Spurn Week 21

Spurn 07.11.2016

With northerlies still the main wind on the agenda I decided to finally spend some time at the Seawatching hide. In the hour that I spent though, I missed basically everything that went past. The only time I got were four Snow Buntings flying north along the cliff top, and a few commoner seabirds.

I spent the most part of the day around the obs, trying to catch up on the odd jobs that had accumulated during October when I was too busy birding to be working. I did make one rush out of the garden when the Pallid Harrier from the day before was picked up flying south already at the Warren. We drove down in time to see it circling high above the breach, before seeing it slowly fly down the peninsula and then off the point towards Lincolnshire. It was always distant and against the light, so there was very little I picked up on it unfortunately, It’s just a good thing I connected with it well yesterday.

In the evening when we had all but wrapped up with work I went out again to have a look at a Water Rail that had been trapped in the Churchfield. It was obviously getting gloomy by this point which made taking photos a struggle, but it was a fantastic species to see in the hand, a cracking little bird. It was fairly placid in the hand, which was somewhat unexpected, I had thought it would be kicking and screaming!

-Water Rail

Species List:

Triangle: Wigeon, Pallid Harrier, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Mallard, Teal, Skylark, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Moorhen, Water Rail, Waxwing,

Spurn 08.11.2016

Again we spent all day working in the garden. We burned all the unusable wood from the shed, which helped take the edge off the first frost of the autumn. The only time I left the garden was for a grey phalarope but sadly it cleared off before I connected with it. However, dragging me away from the garden did bring me to a flock of four Waxwings sat in a tree just down the road, which looked absolutely stunning to say the least.

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Waxwing, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Robin, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Redwing, Goldcrest, Brent Goose, Mute Swan,

Spurn 09.11.2016

A bit of wasted day, but given it rained all day perhaps I have an excuse. Work started on the shed again, but the cold and persistent rain soon put pay to that idea. In the end, the day ended on something of a damp squib.

Spurn 10.11.2016

The ongoing shed project is doing a good job of keeping us busy. However, good progress was made and it looks like it will be wrapped up in the next few days freeing up more time for birding and other odd jobs

However I did get out birding a little bit today, namely a long overdue look for the Richards Pipit at long bank. Given its now in its fourth day present and it’s a lifer I should have probably gone earlier, but just chose not to. However, I finally cracked today and made my way up. It was only a short while in the area it was frequenting before I heard the diagnostic call, alerting me to the bird incoming. However, I was looking directly into the sun and it took a few heart stopping moments before I was able to connect the bird to the call. The bird’s silhouette was everything I had imagined it to be against the sun, looking more like wagtail than any species of pipit I have previously seen.

The bird landed in the field not too far in front of me. I dropped my bag to try and get the camera, but the next thing I knew was the bird was calling from the next field south. It took some time before it returned, following exactly the same pattern as before. This time I had my camera and eventually managed to grab some record shots. Sadly though, when it landed it did exactly the same as before, leaving after only a few seconds. In all I managed to get one acceptable photo of the bird…

-Richards Pipit

Species List:

Long Bank Marsh: Richards Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Starling, Skylark, Fieldfare, Redwing, Blackbird, Peregrine, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Wigeon, Mallard, Mute Swan, Knot, Grey Plover, Dunlin,

Spurn 11.11.2016

We spent the day burning off the excess wood from the garden livestock shed that we were stripping down. I did go out birding a bit, mainly round the triangle, but there was not much to see. A bit of viz-mig early morning soon died off leaving us only with what there was already present. A few Waxwings were undoubtedly the best of it, but even they were only flyovers as they headed north out of the area.

Species List:

Triangle: Waxwing, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Shelduck, Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Little Grebe, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Brent Goose, Meadow Pipit, Skylark,

Spurn 12.11.2016

Today was something of a write off given that it rained all day, not letting up until the evening. I decided to venture out into the downpour once, which was during mid-late morning in the hope of something dropping in. I made my way up round Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds. The overall number of birds was quite low, with wildfowl moving about in the rain, the best I could manage for Wigeon was just over 150, but I did not count Holderness Field due as a result of a lack of effort on my behalf.

The undoubted highlight was a Black-throated Diver that flew in over the ponds before getting lost in the mist. When I first picked it up I thought it might be grebe, but when I saw clearly that it was a diver I made a move to photograph it, just putting it down as a red-throat. It was only when I came to do log that I thought to have another look, which is when my suspicions were aroused. Consulting with other birders the consensus was unanimous that it was indeed a Black-throated Diver.

-Black-throated Diver

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands & Beacon Ponds: Little Grebe, Black-throated Diver, Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Mute Swan, Black-headed Gull, Reed Bunting, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull,

Spurn 13.11.2016

The weather was much improved on yesterday’s poor excuse and as a result I actually did get outside to do some proper birding. There was tree planting planned for the morning so as a result I headed up to Kilnsea Wetlands first thing. The numbers of birds was well down, but there were a few nice bits and pieces, namely a Brambling on the fence line and a Goldeneye female on the wetlands themselves.

Tree planting was done by lunchtime, being out and about at Spurn even whilst busy still brought out some good birds, including a Waxwing that flew over us whilst planting the trees. In the afternoon I went for a walk round the triangle, but sadly that was extremely unproductive and there was nothing of any particular note. A Merlin flying distantly down the Humber was probably the best of it, but it was so distant it hardly warrants a mention.

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands: Goldeneye, Starling, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Brambling, Reed Bunting, Wigeon, Mallard, Mute Swan, Teal, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow,

Triangle: Shelduck, Redshank, Knot, Dunlin, Turnstone, Curlew, Blackbird, Redwing, Robin, Dunnock, Reed Bunting, Waxwing, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Mallard, Mute Swan, Little Egret, 

Spurn Week 13

Monday 05th September

After yesterday’s mental day on the sea I was keen to get down to the Seawatching hut in the hope of a corys or something. Sadly the best of it obviously went by yesterday. A few Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars and Arctic Skuas all went past but not in the numbers seen yesterday.

Walking round the triangle produced a few goodies. Snipe and Green Sandpiper were probably the best of it, except for 8 Jackdaw which U-turned. Not a common species here at all. Once the Seawatching died down we spent the afternoon just doing odd jobs, namely cleaning out the caravan. That then turned into demolishing the old decrepit woodshed next to it, but that meant spending time around the Obs, which produced a nice Obs tick in the form of a Corn Bunting.

Sightings List:

Seawatching: Manx Shearwater, Fulmar, Red-throated Diver, Gannet, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern,

Triangle: Wigeon, Gadwall, Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Reed Warbler, Jackdaw, Willow Warbler, Carrion Crow, Robin, Dunnock, Corn Bunting,

Tuesday 06th September 

Once more I was on Seawatching by 7. This was the first day with any real duck movement, as was apparent as soon as I arrived at the hide. Teal were moving past in large flocks all morning, and among them there were a few mixed flocks of other ducks. A nice gathering of species was accumulated over the morning, including a single Pochard, 9 Pintail (8 in a single flock) a Shoveler and a handful of Wigeon. The Teal total for the day clocked out at just short of 1000. A Pale-bellied Brent Goose also flew south, just to add to the variety.

-Mixed Duck flock (Pintail, Wigeon, Shoveler, Teal)

-Teal

In the afternoon the sun got especially warm, so I decided to go for a nap. As a result I ended up napping for over 3 hours. We tried ringing Terns in the evening but once again failed. Saw possibly the most spectacular shooting star I’ve seen to date, but that was about it due to a technical fault with the megaphone.

Species List:

Seawatching: Common Teal, Grey Wagtail, Pochard, Shoveler, Pintail, Wigeon, Arctic Skua, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Gannet, Great Black-backed Gull, Meadow Pipit, Swallow, House Martin, 

Wednesday 07th September

This morning allowed me the luxury of not going birding but instead waiting for the gas men to arrive to fit some new pipework at the obs. However, fortunately they arrived fairly early, allowing us to be down at Seawatching by 8. Birds on the sea were limited, although I did miss a balearic shearwater whilst waiting for the gas men.

As a result I ended up heading down to the new narrows in order to watch the spectacular movement of Swallows, Martins and Meadow Pipits. AH was doing most of the clicking, whilst JF did House Martins. I was left at a loss and spent my time picking things out that were none of the above species. Highlights included a Black-throated Diver going north and a Black Tern flying along the side of the Humber. A Curlew Sandpiper flew past in a flock of Dunlin and a handful of Manx Shearwaters flew past. JF also got me a Spurn tick in the form of a Common Seal that swam south close in shore. A rare occurrence here!

-Common Seal

Late morning was supposed to be when we were having a haircut. It was at precisely the moment we were meant to be leaving that the anticipated Great White Egret which had flown south from Hornsea during the morning arrived at the ponds. We were fortunate that the bird was viewable from the road and we were able to stop off on our way up. The views were somewhat distant but there was no bother at all telling what it was.

-Great-white Egret

It might seem sad that we had to leave the Egret for a haircut up in Easington, but in the garden of the house where we were at I got myself another Spurn tick. A long expected Spurn tick at that; a Coal Tit! It flitted around for a little bit before it dropped into the conifer and we lost it. Still, a long awaited Spurn tick finally bites the dust.

In the afternoon I headed off round Beacon Lane and then back down to Seawatching. A Great-spotted Woodpecker was a nice addition to the day list, as were 7 Whinchat along the fence line. At Sea a few more Manx Shearwater were moving, as were a handful of Little Gull. A Merlin flew over the Seawatching hide hunting the now reduced flow of Hirundines going south.

Sightings List:

Seawatching/Vis-migging: Black Tern, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Wheatear, Black-throated Diver, Red-throated Diver, Manx Shearwater, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, Oystercatcher, Common Scoter, Common Teal, Little Gull, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Great-white Egret, Linnet,

Triangle: Great-spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Whinchat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Wheatear, Redshank, Mallard, Little Egret, Black-headed Gull, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Robin, Tree Sparrow,

Thursday 8th September
Morning was naturally spent down at Numpties, initially watching the sea but then it became more viz-migging. Its worth noting that neither were particularly successful. A Manx Shearwater on the Humber was probably the best of it, giving pretty fine views.
The rest of the day was largely spent sorting out bits and pieces for the Migration festival. I did spend a bit of time hunting for the apparent diamond dove around the caravan site, but again unsuccessfully...


Sightings List:
Numtpies: Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Manx Shearwater, Teal, Gannet, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Swallow, House Martin, Black-headed Gull, Great Tit,

Friday 9th September
The start of the 4th annual Migfest meant only one thing: Parking duty. Much as I love talking to people as they come in, seeing old friends and chatting to new people, I would obviously rather be out birding. In the end though, I did not get much done at all.
The morning had started with promise, a corncrake dropped into churchfield, but our attempts to refind it proved unsuccessful. By the time we had wrapped that up we were called upon to show people the way to park, and so the days birding was done.

Saturday 10th September
The first full day of Migfest is probably the last day of the year that we want to rain. Sadly though, it decided to rain all day. ALL DAY!!! It became apparent early morning that we might struggle for something for the people to do, but that was not the case. People still took up the walks being given out.
Then the big one broke (In Spurn terms anyway). I was checking the book shops with Jonnie when the radio crackled into life. I barely heard the message but I could have sworn it said Kentish Plover. I excalimed this to Jonnie who said that was not what he had heard. I ran round to the next bay where there were more birders. I asked them what they heard, exclaiming what I thought I had heard. Nobody had heard it, and given that nobody was running I presumed I had been wrong. A couple of radio messages filtered through about lifts, so we decided to ask what the species had been. After about 5 minutes of trying we finally got a response that it was indeed a Kentish Plover. We raced to Sammies where it had been but as we arrived the bird apparently flew. Nobody saw it leave but we were not able to see it and it did not reappear.
We searched but it was assumed to be lost, the best hope being that the tide might push it back in. I headed down to the Warren where I was supposed to be leading a wader identification session. Whilst here a young birder told me that the Kentish had apprently relocated to Wetlands. I radioed this and it was very quickly confirmed. Que a mad dash up to Wetlands. I ran up to long bank where there was already a sizeable crowd and got the scope on it. Got it.
Just in time, as the radio buzzed up asking who was doing the wader watch that I supposed to be doing. I ran back to grab a lift and in the end I was only 2 minutes late, although I had to work hard to keep it that minimal, including leaving my scope up at the plover.
Once the session was over I headed back up to Long Bank with a few of the guys that had been on my wader watch. The Plover was still there and reunited with my scope I was finally able to settle on the bird. After a while we headed round to the hide where it showed incredibly well right in front of the hide. Fantastic, the first Spurn record since 2000! Remarkably the bird was too close to digiscope, and with all my optics fogged from the rain I did struggle to get a photo

-Kentish Plover

-Kentish Plover (Matt Hobbs)

In all the excitement it would be easy to forget other species that were about. A juvenile Little Stint on Beacon Ponds was a nice addition to the day list, although there have been birds on Holderness field for some time. A third calendar year gull landed on wetlands which has gone down as a Caspian Gull. It certainly looks like one, although I have concerns about the shape of the forehead, which seems a little steep. Sadly at this age there is nothing diagnostic on them. The consensus is that it is indeed a Caspian Gull though, and I agree despite my concerns.

-Caspian Gull (Matt Hobbs)

In the afternoon I ended up doing a walk in Easington, although I have never birded there before. It was useful to learn some of the locations but we saw precious little. A flock of Long-tailed tits was probably the highlight, an usual species south of Easington for the Spurn area.

By late afternoon people had all but had enough on the rain. I was placed on Parking duty again, probably so an eye was always kept on me to make sure I did not run away from my duties again. 

Species List

Warren: Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Knot, Redshank. Dunlin, Sanderling, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Dunnock, Swallow, House Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Turnstone,

Kilnsea Wetlands: Kentish Plover, Dunlin, Little Stint, Ringed Plover, Knot, Greenshank, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Caspian Gull, Curlew Sandpiper, 

Easington: Whinchat, Meadow Pipit, Willow Warbler, Robin, Wren, Sedge Warbler, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Long-tailed Tit, House Sparrow, 

Sunday 11th September

After yesterdays downpour all day it was a much improved day today, bright and sunny. The change of wind direction had brought a massive meadow pipit passage. Everyone seemed to have gone down there though, so I decided to head up to the Wetlands. Here there was hardly anyone about, leaving the hide largely empty. The plover was not seen again, but there was a nice Wood Sandpiper right in front of the hide which was extremely obliging for photos.

-Wood Sandpiper

The rest of the day was spent doing off bits for the festival including, you guessed it, car parking duty. It was not so bad in clear conditions and I was treated to flyby Peregrine and an impressive flock of Golden Plover.

As we were wrapping up the bits and pieces in the late afternoon I also got a Spurn Tick. We had just left Canal Scrape Car Park when the radio buzzed that a Water Rail was showing. We stopped in to have a quick look but I had no camera as we had been picking up festival bits. Still, its nice to see one showing out in the open like that.

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands: Wigeon, Shoveler, Willow Warbler, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Mute Swan, Gadwall, Mallard, Teal, Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Mediterranean Gull, Greylag Goose, Woodpigeon, Dunlin, 

Spontaneous Spurn Trip Day 1

A rather spontaneous trip to Spurn. Matt Bruce messaged me on the Thursday asking if I was up for it and I decided to go for it. We arrived on the Friday at midnight in preparation for a great weekends birding. Dan Wade was also with us.

We set off at first light in the morning, but fog had set in overnight and made conditions very tricky. We started at canal scrape but there was very little going on there, just a couple of Redshank. We decided to head up to beacon ponds to see if there were any snow bunts on the beach or anything else on the ponds. Here we picked up some good birds, including an impressive count of 14 Little Grebe. The highlight was when we were up at the far end of beacon lagoons and a diver flew past us. I got a very dark colour (It was close in), protruding feet and a lack of head movement. It did not look overly bulky so called it as a Black-Throated and the others agreed (Which was just as well as I would never have had the courage to call it on my own). Having thought about it, it was probably close enough in for me to have got a photo but hindsight is a wonderful thing...

We then walked along the back of the lagoons, adding Sanderling to our day list as well as Ringed Plover. We made our way to the Wetlands, but the path to the hide was closed and so could only view from the back. We heard a Little Owl calling and somehow Matt managed to find it resting on a log pile. Thats a Spurn tick for me and a really nice bird to see, looking lovely out in the open. Also from here we spotted a kestrel that was so wet we could not tell what it was, and also the Brent Geese grazing in the field in front of us.

-Brent Goose

By the end of our round trip we had clocked up some good species, and so headed back to the warren for some lunch. On Borough Pits there was another Little Grebe and a Spurn tick in the form of Goldeneye. After lunch we made our way to the Seawatching. Besides Red-Throated Divers there was nothing happening on the sea, but we were joined by a stunning Redwing next to the hide, which showed itself off very well. The fog was lifting so its probable that the bird had just come in.

-Redwing

Since the seawatching was so steady we decided to do the triangle. There was mainly the usual birds around, though a Rock Pipit flew over the C+A Car Park which was a new species for the day. The walk produced good birds, like Turnstone, Grey Plover and the like but the light was already fading and it was only early afternoon.

We decided to meander back to the Warren and chat to the ringers that were up. We had just arrived and were chatting to them when Martin came up with a small bird in his hand. Incredibly it was the one species that I had really wanted from the weekend; Little Auk. I have not seen one for a long time, and I have only ever seen one. But few people will ever get to see one like we saw, sat in the hand. Sadly the bird had lost its left leg, that was in a bad way but the bird had plenty of fight. The bird was released by Tim on the beach, who did a better job that he had done with the guillemot last time I had seen him try doing it!

The bird was great to see, so close you could really get all the detail. For some reason I left my little camera in Sheffield and as such I was unable to get any good shots. Only the top shot is mine, the other 3 are Dan Wades, so many thanks for him for letting me use them. 

-Little Auk

The light was pretty much gone by this point and so we decided to call it a day. We had clocked up an impressive species total. We then got to enjoy Spurns social side, as well as seeing some of the guys I met while working.

Species List:

Canal Scrape: Mallard, Wren, Redshank, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Wigeon, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Robin, Little Egret, Kestrel

Beacon Ponds: Greenshank, Little Grebe, Sanderling, Dunlin, Snipe, Wigeon, Mallard, Great-Crested Grebe, Black-Throated Diver, Common Scoter, Gannet, Curlew, Cormorant, Redshank, Brent Goose, Lapwing, Mute Swan, Linnet, Magpie, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Shelduck, House Sparrow, Golden Plover, Common Teal, Song Thrush, Ringed Plover, Common Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, 

Kilnsea Wetlands: Lapwing, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Mute Swan, Redshank, Little Egret, Wigeon, Curlew, Black-Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch, Little Owl, Blackbird, Wren, Woodpigeon, Sanderling, Shelduck, Greenfinch, Starling, Common Teal, Meadow Pipit, Skylark,

Beacon Lane: Goldcrest, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Robin, Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Goldeneye, Little Grebe

Seawatching: Red-Throated Diver, Common Scoter, Redwing, Great Skua, Mallard, Common Teal,

Triangle: Grey Plover, Knot, Turnstone, Black-Tailed Godwit, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Pheasant, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blackcap, Collard Dove, Blue Tit, Rock Pipit, Starling, Fieldfare, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Little Auk

Spurn Day 41 - DOUBLE LIFER ALERT

As you have read indeed, today was a double lifer day. Since I no longer had to go up to the ponds I allowed myself a lie in, the first one I have had since I arrived. However it was still short as I wanted to make my way up to the Seawatching hide in order to ensure I did not miss any potential lifer seabirds going down.

Fortunately it had been a quiet morning, though I was left gripped by red-throated diver, which would have been a year tick. I settled down to watch to see if any late birds would come, but it remained quiet. At around 9.00 Mick called out that he had spotted a large raptor, and he worked it out as an Osprey moving over the sea. To be honest it was too far for me to do anything with, but I took their word for it and added Osprey to my day list.

At around 9.15 the first of the day’s lifers passed through. I was scanning along and spotted a cormorant flying north, but continued to scan. Not 2 seconds later Steve called out that he might have a great-northern diver, which I knew immediately would be the same bird. Indeed it was. As the other guys got onto it they decided it was not bulky enough for a great northern diver, and its feet extension was not right, therefore it must be a Black-Throated Diver. I had hoped my first Black-Throat would be a bit more than a silhouette moving along the horizon. It was clear to see it was a diver, and with the points they had made I was willing to agree with them on that front and add it to my list, though I can only wish the view had been better so I could properly appreciate it.

Obviously pleased with another lifer I headed out into the morning to have a look round prior to my moving to the ponds to remove the fence. I headed up to canal scrape but was informed that there were no birds there, so decided to have a look in the bushes along the road along the triangle walk. Not far up the road from canal scrape and I spotted a Whinchat, sat along the fence post at the back. I got a few photos, but it was too far really, and it was nice to just watch it.

-Whinchat

Carrying on along the road there were ample Willow Warbler, bushes aplenty with them. Some I was able to get really good views of, as they flitted around the undergrowth. Along the top road I found a couple of Lesser Whitethroat too, calling to each other from the bushes, but as usual I was reduced to fleeting glimpses. I tried my best to get some photos but it was not happening, the birds were showing too irregularly for me to get any.

Down Canalside it was much quieter, though I could see the waders out on the Humber, including vast numbers of Bar-Tailed Godwit and Knot, along with Dunlin, Redshank and Ringed Plover. When they all took off it was spectacular to see.

-Bar-Tailed Godwit and Redshank

The afternoon was spent removing the fence and so I could not really watch the birds, though I did have a check on the Little Tern chicks and saw the youngster flutter off when I approached the area, not convincingly I must admit. The Oystercatcher family also put in an appearance, looking really grown up, though the chicks still have the distinctive dark patches at the ends of their beaks.

The evenings seawatch promised much but was very quiet on the whole. There were good numbers of Manx Shearwaters out to sea and 1740 Common Terns, which is low compared to some of the totals we have had. Numbers of all the birds were down really, save for 1.

Paul had some ringing guys up at spurn for the last few days, and they joined in for the early part of the watch. At around 7.00 an Australian guy suddenly called out, ‘whats this close, is it a sooty or a Balearic?’. All jumped up to check but it turned into a nightmare to find, especially given it was mid distance. It was quickly announced as a Balearic, and fortunately I was one of those lucky enough to find it, and watch it was it glided north. Because it was so close I made the fatal error of trying to photograph it, try and break the horrid lack of photos from lifers that has emerged over the last few days. As a result I did not watch it as much as I would have liked, but I did see enough of it, including the duskier belly and otherwise Manx like Jizz. The view was good when it banked up and I could see the lack of white on the underside. I have to say that of the 3 species ticked a spurn Seawatching, this is the only one I feel I could confidently do again, but that is probably as a result of the good view we got.

Spurn only get a few Balearic every year, so to be there for this one was special, and of course it’s another great lifer to add to my growing list. It’s a pity with Seawatching that the birds move through so fast, but either way I was thrilled.

Species List:

Seawatch: Gannet, Arctic Skua, Feral Pigeon, Oystercatcher, Swallow, Common Scoter, Black-Headed Gull, Ringed Plover, Cormorant, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Osprey, Black-Throated Diver, Sandwich Tern,

Triangle: Bar-Tailed Godwit, Knot, Redshank, Dunlin, Little Egret, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Whinchat, Willow Warbler, House Sparrow, Wren, Linnet, Starling, Blackbird, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Woodpigeon,

Seawatch: Fulmar, Gannet, Common Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Common Scoter, Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Arctic Skua, Common Gull, Swallow, Oystercatcher,