This stunning female Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola was at Lynemouth flash yesterday; a bird I have wanted to see in the UK ever since a chance encounter with my first, an adult male, in Estonia a few years past. My visit was not overly long – dissertation planning is taking up most of my time of late – but during the fifteen minutes or so I spent by the inconspicuous roadside pool, the bird showed wonderfully as it fed within a few metres of the various birders, photographers and curious locals assembled nearby. This marks my 196th bird species observed in Northumberland this year and stands out as the definitive highlight of the year thus far as I attempt to view as many species as possible in my home county within 2017. A personal quest which, this week, also took me to Catton Moss where a Short-Toed Lark (my first) showed wonderfully; and earlier, to Allen Banks where the local Wood Warblers and Pied Flycatchers put on a fine show in the radiant afternoon sun.