Alpine at last!

Rare swifts from abroad tend not to stay long - just a few hours at the most usually; to connect with one, you have to be at the right place at the right time. They are also attracted to the east coast rather than then the west and are far more common down south, of course, given their Mediterranean origin. So, when news continued to come through of a 'long-staying' Alpine Swift (a bird I had only seen abroad), on 26th March 2023, present now for its fourth day and within a 2.5 hr drive from here, I felt compelled to go for it. On the Saturday, news of the bird came through at 8am; on the Sunday, when the weather was better, I had an agonising wait until the first reports came through... at 9am, before I decided to commit myself to the long drive. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it was a stress-free drive, I knew exactly where to go (having been numerous times before) and soon found myself on the single track road down to East Barns, near Dunbar, to join other twitchers scanning the woodland to the west. I caught up with the bird within a few minutes, helped by another birder, and watched it through bins and scope as it hunted in the distance over the canopy. Having clocked the salient features, including the white belly, I could now relax. The nearby cemetery (closer to Dunbar) had been another reported location from which to view the bird, and given where the bird seemed to be favouring, this looked like a good bet. I drove east, found the cemetery, and to my surprise found the bird immediately. Better still, I could see a footpath leading straight across a set-aside field, which would bring me very close to the bird indeed. Wasting no time, I parked up, dashed off and within minutes had the rarity flying over my head! I had to be patient, though; this was hardly the easiest of birds to photograph. I did get one shot I was happy with, and this made the whole trip worthwhile.