Spurn Bird Observatory

Having been away from Spurn for some time I knew a visit would be in order at some point, it was just a question of when. And when a Collared Flycatcher, a potential world tick, was found in the morning I decided to head over, after a morning visit to Soil Hill, to arrive at lunchtime to enjoy what turned out to be a fantastic days birding.

I took a few notes on the Collared Flycatcher;

A particularly cryptic individual, were it not caught it would have undoubtedly gone unnoticed.

The bird was trapped and ringed in the morning, and then re-caught slightly later confirming that it had remained present after the initial ringing process. In the hand the white extension through the primary bases and the wing length were diagnostic of Collared Flycatcher as opposed to Pied Flycatcher. Further details on this can be found here; https://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/news/post.php?s=2020-08-10-1cy-female-collared-flycatcher-10th-august-2020

Unfortunately, I was not present at the birds capture and as such was restricted to poor field views. This already subtle identification was made trickier by the fact that there were three other Pied Flycatchers trapped during the morning, and at least one of these also lingered during the day. The Collared Flycatcher took up residence in front of the trap, which is where I observed from. There was indeed a ringed Ficedula flycatcher in this area but views were poor making it difficult to determine if this was the Collared Flycatcher. I am happy that this was indeed the Collared Flycatcher for reasons I will elaborate on;

Although there are no obvious features, it was clear that this bird did indeed have white extending down the primary bases but this was not always clear and was by no means extensive as in a typical Collared Flycatcher. However, despite this it extends down the wing appearing to reach the primaries nearer the edge of the wing. Given that in the hand the white on P3 was minimal this would have been impossible to observe in the field, but from the few photos I was able to obtain the bird in front of the trap does appear to show white to at least P5 and gives the impression of having white in P4 as well. The trap bird also had noticeably broad white tips to the coverts, which while not diagnostic, are a good indicator and one of the more easily observable features in the field.

Another key feature of this trap bird is that it was a first-year female, as was the Collared Flycatcher. The pattern of the white on the tertials and the lack of black on the rump are clear in the photos I was able to obtain, clearly show this.

It is interesting that were it not caught this bird would have gone unnoticed and it that field identification is more a factor of matching up the features seen to those observed on the bird while it was in the hand, rather than demonstrating obvious Collared Flycatcher features. Certainly an interesting bird.

--Despite the plumage and biometrics, the bird was DNA analysed and it turned out to be a normal Pied Flycatcher, not even a hybrid. As Martin Garner used to say, your always learning--

While the Flycatcher was certainly educational the supporting cast really stole the show with a molting adult White-winged Tern, a very nice Pectoral Sandpiper, Icterine Warbler, Red-backed Shrike, 2 Spoonbill, Great Egret, 2 Little Stint and an August Redwing that flew across the road in front of me. The Pectoral Sandpiper was the standout being a favorite bird of mine. Absolutely brilliant birding when it just seemed to never end. 

-Pied Flycatcher

-Pectoral Sandpiper

-White-winged Tern

-Icterine Warbler

-Red-backed Shrike

Complete Species List:
Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Little Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Little Stint, Pectoral Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Mew Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Little Tern, White-winged Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill, Common Kestrel, Red-backed Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Icterine Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Common Starling, Redwing, European Robin, European Pied Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, Northern Wheatear, House Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, Red Crossbill, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,