After a bit 3 Swans came in off the ponds. 2 were presumably the local Mute Swans from the ponds but a Whooper Swan had joined them from somewhere. The 3 Swans remained on the wetlands for at least as long as I did, gradually coming closer to the hide until they were right in front of it and I could get some reasonable shots of the Whooper. In the morning light all 3 birds looked fantastic.
-Whooper Swan
The only other change in the bird fauna was when a Merlin flew over the wetlands sending all the waders up. I then moved round onto the ponds but they were pretty quiet with only a few ducks on, It was nice to see the site again though after not having worked there for a couple of months now.
I made my way down Beacon Lane and then to Numpties to see the others. Along Beacon Lane there was not much really, a couple of Goldcrests. Along the walk down to the warren there was also not much, a couple of Stonechats on the fences near the Borrow Pits being the only real birds of note.
Once I arrived at Numpties it was already about 10.00. Passage was pretty quiet, and had been all morning apparently. There were a few geese moving through though. I spent pretty much the rest of the day up there counting the geese with some impressive Skeins going through, including one of 500 birds. There were also a few other bits and pieces, including Rock Pipits, of which Tim was trying to Spring trap some along the top of the path. He succeeded too, as we caught 2 birds in total.
-Pink-Footed Goose
There were some birds moving, but the highest count was only 105 Goldfinch. As a result it was a slow afternoon. I did spurn tick Brambling though, and got to get a record shot of Harbor Porpoise at last, as 2 spent the majority of the afternoon just chilling offshore.
-Harbor Porpoise
By late afternoon, Daniel Wade and I decided to try Canal Scrape to see if there were any jack snipe. There were not, and not many birds at all really. It was rewarding though as the limpy Redshank flew in while we were there. Having not seen it yesterday I had wondered if it had been eaten, especially since I saw a cat on the scrape but it appears that is not the case as yet.
After about half an hour in the hide we moved on. Since there were no birds about really we decided to go and have a look for the yellow-browed warbler that had been seen in the Crown car park. We did not see it or anything else there really. As a result I decided to head off and take my tent down in preparation for leaving.
However, on my way up it all kicked off. I got a text from Oli Simms telling me about a Grey Phalarope up near Easington. I knew it was a trek but decided I had nothing else to do and so prepared myself for the walk along long bank. Had I done this I would have been one of the first to arrive at a much rarer bird, but I was rescued this and offered a lift up to the Phalarope. Once there it took us some time to work out where it had gone as it had apparently moved up the beach. It was here that I also learned about a Raddes Warbler on long bank...
I had not brought my scope but kindly got to borrow Steve's and got a reasonable view of the Phalarope. It was clear to tell what it was, as it fed in the surf along the edge of the sea. It was another much needed lifer. But since it was so far away we did not stay long but moved on to the Raddes. Steve gave me a lift there and we were soon at the site where it was.
It was very skulky and not showing unless flushed. Tim organised a flush for when everyone had arrived before trying to get the bird out. We did manage to get it out but it flew and then went straight back down, making it difficult to get good views of. The colour was easy to appreciate but that was pretty much the only feature that we could make out. We flushed again but the bird dived back in immediately this time too. After the second flush I decided to call it quits, as did many others. The light was going and I though it would probably be right to let the bird settle down rather than to go chasing it round. Either way, its another nice lifer from the weekend!
The light had pretty much gone by the time I had my tent down and we spent most of the journey home in the dark. It has been a great weekend, met some more NGB's, got another 4 lifers, seen a whale and counted a lot of birds. It does not get much better than that.
Species List:
Kilnsea Wetlands: Lapwing, Curlew, Little Egret, Skylark, Dunlin, Black-Headed Gull, Redshank, Whooper Swan, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Teal, Knot, Mallard, Magpie, Brent Geese, Shelduck, Merlin, Grey Plover, Stonechat,
Vis-Migging: Brambling, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Linnet, Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Wigeon, Teal, Pink-Footed Goose, Rook, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon,
Mooching About: Redshank, Swallow, Goldcrest, Grey Phalarope, Whooper Swan, Brent Goose, Mediterranean Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Raddes Warbler
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