right? Bad form I know but I'm getting desperate.

If you have found one - did you pick it up by call or just 'cos you saw it moving about? What habitat? What was the best feature for it - tail flicking or plumage?

Any tips - any at all, would be much appreciated! I'd even just like to hear accounts of how any birders found one. How sad is that?

Sean

[jimmyg]

Hang around sycamores all autumn! They hold more insects than most other species of tree in the UK, which is why a lot of migrant passerines are found around sycamores. Apparently playing songs to migrant birds isn't usually very effective - you would probably be better off just playing the call if you're going to use a tape lure.
I haven't found an RBFly myself and have only seen one (and been where another was) and both were in sycamores...

[StuartReeves]

I touched on the circumstances behind the first RB Fly that I found at: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread....56#post1211356. I've found three or four others since but there's no obvious pattern to how or where, other than that they were all in sites with relatively limited vegetation.

[TWM]

The ones I have found at Rattray have been quite happy in a field with dock, nettles and thistles etc. No trees involved!

[username]

Sheer persistence is what you need Sean.....make sure you know the call...[you will be fooled by wrens as they alter their 'tones']......and just look out for that tail pattern....!

ps...i never tire of seeing RB's...great little birds...hope you find one...[you should be in with a shout in these winds]!

[Binocularface]

Sycamores are best when available I reckon; but I found one many years ago perched on a rock on the side of a stream on Out Skerries

[Cortonbirds]

Ive found a few myself, always give you a rush. Best bet is to find leeside sycamores if its windy, but they can turn up in many habitats. They are pretty small and can be very active and mobile so can be hard to follow around at times. The first I found when I was pretty young on Blakeney point when I heard a soft "rattle" from within the big Tamarisk and thought, that surely cant be a Wren..? It then salied out and showed amazingly, I was well chuffed.

[seanofford]

We've got lots of sycamores and I always check them first. They like big trees if they are available, right? Should I be looking high up?
Sean

PS - by the way Stuart - I started that thread you linked to (although I've found some better birds on my local patch now! )

[Adey Baker]

Anyone ever found one '...perched on a tangle of rusty barbed wire at the bottom of a sea cliff' as stated by Bill Oddie in his LBBB? Or even on '...abandoned prams on beach rubbish dumps?'

[username]

Originally Posted by seanofford

We've got lots of sycamores and I always check them first. They like big trees if they are available, right? Should I be looking high up?
Sean

High or low Sean....! Take your time tho...especially if its windy making it hard to locate movement. RB's..[like other flycatchers]...will sit for longish periods..so just sit/stand and wait!

[Pariah]

Ive seen a few in stands of pines. They dont seem to have any set preferences. Just keep plugging.

Owen

[gandytron]

when you find it, remember to check it for Taiga!

[username]

Originally Posted by gandytron

when you find it, remember to check it for Taiga!

Wouldn't that be a turn up?....first red breasted flycatcher he finds is a taiga...!

[Binocularface]

Originally Posted by username

Wouldn't that be a turn up?....first red breasted flycatcher he finds is a taiga...!

....but the it wouldn't be a Red-breasted Flycatcher.......would it.......

[henerz1]

MacMahon and Hudson (2008) in Best Birdwatching sites in Cornwall and Scilly recommend Ash trees for finding R.B.Flys. I hadn't previously heard of this particular association in the SW and haven't found any myself thus far. But surely every tree is worth checking, it will simply improve your odds. Good luck Sean.

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I've found a couple. The first (which was my first ever) was in low willows at Fife Ness in the midst of a good fall of migrants. The second was at Drums in Aberdeenshire and, like TWM's Rattray birds, was pottering about on the ground in the middle of dunes and nettles. It was also the only migrant I saw that day - quite weird.

[username]

Originally Posted by Binocularface

....but the it wouldn't be a Red-breasted Flycatcher.......would it.......

nicely observed......!

[Parker]

I went for my first RBF in Wells Woods and at the time had no idea how big an area Wells W's was and no idea where the bird was. I eventualy found the bird in a small clearing in some fir trees. More luck than jugdement but they are easier to find than most other rare passerines, so i'm sure you'll find one if you put the time in. P.

[CornishExile]

Originally Posted by Adey Baker

Anyone ever found one '...perched on a tangle of rusty barbed wire at the bottom of a sea cliff' as stated by Bill Oddie in his LBBB? Or even on '...abandoned prams on beach rubbish dumps?'

I've found a couple over the years at the foot of geos in Shetland, one flycatching from the remains of a rusted out dumped car on the rocks.

Others in weedy fields, vegetable yards, roadside fences... but strangely never in sycamores! (This is probably just a reflection on the relative lack of sycamores here )

Good luck with finding one, Sean. They're quality birds. And don't forget to check the uppertail coverts...

ce

[Howard King]

You don't you go and look for a Tufted Puffin instead

[Birdbox]

Stringing Robins has always been a favoured ploy of mine, er I mean a mate of mine.

[Phil Carter]

They can respond to a bit of pishing. Had one down to 3ft on Scilly many moons ago.

Phil

[Twibble]

Just go to where the insects are! Usually the most sheltered and sunny spot around.

[Bird Hard 2]

As Cortonbirds pointed out, keep an ear out for the soft rattling call, or a soft tacking. They also have a call that sounds like the piping sound of a Bullfinch (really threw me the first time I found one giving this call), so make sure you don't ignore any calls like that. They also feed at varying heights; sometimes at knee hight, sometimes at the tops of trees.

[Irene Boston]

And if there are Pied Flys about and they're chasing 'summat', check it's not a RB Fly they're chasing. Every RB Fly I've seen has been hassled by Pieds if they've been in the same vicinity.