There was a moderate north-easterly breeze and a band of cloud over the English Channel, with finer weather inland, on the morning of Thursday 20 June. This is not really the best wind direction here at South Foreland, but these exact conditions in late June previously have dropped in a Red-backed Shrike for me, so there was a faint level of optimism about the morning ahead when I set out.
There was little to report from the walk between my front door up to the clifftop above Dover Harbour, onwards through Langdon Hole and past Fan Bay, beyond a dozen or so Common Swifts, until I reached the section of the clifftop path at South Foreland lighthouse.
Here, a distinctly small bird flitted from a small clump of umbellifers on the very edge of the cliff. My first thought was 'whatever that is, it's just arrived' … I got my bins on it as it flew and even with a brief flight view, the strong jizz of Zitting Cisticola was apparent: a round-tailed look in flight, a noticeably decurved bill, short wings, weak little bursts of zigzagging, undulating flight and a glimpse of a rusty rump.
Jamie's first views of the Zitting Cisticola were in flight (Jamie Partridge).
I felt the wave of adrenaline hit but knew I needed to stay calm and control the situation somehow. The bird flew again between clifftop bushes and this time perched out on the top edge of a privet bush. It was a good view – I saw all the mantle and crown streaking, warm buff tones beneath, pink base to the bill, white throat and the hilarious bug-eyed facial expression. I noted that the tail looked a lot shorter when the bird was perched.
I was a bit wobbly but fired off some shots as it was nicely side-on on top of the bush. However, just as I pressed the shutter, the bird flew into cover. The photos, which are shown in this article, are poor, but you can see what the bird is.
Of the eight previous British records of Zitting Cisticola, four are from Kent, including the most recent on 28 May 2010 (Jamie Partridge).
I waited for movement, poised and ready, but it never showed again. It must have continued on along the cliff edge in cover and into private gardens. I spent a good few hours looking for it, but there was no further sign.
Two trips to Spain and a work trip to Hong Kong this year may have given me plenty of recent experience of this species, allowing the initial view to be a conclusive one – I know these birds well and don't think they can be mistaken for any other Western Palearctic species.
Only the ninth record for Britain, it is the third for this little stretch of coast and the fifth for Kent – a mega bird in the classic South Foreland blink-and-you'll-miss-it style of migrant, a mind-blower that was 'gone in 60 seconds'. Zitting Cisticole may not be everyone's favourite species, but I was happy!
The area of clifftop vegetation where Jamie found the Zitting Cisticola (Jamie Partridge).
