Tonight we returned to the usual night pattern which
involves no fox, or rather, that I see no fox, but it could well have been
there and gone as soon as I turned the torchlight on. On my walk back to the
warren I did see the devil on Beacon Lane, but he turned into a field from the
lane, and was well away from the colony at this point.
By midday I was awoken from my recovery sleep by the AGM
going on in the lounge. I spent a good couple of hours in bed waiting for it to
finish so I could leave, but it did not. I fortunately had no reason to leave as
there was a torrential thunderstorm occurring outside, and that would therefore
mean few birds. So was the theory, though birdguides was reporting a wood
sandpiper at Spurn. I am bitter I slept through that to say the least.
Finally at around 2.00 I decided I had done enough and
left my room. Without thinking I left without any of my kit, or even any socks,
so when my breakfast was finished and the meeting was not I suddenly realised I
would have to go back through the meeting in order to get my stuff to go out. I
did not particularly like this idea. Fortunately I had left my scope in the
kitchen the night before and as such I was able to take that, slip on my boots
and go for a bit of Seawatching while I waited for the meeting to finish.
Naturally for that time in the afternoon the sea was
dead. There was the odd bit of movement but nothing really, and you could count
the number of birds at any one time on one hand. The highlight was a Bonxie
that came and landed on the sea at mid-distance. Only the second time I have
seen one this year, so that was nice to see. There was also a flock of Common
Scoter (9) that went south, but they were the highlights of probably around a
15min stint.
I had not got any jackets with me, so due
to the cold and the lack of birds I finally decided I would have to disrupt the
meeting in order to get any use from the day. I also found out the story of the
wood sand, apparently it had been on Canal Scrape, but had been flushed as the
guy who found it, his radio was on too loud and the bird cleared off. It landed
in the triangle, so there was still the possibility that it was around. As a
consequence when I had gathered my stuff I headed that way to see if it would
return to the Scrape.
As I walked in I could see a couple of birders looking
over in the corner at something. It was a Common Sandpiper, bobbing in the
corner. I got to watch it for around 5 mins before it upped sticks and headed
off on the Humber. It was a great start, considering the last time I had been
on this scrape I could count the birds I had seen on one hand.
Gradually the other birders left, and I was soon birding
alone. There were still some Swallows entering the hide to their nest in the
rafters. As a result I got exceptional views of them, one bird frequently sat
on the rafter above our heads just chilling, with the other bird entering and
then relieving it of duty. What they were doing I do not know, as there was no
calling from any chicks, the bird was not sitting, implying no eggs, and both
birds were clearly adults, so what they were gaining I struggled to comprehend.
After about 20 mins in the hide things were not looking
good. So far I had managed a Snipe and a Whitethroat. Things were looking a
little bleak to say the least. However my fortunes quickly changed. I did not
see it drop in, but at 3.40 I noticed a waders head sticking out of the
shrubbery where the snipe had been. This was definitely not a snipe head, that
much was clear. As soon as I got contact on it, I was in no doubt at all that
this was the Wood Sandpiper I had sought after.
It was stunning bird, the eye stripe so striking and the
speckles along its back glistened in the afternoon sun. It was a lovely bird to
see to say the least. My only wish was that I could get some photos like the views
I was getting through the scope. My wish was granted! The bird moved along the
near shoreline the whole time, eventually coming to the closest point to the
hide, around 3 meters max away from my seat. Its habit of keeping to the
bankside vegetation made it difficult to get any clear record shots, but the
birds close proximity meant I could get photos with all the birds features and
beauty in a clear format.
-Wood Sandpiper
That is, or course a lifer for me, and it seems this year
at least, with my 4 sandpiper lifers (Green, Curlew and Pectoral), that all
have been exceptionally close and all have been adult birds giving exceptional
views. Usually sandpipers are so skittish and hard to approach, so to have had
such experiences with all four truly has been amazing.
The bird stayed with us for about an hour. Another couple
of birders came in too, about 3 I recall, and saw the bird. I had intended to
proudly announce the birds return down the radio, but when it came to it I
found my radio was flat…
I got to watch the bird preen, stretch, sleep, even
regurgitate a pellet (Which I would have loved to collect). I basically got a
full house of its behaviours, which was more than I could have wanted. It came
as close to the hide twice before it left. Its departure was due to a very
sudden thunderstorm, a very heavy sudden thunderstorm, and when I say heavy I
mean really really heavy. It was some downpour to say the least and I do not
blame the bird for leaving, as every single other bird also made a break for
shelter, even the ducks. The best bit of this, though slightly harsh, was
watching the snipe run for cover across an area of short grass from the water’s
edge. They looked unbelievably comical, almost like they were about to trip
over their long bills.
-Thunderstorm
It was as the Wood Sandpiper approached for the first
time that I began to get spoiled for choice. A Yellow Wagtail dropped in on the
short grass at about the same time (Pre thunderstorm) and began feeding there.
It too began to move closer. So now I have a situation where I can photograph
incredibly close Wood Sand and Yellow Wag at the same time, talk about being
spoilt for choice.
-Yellow Wagtail
The yellow wagtails stay was not very long though, less
than 10 mins for definite, and it had left before the wood sand reached maximum
closeness. To say I had seen nothing while I had been there last time, this had
been quite some day. But despite the suaveness of the Wood Sand, and despite
the views of the Yellow Wag, what really got me truly excited was when a snipe
flew across and landed in front of the hide. Snipe are one of my favourite
birds. They are so comical, and yet seem to have so much character. And their
plumage is also subtly beautiful, and that was what really caught me with this
bird since it was so close and seemed so fresh. I did not really get any great
shots, but post thunderstorm another bird dropped in and this one was a bit
showier, though the light was now against me. I think though that it is safe to
say that my love for the snipe has been re-kindled.
-Snipe
Once the thunderstorm had passed I decided to head off in
order to download my pictures and gather my things before the annual Spurn BBQ.
I spent a couple of hours at the BBQ before I had to leave for my shift. I
actually left a bit early to see if I could catch any waders on the pond but
there were very few there, only a handful of Redshank, Dunlin and Knot, but
their numbers were very thin on the ground.
So now I sit in the darkness typing this up, reflecting
on the day. Even though it was one of the shortest days I have had at Spurn I
would say it was one of the best. Lifer, a favourite and dramatic conditions
all make for a recipe for a great day. It does also mean that I now have a full
house of British waders, with a few passage exceptions (Phalaropes, Temmincks,
Kentish), who would have predicted that as the start of the year.
The Daily
Oystercatcher
In all the excitement of the day it would be easy to
forget about our beloved Oyks. But fear not, I have not forgotten them, though
there is very little to tell. From what I have seen of them today they have no
really done anything out of the ordinary, spending a lot of time feeding and
moving about. The chicks are almost as big as the adults now and it is getting
difficult to tell them apart in low light. My babies are growing up too fast…
Species List:
Beacon Ponds:
Little Egret, Dunlin, Knot, Oystercatcher, Sandwich Tern, Mute Swan, Redshank,
Seawatching: Sandwich
Tern, Great Skua, Common Scoter, Linnet, Sand Martin, Swallow, Oystercatcher,
Common Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull,
Canal Scrape: Common
Sandpiper, Snipe, Swallow, Mute Swan, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Whitethroat, Sand
Martin, Linnet, Blackbird, Wood Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail, Magpie, Feral Pigeon,
Starling, Coot, Black-Headed Gull, Sedge Warbler, Grey Plover, Dunlin,
Redshank, Sandwich Tern, Little Egret, Whimbrel,
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