Scarce and hard to ID migrants

1CY Dark-sided Flycatcher

A very productive morning at Suan Rotfai from 0630-0915 hrs, with one of the first birds encountered being a  Two-barred Greenish Warbler that called whilst flying from one clump of trees to another, and uttered another couple of calls once perched, hidden in the foliage.

Soon afterwards I heard an Amur Wagtail call as it went high over the park, and then was alerted by the call of a pair of Grey-headed Lapwings (only my 4th patch record) that I eventually saw twice going over the park.  Once the sun was properly up my attention turned to passerines and I soon found an Arctic Warbler (sound-recorded, ID confirmed as borealis), followed by my first Taiga Flycatcher of the autumn and a pair of Sakhalin Leaf Warblers (ID'd on call) and two Common Kingfishers.  Further on along the canal zone I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye - an apparent Asian Brown Flycatcher, but given that the bird had dropped out of a large, bare, dead tree I was suspicious that it might be a Dark-sided Flycatcher; my suspicions were confirmed from record shots of the bird in deep gloom (the power of digital photography!) before it gave slightly better views - a scarce autumn migrant and the only 1st calendar year bird that I have ever seen!  Whilst waiting for it to reappear I also picked up a female-type Yellow-rumped Flycatcher.
   

rather blurry Sakhalin Leaf Warbler

Heading back towards the park gates I checked another couple of areas and was rewarded with a Alstrom's Warbler -  a scarce autumn migrant here, as well as more usual fare in the shape of two Asian Brown Flycatchers, two Brown Shrikes, 1-2 Black-capped Kingfishers and a pair of Eastern Crowned Warblers one of which was poorly-marked (hardly any yellow in the vent), poorly seen and hence very confusing.


Not a bad start to the day!