May at Spurn

After what feels like a global tour I finally returned to Spurn. Because of writing numerous trip reports and working basically full time in the Crown I have had very little time to get out birding, and even less time to write it up for my blog. Here follows a quick summary of all the things that happened at Spurn between my return for May.

May started extremely well. On my first day back I twitched a pair of Temminck’s Stints on Kilnsea Wetlands. This was the first time I have seen this species in Britain, and was one of my biggest tarts on my British list. Sadly they remained on the far side of the wetland, and I took no photos of them, but still excellent to finally see here.

On that same afternoon a slow wander around Holderness Field produced an odd yellow wagtail with a noticeable dark cap. My initial suspicions were that it was a female blue-headed, but after referring to literature and asking the question on Twitter, it was clear that the bird was actually a female Grey-headed Wagtail, which is much rarer and far more exciting. It’s just as well, as I then dipped a male Grey-headed Wagtail on Kilnsea Wetlands that afternoon.

-Grey-headed Wagtail

On the 26^th May a walk round the Triangle coincided with the finding of a Marsh Warbler at the Warren, so we called in for a look at that as part of my pre work walk. It was distant and not vocal, so aside from the fact it had been heard singing earlier in the day, there was not a great deal to go off. An Egyptian Goose also flew over the triangle, which is only the second one I have ever seen.

The 29^th came and with it came thick fog and a young male Golden Oriole, still quite green but with hints of yellow peeking through. It moved up and down the canal in the fog but sadly never went anywhere near the Kew nets that I had open with a tape on. As with the last bird I saw here two years ago it was extremely mobile and never sat for a decent photo.

On the 30^th May I got my second Spurn and British tick in my return when a Savi’s Warbler was found at the south end of the Canal Zone. I was surprised when I was able to get field views, albeit pretty poor views, but in the evening of the 31^st Paul and I went out with a net to try and catch it. We caught it almost immediately, and it was found to be extremely healthy with a fat score of 4. It was no surprise that it was not seen the following day.

-Savi's Warbler

During my time not at work we have had the nets open and have caught a number of cool species besides the Savi’s Warbler, including Wheatear, Spotted and Pied Flycatcher. We targeted other species as well, including the Golden Oriole and Marsh Warbler but sadly we were less successful on that front. 

-Wheatear

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Brent Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Grey Partridge, Pheasant, Fulmar, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Gannet, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Temminck’s Stint, Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Common Tern, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Cuckoo, Swift, Kestrel, Peregrine, Golden Oriole, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Savi’s Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Robin, Pied Flycatcher, Wheatear, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Dunnock, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting,