Storm Odette hit the Belgian coast last weekend, leaving lots of migrants in its wake, including several Siberian rarities such as Belgium's second Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler. Even in my local park in Brussels on Tuesday morning, there was evidence of a big fall, with around ten Chiffchaffs, one or two Firecrests, a pair of Blackcaps and several newly arrived Robins. Wednesday was my first chance to get to the coast to pick up some of the remaining pieces of the weekend's bounty and this immature Red-breasted Flycatcher was the first bird I saw upon arriving at the well-known migrant trap in Zeebrugge! This was only my third in Belgium and, while admiring that, I could hear a Yellow-browed Warbler calling repeatedly. It took me another hour to finally get a good look at that but, apart from Robins absoutely everywhere, I failed to find anything else of note so I then moved to the Sashul in Heist. Here, I heard another two Yellow-browed Warblers calling but didn't see much at all. As I headed back to the station, I saw the hourly train leaving, meaning I had a 45-minute wait on the platform. I thus sat down facing the bushes and, within five minutes, was watching another Yellow-browed Warbler feeding right in front of me. This was soon accompanied by a Goldcrest, a Firecrest, a Garden Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher, making my wait for the train fly by. There can't be many train stations in the world where you can watch a Yellow-browed Warbler feeding at the right time of year! The station was also alive with dozens of Ruddy Darters and a few butterflies, including several Speckled Woods.
