Spurn Week 18

Spurn 17.10.2016

With the week starting up again, the pressure on the twitch was reduced, allowing me to wake up at a normal time. The Siberian Accentor was still present, remarkably really, but the number of people who came to see it was vastly reduced from what it had been. We started by having a fairly casual stroll down the triangle, which did not yield massive results but watching two Lapland Buntings mobbing a Kestrel was something pretty special.

We ended up down at Numpties in good Vis-mig conditions. 900+ Tree Sparrows, 700+ Goldfinch, 500+ Linnets plus plenty of other things! It was a great mornings birding, with a wide variety of species. Skylarks were one of the main species moving, coming through it small flocks infrequently.

-Tree Sparrow

-Skylark

-Rook

-Sparrowhawk

It was whilst we were standing there that news came through that a probable Isabelline Wheatear at the Easington Boatyard. I grabbed a lift up as soon as, and when we arrived up there the identification was all but confirmed. The bird was showing fairly well in a field just down from long bank. Even having seen one before it was really informative listening to the birders run through all the features of the identification of this tricky species. All were satisfied in the end and we settled down to watch another mega rarity grace the area in this autumn of all autumns. Wheatears are obviously my favourite birds and to have the privilege of seeing the Uks second rarest for the second time in three years is a massive privilege.

-Isabelline Wheatear

After an hour or so we decided to move on. We chose to walk back via the lagoons in the hope of picking something like a shore lark up. Whilst we were walking down we picked up a pair of Bean Geese flying south low enough to grab a few photos of them. Cracking to see more of these rare geese during this small influx! The radio then crackled into life that a Glossy Ibis had been photographed flying south from Easington within the last hour. It did not take long before it had been picked up circling over Wetlands. We picked it up quickly and watched it descend onto the wetlands itself. We dashed along, cutting out most of the rest of our walk, the only additional bird we saw was a Grasshopper Warbler, in order to arrive and see it before it decided to move on again. We crept up on it from long bank and were able to get fantastic views before it lifted off and continued south.

-Tundra Bean Geese

-Glossy Ibis

By now it was early afternoon and I headed into Withernsea with Paul to finally get some shopping done. Upon my return I decided to try for the apparently showy dusky warbler down the point. Alas it was not showing when I got down there but that could be the result of a sudden downpour that went through before I arrived, and the fact that it was early evening. A Woodcock and a very tame Robin were the best of my trip down the point.

Species List:

Triangle: Common Snipe, Ring Ouzel, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Shore Lark, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Brambling, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Goldcrest, Moorhen, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Mediterranean Gull, Goosander, Mallard, Skylark, Rook, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting,

Easington Lagoons & Kilnsea Wetlands: Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Tundra Bean Goose, Mallard, Glossy Ibis, Wigeon, Song Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, Grasshopper Warbler, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting,

Spurn Peninsula: Woodcock, Robin, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Chiffchaff, Wren, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Brent Goose,

Spurn 18.10.2016

A westerly wind and the prospect of showers throughout the day meant that Jonnie and myself finally got to Hull to do all the odd jobs that we had been putting off during the extended easterly period. We arrived back at the observatory just as heavy rain set in. As a result the only birds I saw today was a flock of Pink-footed Geese that were pushed through by the storm as it approached. Tomorrow I intend to make up for my lack of birding today.

Spurn 19.10.2016

A full day of birding as opposed to yesterday’s none birding day. I was a little sluggish getting going in the morning but decided to pay a visit to the two Megas still gracing Easington with their presence. On the way up Easington Straight my attention was drawn to a flock of swans on Kilnsea Wetlands. I checked them out to find 7 Whooper Swans there, which I scoped to prevent any possible disturbance.

-Whooper Swan

My first port of call was to the Isabelline Wheatear, but it had just rained and the bird was hardly looking at its glamorous best. It came fairly close but was incredibly mobile and difficult to phone-scope. I grabbed a few and managed a few more with the actual camera. It’s an improvement on what I had but regardless it’s still great to see such a rare bird again, plus it’s a wheatear, which is always a win.

-Isabelline Wheatear

After an hour or so with the Wheatear I headed off to look at the Siberian Accentor again. It showed well where it was for about 2 mins before it flew into the Gas Compound where it proved more elusive as it scurried through cover on the far side of the fence. I managed to get a few photos of it but it’s not really an improvement on what I had before. I spent about 2 hours with it, with an hours break in between for lunch. Both times it remained in the Gas Compound, restricting my ability to photograph it, and it remained obscured for most of the time I was present.

-Siberian Accentor

After that it was mid-afternoon, so I headed down to the Wetlands to count the ducks. Nothing really any different was on offer, but there continued to be decent numbers of Wigeon and a few Shoveler were nice.

Species List:

Easington: Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Swallow, House Martin, Siberian Accentor, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull,

Kilnsea Wetlands: Whooper Swan, Shoveler, Starling, Mallard, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Linnet, Goldfinch, Pied Wagtail, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Knot, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie,

Spurn 20.10.2016

After nearly a week of gracing us with its presence, today was the day the Siberian Accentor finally chose to leave Easington for pastures new. Alas, it was not seen this morning, or for any of the rest of the day.

I struggled to think where to go first thing so went round Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds counting the wildfowl and waders. There were good numbers of both, as would be expected, but there was nothing outstanding among them. Almost 1000 Dunlin, 250+ Wigeon and 200+ Curlew were the highest counts.

After my walk there I made my way round the triangle counting up everything that I saw. The highlight was a cracking Purple Sandpiper feeding with the Turnstones around the Tank Blocks. I should probably have tried harder to get better photos given how close it was but in the end I just got a few phone-scoped shots.

-Purple Sandpiper

The afternoon was mainly spent doing odd jobs and sorting out the bits and pieces I needed to. After all, it is supposed to go east again at the weekend and I do not want jobs to be hanging over my head during that time.

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands & Beacon Ponds: Mallard, Shoveler, Wigeon, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Teal, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Knot, Redshank, Common Snipe, Greenshank, Little Grebe, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Redwing, Pied Wagtail, Linnet, Goldfinch, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Curlew,

Triangle: Goldcrest, Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Mallard, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Robin, Redwing, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wren, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret,

Spurn 21.10.2016

Having had such an exceptional autumn it does make one wonder how it could get any better. The answer became clear early morning when a Siberian Stonechat was found only a few meters away from the Isabelline Wheatear. We headed up to find the stonechat showing extremely well in the beachside scrub. As a result I was able to get some nice frame filling photos of it. The subspecies was the nominate for Siberian Stonechat; maurus. Not only was it a stunning bird, but it was also extremely educational and I learned a lot about this species.

-Siberian Stonechat

The Isabelline Wheatear was still present but sadly the farmer was spraying his field and so my time with the bird was cut short. Even so, it’s still so cool to have so many rare birds all next to each other. Once it had been flushed by the farmer I headed down long bank to see if I could find anything. Sadly I was unable to find the mega that I dreamed, but finding a couple of female Scaup on Beacon Ponds was nice. They were sat nice and close fairly close to the bank. Unfortunately none of my photos really came out. As a result I went back in the afternoon to grab some more photos of them. When we were there, we were also treated to cracking views of Twite sitting up on the trees at the back of Kilnsea Wetlands.

-Scaup

-Twite

Species List:

Easington Lagoons, Beacon Ponds & Kilnsea Wetlands: Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Siberian Stonechat, Twite, Linnet, House Sparrow, Scaup, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Mute Swan, Brent Goose, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Twite, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Knot, Pied Wagtail, Lapland Bunting, Long-tailed Tit, Grey Wagtail, Little Grebe, Rook, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk,

Spurn 22.10.2016

With the plan being to go into Hull for a night out it was not my intention to go hard for the days birding. A casual walk round the triangle followed by a little cooking and pre-partying was the plan. However, all that very quickly fell apart when news began to slowly filter through from the point of a possible, then probable Stejneger’s Stonechat.

The prospect of a first for Yorkshire, albeit a subspecies (Although a likely split), was enough to drag me away from my relaxed day. Stejneger’s Stonechat is a difficult to identify race of Siberian Stonechat, but substantially rarer. The bird would need to be trapped to gather DNA required or confirmed identification. When I got there the effort was already underway but the bird was proving mobile and difficult to muster. The afternoon was largely spent trying to shepherd the bird into the net, but we ultimately failed. However, the situation was salvaged and DNA was collected.

Whilst stood in the buckthorn whilst a new plan was concocted through the radios to try and trap it, the bird sat up not far from me. Whilst there I observed it have a little poo, and that gave me an inspiration. I radioed asking if it was worth me going in to collect it and this was met with a very positive response. I made my way and unbelievably found the poo on a leaf at the top, as opposed to it having fallen through the scrub. With the bird continuing to prove difficult the trapping idea was all but abandoned, despite the bird returning to the net area springing new hope.

-Stejneger’s Stonechat

DNA now collected, the excitement was only growing. A potential fourth for Britain was hopping around in the scrub, and we would not have to rely of field identification of this extremely tricky subspecies. With the net still up there was still hope of trapping the bird, but when Tim checked his net, it was not the Stonechat he found at the bottom but a Dusky Warbler. Having missed basically all of the birds during the influx I was pretty excited to finally get a proper look at this species. It was shown to a reasonable crowd given we were right at the point but the bird was a nice sitter and I was able to learn a lot about this tricky species.

-Dusky Warbler

After the warbler was released attention returned to the Stonechat but it was still not playing ball and I decided it was probably going to be more worth my while staying. As a result I headed back up to the Obs for a nap.

Species List:

Spurn Peninsula: Siberian Stonechat (Stejneger’s), Dusky Warbler, Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Chiffchaff, Robin, Blackbird, Goldcrest

Spurn 23.10.2016

After a night out in Hull celebrating Jonnies birthday, I was in something of a state when I awoke at the stupidly early time of half 8. I decided that rather than waste my time feeling rough in bed, I’d rather spend my time feeling rough in the field. I headed off to wetlands to count the wildfowl but whilst there I found statistically the rarest bird I have found at Spurn so far this autumn; a Hooded Crow. I was stunned, but there was no doubt about the identification. It hopped about on the wetlands for a few minutes before it took off and headed south. It was picked up on the saltmarsh not long after and spent the rest of the day blogging in the area.

-Hooded Crow

From mid-morning to early afternoon I stayed at the obs feeling sorry for myself. By mid-afternoon I decided to head out for a walk with Sarah. We saw a few bits and pieces, Snow Bunting was nice, but the highlight was two very showy Twite on the deck at the back of Sandy Beaches caravan park. My intention was to try and get some close photos, but I made the mistake of radioing them out and was soon overwhelmed by an unexpected number of birders and photographers, so we decided to leave them. We headed off round Beacon Ponds but did not find anything much different, although the two Scaup were still present.

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands, Holderness Field & Beacon Ponds: Mute Swan, Jackdaw, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Hooded Crow, Grey Plover, Knot, Dunlin, Curlew, Twite, Linnet, Snow Bunting, Goldfinch, Little Egret, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Starling, Scaup, Brent Goose, Sanderling, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, 

Spurn Week 17

Spurn 10.10.2016

For the first time in over a week the winds changed from Easterly to northerly. That being said, the winds were only northerly in this immediate area, but it did result in a clear-out of birds, especially the rarer birds.

Seawatching in the morning produced very little, and my walk round the triangle produced a Yellow-browed Warbler in the crown, which was the best of the clear-out. The real highlight was a Common Snipe threat displaying to a Meadow Pipit on canal scrape. It was insane to watch, really quite comical. I ended up doing most of my outstanding odd jobs, like writing up my tern report piece and sorting out the garden.

Species List:

Triangle: Siskin, Robin, Song Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Snipe, Meadow Pipit, Wren, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Skylark, Mallard, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Moorhen, Blackcap, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock,

Spurn 11.10.2016

The Easterlies theme continued, and with renewed vigour after yesterday’s northerly interruption. I started the morning down at Seawatching but that was completely dead. As a result I decided to walk round the triangle, which was more successful with plenty of Robins and other common migrants. The walk round was unfortunately punctuated by the presence of rarer birds. The first was a Mealy Redpoll trapped at the warren. Having only ever seen one previously this was an opportunity not to be missed. I cycled down to see a cracking looking bird in the hand, well worth diverting the trip for. I had just started up again when shouts came out of a Hawfinch in the obs garden. As opposed to recent reports, which had been flyovers, this bird was settled down, and after a short wait I finally connected with this elusive finch.

-Mealy Redpoll

The real highlight of the morning however was one of my most wanted to see in the hand birds, and given how obscured my views were on Sunday basically lifer it. Pallas Warbler! One was trapped at Churchfield, allowing me to get up close to this stunning little bird. At absolute cracker! One of my favourite birds to have seen in the hand.

-Pallas's Warbler

In the afternoon I went up to wetlands to count the wildfowl. I was about half way through when the radio buzzed that there was a Woodchat Shrike down the point. This was a lifer so I paced it down on my bike and was one of the few people to connect with the bird before it did a bunk. In the field it was distant but showed well. Another lifer to add to the collection gathered during these easterlies.

As alluded to before, the bird did go missing mid-afternoon and was not relocated until almost everyone had left, myself included. I had just returned to the warren when the last birder looking reported that it had found its way into the trap. I was talking to Adam at the time, and he decided that he was going to cycle down and sort the bird out. It was basically dark by the time we arrived down there, and only myself, Adam and Steve Web were there. The bird was ringed and shown in the light of the ringing lab, not ideal but still enough to get a couple of photos.

-Woodchat Shrike

Species List:

Triangle: Pallas Warbler, Hawfinch, Mealy Redpoll, Robin, Redwing, Song Thrush, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Yellow-browed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Dunnock, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Brambling, Chaffinch, Common Snipe, Meadow Pipit, Little Egret, Gannet, Common Scoter, Mallard, Moorhen, Teal, Wigeon, Brent Goose,

Kilnsea Wetlands: Redstart, Goldcrest, Lapwing, Greenshank, Wheatear, Black-tailed Godwit, Wigeon, Mallard, Golden Plover, Little Egret, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Ruff, Shoveler, Teal, Robin, Blackcap, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Woodpigeon,

Spurn Peninsula: Mealy Redpoll, Reed Bunting, Robin, Goldcrest, Woodchat Shrike, Brambling, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Redwing, Song Thrush, Fieldfare,

Spurn 12.10.2016

A more mixed bag of showers and sunshine, along with the continued easterlies. Birds continued to be around in good numbers, especially robins. I started at Seawatching and got a few nice bits and pieces. A Black Throated Diver went south, and a Great Northern Diver and 2 Sooty Shearwaters went north. I stuck it out for an hour and then headed back to Obs. Initially I was going to walk the triangle but instead decided to spend the morning doing odd jobs for the obs.

By the afternoon I decided it was time to go birding again and so headed off to the Wetlands to count the ducks. A report of bean geese sent me up to Holderness field and around Beacon Ponds, allowing me to gather a full count of the wildfowl in the area. The undoubted highlight was a smashing 435 Wigeon, most of which were on Holderness field. 5 Canada Geese and a single Barnacle were also a nice addition. The best bird was a Twite that flew over me calling, Spurn and yeartick.

Species List:

Seawatch: Guillemot, Razorbill, Gannet, Sooty Shearwater, Common Scoter, Great Northern Diver, Red-throated Diver, Common Tern, Kittiwake, Black-throated Diver, Wigeon, Jackdaw,

Kilnsea Wetlands, Holderness Field and Beacon Ponds: Chiffchaff, Woodpigeon, Robin, Redwing, Lapwing, Ruff, Wigeon, Teal, Mute Swan, Little Egret, Greenshank, Redstart, White Wagtail, Sparrowhawk, Goldcrest, Fieldfare, Shoveler, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Twite, Song Thrush, Greylag Goose, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Grebe, Golden Plover, Grey Plover,

Spurn 13.10.2016

The rain started today, and it did not stop until after lunch. I was in no rush to get up but decided to head off to Kilnsea Wetlands and count the Wigeon early morning, followed by a walk around Easington Lagoons looking for shore larks. Sadly wildfowl numbers were well down on yesterday and there were no shore larks. The best of it was a very confiding Twite that I stumbled across whilst walking along, without doubt the best encounter I have had with this species.

The rain continued, and after unsuccessfully twitching a raddes warbler at Sammies point I made my way back to the Obs, fairly glum feeling not to lie. There was a paddyfield warbler at Flamborough and it seemed like it might be on the cards for the afternoon if nothing else happened. I did get a Spurn tick when four White-fronted Geese flew over the observatory.

-White-fronted Goose

Just after lunch Paul caught a Firecrest. I went round to have a look at it, which was great as nobody else was there. Nick and Sandra Carter came round and got to have a really good look at the stunning bird. 

-Firecrest

The paddyfield did not happen in the end, Tim decided it looked too good at Spurn and that we were going to stay. In hindsight this was the best decision ever made.  I decided to have a wander down to the bluebell and see if there was anything round there, when the radio crackled into life with a message that I will never forget…

‘Is everybody listening? I don’t want to cause alarm but there is a Siberian Accentor in Easington now, in front of me. Please can someone come and see this for me’

The message was calm and composed but obviously Lance, who found it, was extremely tense. I immediately began running back to the Obs, hoping that someone would drive past me. Within seconds John Wozencroft was coming down the road and I jumped in with him. The whole area obviously seemed in shock at what they had just heard.

I jumped out of the car at the described location and wandered up, four other birders were there. There, right in front of us, was only Britain’s second Siberian Accentor. It was hopping around on a tarmac slab right in front of us, with only about 20 people there. It was surreal. Nobody could quite believe what had happened.

-Siberian Accentor

Over the afternoon the bird continued to show well and more birders began to arrive, steadily at first but picking up towards the evening as people finished work and people travelling from further distances arrived. In the end about 150 people saw the bird before dark. It was an incredible atmosphere and an incredible bird. To be on the other side of possibly one of the largest twitches ever was a unique experience and possibly something I will never experience again. What a fantastic day. What a fantastic bird…

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands, Beacon Ponds, Easington Lagoons:

Easington: Robin, Goldcrest, Dunnock, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Siberian Accentor,

Spurn 14.10.2016

Early am. I set my alarm for half 6 with the plan to be up in Easington for management at about half 7. However, at about half 6 Tim came running up to the caravan telling us to get up and that Easington was already chaos.

As a result the rest of the morning was spent doing our best to manage the twitchers cars as they pulled into Easington. On the whole we did the best we could and people applauded our efforts. It wasn’t until 10 that parking was considered done, and as a result I was allowed to leave and go birding. Just in time, as the first Dusky Warbler of what would be a minor influx had been caught and was being shown off. Over 300 people turned up to view the bird, and as a result views were distant but it was the only Dusky I saw all day, and it was a lifer so I was not complaining.

I headed back for lunch, and it was just after that I was summoned to do some more martialing. This time though I was stationed at the bird itself, and my duty was simply to watch the bird and occasionally shake the donations bucket. Hardly a hard job. It means I got to spend another 3 hours with the star of the show…

-Siberian Accentor

After my three hours were up I headed down to the triangle to pick up all the goodies found during the day. The Dusky warblers were a little too popular (The crowds too big) but I went and added Shore Lark to my spurn list with a superbly showy bird in the bluebell carpark, followed by ticking Tundra Bean Goose with 8 on the Humber shore. One of the geese could have been a taiga but the consensus seems to be a Tundra with an aberrant bill, structurally it did not look right for taiga. That was all I saw in the afternoon, but a cracking days birding none the less. Great for visiting birders that’s for sure.

-Shore Lark

-Tundra Bean Goose

Species List:

Easington: Siberian Accentor, Brambling, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Dunnock, Woodcock, Woodpigeon,

Triangle: Shore Lark, Dusky Warbler, Lesser Redpoll, Bean Goose, Skylark, Swallow, Brent Goose, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Robin, Redwing, Song Thrush, Fieldfare, Wren, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Siskin,

Spurn 15.10.2016

With yesterday’s experience under our belts we were able to better prepare for the Saturdays twitch. The system worked and we were able to coordinate our efforts so that on the whole there was no disturbance to the village. I spent all morning at car parking duty, starting at 6 in the morning and finishing off at 15.00. It was a knackering day, so that when I had eventually finished all I did was crash in bed. Whilst on duty I had a right time, seeing Great-grey Shrike, Woodcock and Short-eared Owl. It’s a great place is Spurn.

I made two trips out of bed in the afternoon, one for a Grasshopper Warbler that had been caught. Initially put out as a PG tips, but turned out to just be a regular Gropper. Even so, I was not disappointed, as Grasshopper Warblers are a species I have never seen up close, only ever having being flushed out of the grass. As a result I finally got to see what a Grasshopper Warbler looks like.

The other species I saw was Bearded Tit, a Spurn tick, when three birds were trapped down at the Warren early evening. Incredibly, two of the birds were actually males with full moustaches. Cracking birds to see in the hand.

-Bearded Tit

Species List:

Easington: Great-grey Shrike, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Woodcock, Short-eared Owl, Redwing, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, Robin, Wren, Song Thrush, Fieldfare,

Triangle: Grasshopper Warbler, Ring Ouzel, Lesser Redpoll, Robin, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Bearded Tit, Brambling,

Spurn 16.10.2016

Another morning spent up at the car parking duty. All good fun, and fortunately the day slowed down allowing me to go birding in the afternoon. Just as I got back the heavy rain for the morning started so I decided to have a nap until about half 2.

My afternoon was spent much the same as the previous day, walking round looking at the birds that had been found. I tried initially for the Radde’s Warbler found down the canal, but it was not showing. As a result I headed over towards the Shore Lark showing at the Bluebell. There were two now, and a Black Redstart but they were all much more distant than they had been.

-Raddes Warbler

I headed back to the Radde’s after, and I did finally get to see it. It had apparently been showing well but all I managed to see was it through a bush, an obscured view of its back. That being said I could make out its super, so that was a substantially better view than my previous encounter with this species.

Species List:

Triangle: Radde’s Warbler, Shore Lark, Black Redstart, Redstart, Wren, Robin, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Redwing, Siskin, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, Mute Swan, Mallard, Little Egret,