Spurn Day 57

Today was going to be a busy day preparing for the festival and as such I knew that I was not going to be able to do much birding. I therefore awoke early in order to get as much in as possible. The seawatching was as quiet as it has been recently. 

However things quickly picked up when news came through that an unbelievable bird had been caught at Churchfield. They had caught a Wryneck, and were showing it off in a few mins. I got a lift with Andy and we headed up there. We did not have to wait the 10mins, as most people were already there and since it was so early we were not expecting any none regulars.

When the bird was brought out the first thing that struck me was the way its neck moved, hence the name. It reminded me of a snake in some way. After a bit though it stopped moving its neck and just settled down for us to watch it in a more natural position. It did seem much longer and thinner than they have done in the field but that may have been as a result of its current predicament. 

It was the undoubted highlight of all the birds that I had seen being ringed during my time at spurn, but due to the fact that it was so early in the morning I was unable to get any crystal clear photos as the light was too poor and the bird was very mobile. Either way though it was special to see and well worth the early morning. 

-Wryneck

I then headed back to the seawatching via the canal until the time came to go shopping. Just as we were setting off Tim reported that he may have a greenish warbler but that he needed help to relocate the bird. We headed over that way to help him look.

When the Wryneck had been released it flew off over towards Kew villa, over westward. When we were walking down the canal towards to Tim, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a medium Brown Bird flying behind me. I turned and got bins on it as it alighted in a small tree. As soon as I picked it up I knew it was Wryneck. I let Andy know and we had a good look at it as it perched there before we headed towards Tim. Just as I turned Andy said 'did it have a ring?', In the excitement of seeing the bird I ha forgotten this key feature, but when I turned around the bird had gone. I tried to re-locate it but I was unable to do so and so gave up. The Question of whether or not the bird was a new one or the same one remained to be answered. This mystery took another turn when 2 Wrynecks were seen in that area later in the day, one with and one without a ring on. Perhaps I had found a new bird, or perhaps not. We will never know, but it was exciting to find my own even if it was not a new bird.

The greenish warbler was never refound and so we headed off shopping. When we came back I was dropped off to wander down to the warren along the canal, without my radio. When I arrived back at the warren I turned my radio on to find no message. Unbeknownst to me a third wryneck had been caught in the warren right next to me and I had no idea. How frustrating!

The afternoon was spent putting up the main Marquee, and as such we were not able to do much birding. However in the evening I came along to help Paul and Tim do some Yellow Wagtail and Swallow ringing. It was lovely to see the Yellow Wagtails in the hand, though the light was poor and I was unable to get any decent photos.

-Yellow Wagtail

Species List:

Canal Side: Yellow Wagtail, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard,