Well, there’s only one story in town, and a First for Britain to boot. The South Shields Eastern Crowned Warbler wowed the (vast) crowds, BBC News had a full report, and even the Sun devoted a page to discussion of the twitch – including a photo of the poor, lost, wind-battered little bird, which right now should be sunning itself in a forest in South-east Asia but is instead shivering amidst the gloom of a disused Tyneside slate quarry.

The warbler that launched a thousand twitches (Rebecca Nason)

Its been an astounding month for megas – where will the madness end? Highlights included a Sandhill Crane that set off south from Orkney before vanishing somewhere over eastern Scotland – I was convinced it would pitch up somewhere handy like Rainham Marshes – and an obliging Brown Shrike. This little Siberian beauty picked a superb transport hub to hang out at – right beside the M25 and slap-bang next to Heathrow Terminal 5. I had to go and have a look – what a bird. When I was there a Sparrowhawk was soaring overhead, keeping a beady eye on events below. This may all end in tears yet.

Find out where these birds are supposed to be in Birds of East Asia

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