Spurn for New Years

I decided to spend the New Year at Spurn seeing old friends and getting my yearlist off to a good start. After being there for so long before it felt awesome to be back.

31st December
Called in at Welwick on the way over with Zac and Danni. No sign of the Pallid Harrier, but there was a nice Short-eared Owl perched up, as well as a Merlin. A nice hour or so to kick start to weekend.

1st January 
2017 is here already and the year-listing slate has been wiped clean. First bird of the year this year was Brent Goose, which is a bit different to the last few years back in Halifax. It rained all day and so birding was at a premium. I got a lift with Tim to have a look at a mixed goose flock near Weeton. It contained Bean Geese, Pink-footed Geese and White-fronted Geese. All good species to have on the yearlist, if only they were not so distant, and when I say distant, I mean really distant. On the way back I got a Spurn tick, which was probably the highlight of the weekend. Grey Squirrel! It was feeding on the roadside as we drove back before it scurried into the trees. A pretty insane record, especially since there were no records in the area for 2016.
When the rain finally stopped we had a walk round the triangle and picked up Kittiwake flying over for the yearlist.

2nd January
A much brighter day allowed me to spend more time in the field. Started at Seawatching but it was very quiet on that front, with nothing really to note. I then did the triangle, wetlands, ponds and then the triangle again. Nothing really stood out, the highlight probably a Grey Wagtail on the shoreline at Beacon Ponds, or a Little Owl perched up just outside the area on our way back from visiting a local shop. A pleasant day birding all the same though.

Species List:
Spurn Area: Brent Goose, Great Tit, Redshank, Mallard, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Collard Dove, Blackbird, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Common Gull, Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Curlew, Golden Plover, Magpie, Moorhen, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Bean Goose, Pink-footed Goose, White-fronted Goose, Red-throated Diver, Goldfinch, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, Oystercatcher, Wigeon, Herring Gull, Wren, Great Black-backed Gull, Little Grebe, Kestrel, Teal, Robin, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Kittiwake, Turnstone, Grey Plover, Shelduck, Reed Bunting, Guillemot, Gannet, Common Scoter, Dunlin, Stock Dove, Greylag Goose, Common Snipe, Tree Sparrow, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Goldeneye, Little Egret, Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron, Song Thrush, Common Buzzard, Little Owl,