Spurn Bird Observatory

  Between Monday and Thursday, I spent a few days visiting Spurn to catch up with old friends. This time there was no mega that arrived simultaneously with me, but there were a few nice birds and a lot of nice insects. I spent most of my time checking the various ponds and waterways to tot up exactly how many dragonflies and damselflies there were on the wing.

  That said there were still a few birds around. A Great Egret was enjoying life on Canal Scrape before roosting at Pancho’s Pond at night. There were also a large number of terns around, mostly Little Tern and Sandwich Tern but also a pair of cracking Roseate Terns that were delightful to watch during one afternoon. The birding highlight though was finally adding Red-legged Partridge to my Spurn list. I had been checking the local fields from the vantage point of the observatory tower but had neither seen nor heard anything. Then one evening as we were ringing Swallows and Sand Martins in Sykes Field I heard the distinctive call of a single Red-legged Partridge in the fields on the far side of the road. I rushed across and spotted the bird making a break for it across the recently cut North Field. A long-awaited addition to my Spurn list finally falls.  

  On the insect front I managed to record up to 10 species of Odonata on each day, which will help greatly when it comes to writing the report this year. The highlight were the Small Red-eyed Damselflies. Initially we could only find them distantly on Canal Scrape, their usual hangout, but we then subsequently found them in Sykes Field and a single on Clubleys Scrape, both new sites for the species. Emerald Damselflies were also in good numbers, and among the throngs of Common Darter it was possible to find the occasional Ruddy. I also did a full area count of Emperor Dragonflies and managed to get 45 adults flying around, a new area record by more than 10 insects. 

-Great Egret

-Common Lizard

-Ruddy Darter

-Emperor Dragonfly

-Emerald Damselfly

-Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Species List:
Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Mallard, Red-legged Partridge, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Golden Plover, Eurasian Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot, Dunlin, Common Redshank, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Roseate Tern, Common Tern, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Common Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, Roe Deer, Brown Hare, Red Fox, Emerald Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue-tailed Damselfly, Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Four-spot Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Ruddy Darter, Common Darter,