Spurn Week 18

Because I left for Christmas on the 22^nd this is going to be a very short post! Despite spending a bit of time out in the field, I failed to see a great deal, no real highlights at all.

However, on the night of the 20^th I went wader ringing for the first time. I had a great time, with a reasonable catch of birds of a few different species; Redshank, Dunlin, Knot and Oystercatcher. It’s exciting getting to handle a range of different birds and the experience as a whole was new for me. Hopefully it won’t be long before we are able to do it again.

We tried again for the Tawny Owl resident in Kew. We saw it a couple of times but once again it failed to go into the net. 

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Tufted Duck, Scaup, Goldeneye, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Brent Goose, Greylag Goose, Moorhen, Coot, Little Egret, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Gannet, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common Snipe, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed Bunting, 

Spurn Week 17

Not a great deal happened during the week. Most of my time was spent in Kew doing work, whilst keeping an eye the nets. The number of birds caught was fairly minimal, a few Chaffinch and a Bullfinch being the highlights. A few thrushes coming in off the sea was nice, and there did seem to be a general increase in birds in the area, but we failed to catch any of them

-Brent Goose

The only other birds were on Kilnsea Wetlands, where the two Scaup were still in place along with a very dapper drake Pintail. A fairly slow week on the whole, but given the time of year its hardly a surprise.

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Scaup, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Brent Goose, Moorhen, Coot, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, , House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Reed Bunting,

Spurn Week 16

On the 7^th December the Yellowlegs departed, on the day that I decided to have another look at it. Still, my checking of the areas numerous wetlands did provide me with a number of goodies; a tame female Snow Bunting was nice, as were the two Scaup still in residence on Kilnsea Wetlands. Just the sheer number of wildfowl was also nice, including well over 100 Brent Geese. A Jack Snipe was also a bonus.

-Snow Bunting

On the 8^th I headed down for a weekend away in London with Dan. Whilst the birding down there was obviously limited we did have a good time in the parks. Hand feeding the Squirrels, Robins and Parakeets were great fun. We also recorded the ringed Black-headed Gulls and Coots, as well as any other ringed species we saw. The beauty of the parks is being able to get so close to many species, things like Grey Herons which are often wary were nearly feeding from our hands.

-Grey Squirrel

-Ring-necked Parakeet

I did not get back until late on the 11^th and the 12^th was mainly spent sorting out all the bits and pieces I had missed whilst I was away.

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Scaup, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Brent Goose, Barnacle Goose, Greylag Goose, Moorhen, Coot, Little Egret, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Gannet, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, , Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, , House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Reed Bunting, Snow Bunting,

London: Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Ring-necked Parakeet, Robin, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, 

Spurn Week 15

December is here. And whilst most birders brace themselves for the weariness of winter birding, at Spurn its seems things are only just kicking off. As it was on the first of December that Spurn finally got its new bird for 2017 when Jonnie found a LESSER YELLOWLEGS on the puddle in Northfield, the field two across from Churchfield. I was busy with the nets when the news was announced so was not able to stop and look at the bird for long, but in the afternoon once Paul and I had finished running our errands I went back for another look and was treated to some excellent views by this very smart bird. A very graceful bird; much more delicate than a redshank with spangled plumage like a wood sandpiper. An excellent way to kick off December!

-Lesser Yellowlegs

The 29^th was also an excellent day, but not on the bird front. Spurn awoke to a blanket of snow, the first time I have ever seen it at Spurn. It continued to snow throughout the day, but it was clear that it was not going to last, and by the following morning the vast majority had melted, with the remainder being little more than slush. Still, it was beautiful whilst it lasted, and it caused chaos among the local birds. I was not able to open the nets as a result of everything being so wet but I laid out a spiral trap as I had most mornings in an attempt to catch moorhen. It had an excellent day, catching three Pheasants (Including two at once), a Greenfinch, a Blue Tit and finally the Moorhen, although the bastard slipped out of the trap before I could catch it fully.

-A Snowy Obs

The weekend was taken up by a work party to repair the Churchfield paths. I was responsible for breaking up the large concrete slabs we had been left. It was a thankless job, but we had a few bits and pieces to entertain us whilst we worked, including a Woodcock and a few Snipe, as well as small flocks of Siskin overhead. On the Sunday we caught half the flock in the Heligoland trap, quite by chance, so got to ring 10 Siskin.

-Weekend Work Party

In addition to all that has been going on over the week we have had the nets open most days. A Bullfinch was nice, as was a Blackcap. A German ringed Blackbird was the first of the species that we have controlled this autumn and about time too. We also tried wader ringing, and although we did not catch anything, we did see the Scaup pair that have set up on Kilnsea Wetlands, along with hosts of Curlew, Redshank and Dunlin, as well as the odd Black-tailed Godwit mixed in for good measure. 

-Sunset over the Humber

Species List:

Spurn: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Scaup, Whooper Swan, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Brent Goose, Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common Snipe, Woodcock, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll,