Spurn 30th October - 5th November

Spurn Day 1

For the second day of Lia’s visit we headed to Spurn, to experience the amazing phenomena that is bird migration. As soon as we arrived, we got news that an Isabelline Wheatear was in a field along Kilnsea. Although the bird was distant, we got decent views of it running around a stubble field. We did not stop for long so that we could head towards the ringing station.

Ringing was steady with a few nice birds including a fantastic Water Rail and two Black Redstarts from a group of five feeding along the tank blocks. Later on, in the afternoon, I also ringed a Cormorant that had been bought in to the Obs for the day to be looked after. It was a bit of brute but it was released on the Borrow Pit in the evening. Outside the nets there were also a few nice birds, including a smart Yellow-browed Warbler in the Obs garden. We ended the day by dipping a Bluethroat in the slatmarsh north of the breach.

-Yellow-browed Warbler

-Water Rail

-Black Redstart

Spurn Day 2

We did a normal routine for Lia’s first day at Spurn, with ringing in Churchfield in the morning before heading out birding. The absolute standout bird from the ringing was a gorgeous Icelandic Redwing (Coburni), which I was told was the first processed and documented as an Icelandic at Spurn. Not at all the standout bird that we expected.

Our mornings ringing was interrupted by the reappearance of the Bluethroat from the previous day. Consequently, we sacked off what was a steady ringing period and enjoyed fantastic views of the bird as it crept around the saltmarsh. And from there we carried on birding, heading up to the wetlands for some ducks and as a result finding the Black Brant for the first time in the autumn. Presumably this is the returning individual from previous winters, but it was still nice to spot for the first time this autumn. In the afternoon we headed to Easington Lagoons to look for Snow Buntings, and it did not disappoint with three individuals, two showing very well.

-Icelandic Redwing

-Bluethroat

-Black Redstart

-Common Scoter

-Snow Bunting

-Black Brant

Spurn Day 3

Having had such an excellent day the previous day, today was something of a bump back to earth with rain all day and strong winds. We walked along the beach to look for the Shore Larks reported the previous day, and after a struggle in the wind we finally saw a single individual feeding on the edge of the ponds.

With the rain continuing we struggled to bird during the afternoon but a short trip to Sammies yielded some nice results with a posse of 15 Grey Partridge on Easington Straight. The Little Owl was also still present on the haybales there. In the end we managed to make the most of the poor conditions.

-Shore Lark

Spurn Day 4

After a day away from Spurn at Filey we returned to the action today in fine form. In the morning I made the call to finally catch the bluethroat that had been lingering around the breach. It took no more than a matter of seconds before the bird was in the spring trap and was ringed and being processed. Sadly I held the bird for photos so I wasn’t actually able to take any myself. In addition, we also caught three Yellowhammer and a Bullfinch to complete an excellent morning.

After ringing we tried to see the Pallas’s Warbler that was in Easington. The bird was mobile and difficult, plus it was always against the light, but its still a Pallas’s Warbler so it was absolutely stunning. A flock of Long-tailed Tits numbering around 30 individuals also flew past at close quarters giving amazing views. During the afternoon we tried to find some Cettis Warblers that were around Sammies but we failed to find any.

-Yellowhammer

-Pallas's Warbler

-Long-tailed Tit

Spurn Day 5

Early morning conditions were pretty grim so we first headed to wetlands where we again found a low number of ducks. The Black Brant was still on Long Bank Marsh which once again showed nicely. After a few hours we headed down to the Warren to open nets and look for some twite. While we failed on the latter, opening the nets caught us two Fieldfare which were awesome birds for Lia to ring.

For the evening we headed to Welwick Saltmarsh to see any raptors that came in to roost. We had at least for Short-eared Owls, Merlin, Peregrine, Marsh Harrier and Buzzard completing an excellent day out.

-Black Brant

-Reed Bunting

-Fieldfare

Spurn Day 6

It was another grim day in the morning but we were able to open some nets and as a result we enjoyed a few nice birds but overall it was stready. A few Brambling started to appear mid-morning and this was without doubt the best bird we caught. There was serious rainstorm during lunchtime so we decided to head off to our next destination, ending a fantastic week at Spurn.

-Brambling

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Black Brant, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck, Common Scoter, Common Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Little Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Dunlin, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Snipe, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Razorbill, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Western Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Little Owl, Short-eared Owl, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Shore Lark, Eurasian Skylark, Bearded Reedling, Barn Swallow, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pallas’s Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Bluethroat, Black Redstart, European Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Eurasian Rock Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Brambling, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Twite, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Snow Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, Grey Seal, Roe Deer, Brown Hare,

Spurn Week 12

Wednesday the 8^th was an exceptional day for the time of year. My morning started when Paul tapped on the window of the cabin with a full grown Barn Owl in his hands. It had obviously been roosting in the mouth of the Heligoland trap and had been pushed through when Paul had walked through in the morning. It was extremely docile in the hand, a real pleasure to ring. Beyond unexpected was a Bluethroat that was trapped and ringed at the Warren. I had the privilege of going down to ring the bird. I was surprised by the amount of blue the bird actually showed on its breast, a superbly beautiful bird. The morning continued to give when Jonnie picked a Firecrest out of the Heligoland trap, the only one to be ringed at Spurn this autumn. What a day.

-Barn Owl

-Bluethroat

-Firecrest

The 9^th was also an excellent day. After a steady morning ringing I decided to head up to Beacon Ponds to put some seed down in the hopes of pinning down the large Snow Bunting flock that had been present in the area. I walked down the beach so far as Beacon Ponds and was unable to locate the flock. I was just about to turn around and head back when I spotted movement on the beach in front of me. I raised my bins and was shocked to see a Shore Lark looking back at me. A closer inspection revealed that there were in fact three of them foraging among the rocks. After setting some seed down for them, I headed back and found the Snow Bunting flock right at the top where I had set off from. I put down my remaining seed and left.

-Shore Lark

-Snow Bunting

I had hoped that my seed would entice the birds down and that we would be able to trap and ring both species. As it happened though, fate was not on my side. I was struck down with a severe case of man flu, and the rest of the week was spent in bed with the exception of work and going out to ring a Woodcock. By the time I had recovered the birds had all left.

Species List:

Spurn Bird Obs: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pink-footed Goose, Brent Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Gannet, Cormorant, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Water Rail, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Snipe, Jack Snipe, Woodcock, Sanderling, Dunlin, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Greenshank. Common Redshank, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Feral Pigeon, Barn Owl, Short-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Shore Lark, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Stonechat, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Robin, Bluethroat, Wren, Dunnock, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Starling, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin, Linnet, Reed Bunting, Snow Bunting, Red Admiral, Comma, 

NGB Spurn Weekend day 1

I had not decided when I was going to head over to Spurn for the NGB weekend, but as little seemed to be happening elsewhere I decided to make my move late Thursday morning to arrive on site around mid afternoon. News had broken during the day of a couple of Icterine Warblers on site, the second of which was at Sammies Point. With that in mind thats where I headed first.

Once at Sammies there was very little on offer so I headed off down the canal to the original Icterine Warbler that had been showing again. On the way down to the canal Paul collard me, telling me that Adam had just caught a Bluethroat at the warren. Without a radio I was oblivious and had missed it by the time I knew about it. This was a bit gutting but decided to make my way down that way on the off chance that it was still showing after its release. On the way down I picked up one of my tartiest year-ticks in the form of a Barn Owl gracefully hunting along the top of the Canal. I managed a few nice shots, of what was undoubtedly the best views I have ever had of this species. Also down the canal were a couple of very showy Cuckoos, which it would have been rude not to take a photo of.

-Barn Owl

-Cuckoo

I continued on my way, past the Icterine bushes. I had a quick look but the bird was not currently showing so opted to carry on down to the Warren. Once there I could see an assembled crowd where I was informed the bird (a female) had been showing after release in the lower branches of a tree. However, after a while waiting the bird did not show again, and it looked likely that it had gone. The crowd disbanded until there were only a few of us left. It was then that Adam came round from checking the nets to reveal he had re-caught the Bluethroat. To prevent the bird becoming unsettled he did not show it, as it had been flicky before, but did allow me me to have a brief view in the hand before he released it. Once it had been let go it entered a dark dell, where it sat for some time, but in especially gloomy conditions so I was unable to get a good photo. However, the shots I got of the bird in the hand were nice, showing the strong facial markings and even a hint of colour on the throat. A superb lifer and a great start to the weekend.

-Bluethroat

After a while of sitting in the dell the bird did drop in, never to be seen again. Once it left I headed back up to where the Icterine Warbler was being viewed from in Canal Hedge. To describe it as distant would be an understatement but the bird did show, allowing me to get a view of my first of this species for over a year. I also sang intermittently too, which was something of a novelty. Obviously the light and the distance meant my photos are not particularly good, but its a record shot at least...

-Icterine Warbler

So despite only having half a day I did manage to pick up a lifer, a couple of year-ticks and have a swell time doing it. What a great start to the weekend.

Sightings List:

Spurn: Sammies Point: Greenfinch, Pied Wagtail, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Swallow, House Martin, Starling, Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Greylag Goose, Oystercatcher, Mallard, Redshank, Whitethroat, Wren, Great Tit, Dunnock, Dunlin, Sedge Warbler, Linnet, Avocet,

Spurn: Canal and Warren: Swift, Barn Owl, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Swallow, Shelduck, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Cuckoo, Mute Swan, House Martin, Skylark, Kestrel, Great Tit, Spotted Flycatcher, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Bluethroat, Herring Gull, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Brent Goose, Curlew, Whimbrel,