My
intention had been to spend the bank holiday weekend at Spurn as a last goodbye
before I return to Brazil, but with work completed I decided to extend my
visit, so made the trip across on the Wednesday. This worked out rather nicely
in the end, as a Death’s Head Hawkmoth had been trapped in Easington overnight and
was set to be shown at lunchtime. After a quick walk around Soil Hill I made my
way over in plenty of time to see the moth, the largest in the UK. Sadly due to
the number of people present we could not antagonise it and so did not hear its characteristic ‘squeak’,
but still awesome to see this rare migrant none the less.
Once the
moth had been seen I made my way to Beacon Lane to catch up with the Greenish
Warbler that had been around for a few days. Unfortunately the wind was blowing
right into the dell where the bird was, and it had become extremely elusive,
but after an hour of looking I finally got some brief glimpses where it perched
out nicely before it plunged back into the thicket. The photos I managed to get
were very dark but helpfully all the features are on full display. This is a British
tick for me, and the first time I have photographed this species. Subsequently
I waited an additional half an hour before deciding it was a waste of time and
went back for some lunch.
These were the two highlights of the week, largely in part
to the weather, which was a brisk northerly the whole time I was present. Normally
this would mean good potential for seabirds but alas the overall passage on the
sea was quite muted. There were a few Sooty Shearwaters which are always smart,
as well as a couple of Arctic Skuas. Ringing was also hampered by the weather,
but a Barred Warbler that we caught certainly livened things up. Tree Sparrows
and Willow Warblers made up the bulk of the numbers, with a scattering of Sedge
and Reed Warblers completing the migrant contingent. One afternoon we went out
to capture Mute Swan chicks, which was a lot of fun although due to
complications with the rings we only ringed half of the birds we caught.
There were a few none birds as well. It was good to see my
second ever Spurn Common Seal on the Humber, although it was as difficult to
photograph as the last one which was in the surf off the breach. Dragonflies
were thin on the ground but a Ruddy Darter in Church Field was nice. Despite
the cool weather it was good to see a Barred Grass Snake out on Beacon Lane
whilst I was waiting for the Greenish Warbler.
Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Arctic Skua, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Sooty Shearwater, Northern Gannet, Little Egret, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Eurasian Hobby, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Willow Warbler, Greenish Warbler, Garden Warbler, Barred Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Pied Flycatcher, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Western Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Seal, Grey Seal, Brown Hare, Roe Deer, Red Fox, Barred Grass Snake, Common Blue-tailed Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Migrant Hawker, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter,
That looks like you've had quite a good few days ..... and 'what a moth' a real beauty.
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