Swillington Ings twitching Spotted Crake

  It was mid-morning when news broke to us of a Spotted Crake at Swillington Ings. While I don’t really bother twitching so much anymore, this species, a British tick, being so close to home was quite tempting. However we waited for confirmation that it would not be a one-off sighting, and when news came through of the bird still showing, Lia and I made the journey across to Swillington.

  Once there the crowd was actually pretty small, mainly from regulars rather than any real gathering of twitchers. The bird itself was feeding in a small lagoon with extensive muddy margins surrounded by Moorhen and Coot, with a very dapper Black-tailed Godwit for company, just for good measure. It showed extremely well, much better than the only other time I saw this species in Germany when I was restricted to a single poor glimpse. Here the bird paraded itself around, often without a care in the world, really allowing us to study it.

  After an hour of watching the Crake, we went for a walk around the rest of the site. On the wader front, it was nice to see Greenshank, Ruff, and the aforementioned Black-tailed Godwit. There was a smart eclipse Garganey tucked into the reeds, as well as a last Black-necked Grebe juvenile clinging on. The areas grazed by cattle were alive with Yellow Wagtails, and we counted 19 in total. And then we had a brilliant encounter with a Bearded Tit male that flew from the reeds and right at us before dropping back into the reedbed on the opposite side of the path. Overall an absolutely brilliant afternoon out with a British tick to boot. 

-Spotted Crake

-Garganey

Species List:
Swillington Ings: Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Water Rail, Spotted Crake, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Northern Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Common Snipe, Common Greenshank, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Bearded Reedling, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Willow Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Western Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting, 

Spurn Week 9

Monday 08th August

I arrived in the obs early afternoon to the news that a juvenile Spotted Redshank could be seen from the upstairs window of the obs. So I headed up to have a look at it before it flew off into the Humber. I headed out round the triangle for a walk but failed to see much, and the evening tern roost was quite limited.

Species List:

Triangle: Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Dunlin, Swallow, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Gannet, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Magpie, Starling, House Sparrow, Little Egret, 

Tuesday 09th August

A fairly unproductive day as the weeks of nightshifts begin to catch up with me. In the end the only birding I actually did was the evening seawatch, although that was nothing to be sniffed at with my first Sooty Shearwaters of the year going north, fairly close in too. A couple of Arctic Skuas were also thrown into the mix to make light of what was a poor evening tern movement.

Species List:

Seawatching: Common Scoter, Gannet, Sooty Shearwater, Fulmar, Arctic Skua, Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Swallow, Woodpigeon, 

Wednesday 10th August

Finally the last two birds had fledged thus ending my weeks of night shifts and restoring me to something like normality. So today when I eventually got out of bed from my final night-shift I decided to head off down the canal to seawatching in the hope of maybe picking up some seabirds.

There was nothing down the canal and the sea was fairly quiet too, although there was a healthy number of Oystercatchers moving, with 200+ in the two hours that I was there for. The only other birds of note were two Arctic Skuas, but they were somewhat distant, which was a real shame.

-Oystercatchers

Species List:

Seawatching: Knot, Oystercatcher, Gannet, Kittiwake, Arctic Skua, Common Scoter, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Whimbrel, Common Tern, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Common Gull, 

Thursday 11th August

In trying to restore my sleeping pattern to something like normality I decided not to push myself but to get out of bed at a more reasonable 08.00. By that time news of the morning had been filtering through, and it appeared that the Wood Sandpiper was now back on the canal scrape. So thats where I headed first. The bird was indeed back and showing very well. Sadly the poorer weather conditions meant the light was rubbish but I still managed a few more photos of what has been a very obliging bird throughout its stay. Also of note on the scrape is a young Coot, which is a pretty unusual bird for Spurn.

-Wood Sandpiper

-Coot

Once I had finished with the Sandpiper I headed down to seawatching for a bit. The birds were not really moving at all, only a handful of waders and a few duck. The only seabirds not Gannets were two Arctic Skuas, which were both closer than the previous days birds.
Up at the ponds in the afternoon for a couple of hours rewarded me with my first sight of the last two Little Tern chicks, a bit bigger than I expected but still looking a little young to be flying. Still, they look healthy, and no matter, they can fly so should soon be well on their way out of ponds. Other birds at the ponds were few and far between, but Kilnsea Wetlands was absolutely heaving with birds; mainly Common and Sandwich Terns, plus Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls. Really quite impressive.

-Little Egret

-Terns and Gulls

Species List:

Triangle: Coot, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Wood Sandpiper, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Dunnock, Mallard, Swallow, House Martin, House Sparrow, Curlew, Magpie, Linnet, Starling, Little Grebe, Reed Warbler,

Seawatching: Arctic Skua, Eider, Common Scoter, Knot, Sanderling, Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Teal, Cormorant,
Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds: Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Swallow, House Martin, Dunlin, Sanderling, Cormorant, Ringed Plover, Little-ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Greenshank, Little Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Little Egret, Black-headed Gull, Mallard, Teal, Arctic Skua, Skylark, Common Gull, Mute Swan, Herring Gull, Gannet, Kittiwake, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Gull, Turnstone, Swift,

Friday 12th August
This morning did not start well. I thought I had left my radio on overnight so anything stupidly early would wake me up. Turns out that was not the case, and as a result I did not see the bittern that landed on Canal Scrape at 5.00 in the morning. Most of the morning was spent waiting for its reappearance but no such thing happened. The Wood Sandpiper was still present though, as were a couple of Snipe.

-Wood Sandpiper

The day passed with still no sign of the bittern reappearing. In the evenings seawatch though there was something much better with the first major Tern movement of the year. 7370 Terns were clicked going to roost, the most by some distance this year and obviously really impressive to see. I always maintain that evening tern roost is the best thing I have seen at Spurn and to have gone a couple of years without a decent count has been extremely disappointing.

Species List:
Canal Scrape: Common Snipe, Mallard, Teal, Wood Sandpiper, Dunlin, Woodpigeon, Teal, Little Grebe, Meadow Pipit,
Seawatching: Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Gannet, Common Scoter, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Arctic Skua, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull,

Saturday 13th August
The event of the day was a Wader ID course being run by the Obs. I decided to combine wader spotting with a couple of hours up at the ponds ensuring that the last couple of chicks were still Ok. There were not masses of Waders but there was a good variety around Ponds, Wetlands and Holderness field. As a result I understand the event was a success.
The best of the waders were the two juvenile Little Stints still on Holderness Field, but the Ruff were still on Wetlands (Looking amazing) and there were still a handful of Little Ringed Plover knocking about.
In the evening the tern roost nowhere near lived up to the excitement of last night, but a very distant Osprey was a much appreciated yeartick. That being said, it was so distant it could have been a Greater Black-back so far as I'm concerned...

Species List:
Kilnsea Wetlands, Beacon Ponds and Holderness Field: Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Mediterranean Gull, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Tern, Little Stint, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Turnstone, Knot, Wigeon, Sanderling, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Greenshank, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Mallard, Teal, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull,
Seawatching: Osprey, Manx Shearwater, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Fulmar, Common Scoter, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Knot, Dunlin, Arctic Skua

Sunday 14th August
Once again duty called upon me. Today was the day of the official launch of Andy Roadhouses book 'The Birds of Spurn'. A fantastic volume covering all the species ever seen at Spurn. But to make sure all the people coming the launch got the book they had ordered there was some setting up to do.
But before all that I got to settle a score with possibly my most missed species at Spurn. I was just getting dressed in the morning when a message came over the radio of a Treecreeper in the Obs garden. Having missed 4 at Spurn, it was well known my desire to see one, so Pete, who found it, specifically radioed me up. Withing a minuet I was alongside the birders watching it climb along the hawthorn hedge. About a hour later it was trapped and ringed at Kew, so I got to appreciate it out of the morning gloom as well.

-Treecreeper

It was a good day at Spurn overall too. As we were packing books news came over the radio of a Sabines Gull flying north. It had been picked up at Easington Caravan Site, so our chances were slim. As soon as news broke, all the birders raced to their vehicles. I jumped in with Tim and Jonnie. With an absurd amount of speed we made it up to the Gas Terminal. We jumped out and began scanning. We had overtaken the bird and Jonnie picked it up as it flew slowly past us. Slower birders kept arriving all the time but the bird continued north and soon it was not much more than a dot. A cracking bird.

-Sabines Gull

The book launch was extremely successful. Once it was over I headed up to the ponds to do a little shift with the Terns. Both chicks were still present and looking ready to leave at any point really. A Garganey on Kilnsea Wetlands was new, and somewhat unexpected for the day list.

-Garganey

In the evenings seawatch there continued to be hardly any terns, another disappointing evening on the whole. That being said, when you have a fully spooned Pomarine Skua going past, no matter what else flies past its got to be a success!

Species List:
Kilnsea Wetlands & Beacon Ponds: Garganey, Black-tailed Godwit, Wheatear, Sanderling, Little Tern, Common Tern, Dunlin, Redshank, Sandwich Tern, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Greenshank, Mallard, Mute Swan, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Teal, Wigeon, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Great Black-backed Gull,
Seawatching: Common Tern, Pomarine Skua, Arctic Skua, Common Scoter, Herring Gull ,Fulmar, Gannet, Sandwich Tern,

Saltholme RSPB & Seaton Common - Double lifer day

I seemed to be at a bit of a loss today. With the dissertation all but wrapped up it was obvious that birding was on the cards, but exactly where to go was somewhat vexing. I settled on the seemingly settled Whiskered Terns at RSPB Saltholme but got the train late morning due to waiting on news before setting off. The day got an added boost when on the train up it became apparent that a Citrine Wagtail had also decided to set up in the area, leaving me with the possibility of a double lifer day, my favourite.

It was 13.00 by the time I arrived on site, but news of the wagtail was coming out sporadically, so with no news for two hours I decided to go to Saltholme first and gather up all the goodies on offer there. Classic of course that the wagtail came back on not 2 mins after I got off my bus. Upon arriving at Saltholme I went straight to the back Saltholme hide. Before I even reached the hide I could see the Whiskered Terns fishing close, so I set up to grab some photos.

I shouldn't have bothered, as the views were even better from the hide, with both Terns fishing only a couple of meters away and performing very nicely indeed. In the end I stayed for a couple of hours watching them show off. Its always nice when the birds you twitch put on a performance and these certainly did that.

-Whiskered Tern

The Whiskered Terns were fantastic, but they were not the only marsh tern on offer, as there were a handful of Black Terns around too. The numbers peaked at 4 but that was only for a short time, with only 1 seeming to have settled with the Whiskered Terns. It didn't show quite as well as the Whiskered but at the same time it was still my best view I have ever had of this species, a really smart bird to admire.

-Black Tern

The Terns were stunning, but there was a host of other goodies on offer too. The flock of 5 Spoonbills that had been reported present on site in the morning decided to give us a flyby having been settled out of sight at the back of the lake. It was only a brief flyby, only one bird actually landed in the open before it took off again and back round with the rest of the flock. Still, its always awesome to see Spoonbills, they are such good birds.

-Spoonbill

And talking of good birds, one of the many highlights was a pair of 1st summer Little Gulls that were dancing around the lake with the terns. They remained largely distant, with only one ever really coming close but always a pleasure to see such smart birds, especially in this plumage.

-Little Gull

Couple of other quick things. A nice male Garganey was also present at the back of the lake, distant, and then failed to stick around, flying off almost as soon as I had got optics on it. And towards the end of my stay at Saltholme a Peregrine came through and sent everything up. It took us a moment to work out what had done it but the bird decided to reveal itself when it flew straight through the middle of the lake, sending everything everywhere.

-Garganey

-Peregrine

News on the wagtail had continued to be sparse, but at half 2 news came out that it had shown again so I decided to make my move and by half 3 I was on site. The description from the birders on site was that it had not pinged it, but instead had walked out of sight as seemed to be its habit of doing.

So I set up and hoped it would play ball. I was in luck, as after only half an hour the bird walked out, showing for about 2 mins, and then walked out of sight again. It did the same thing about 5 mins later, but when it dissapeared next it failed to re-show until half 8 in the evening.

The Citrine Wagtail was a female, and had a lot more yellow on it that I was expecting. It was unfortunately quite distant but through the scope the views were fantastic when it was out in the open, as they usually are. I managed to grab a couple of record shots as it trotted around before its departure to who knows where.

-Citrine Wagtail

Given the wagtails poor showing record throughout the day I was buzzing to have seen it, especially since it did not show again for over 4 hours. Obviously it would have been nice if it had shown a little better but can't be fussy with a bird like that.

One bird that did show well however was the female Pied Flycatcher in the bushes nearby the Wagtail. It came absurdly close, so close in fact at one point I could have touched it. Perhaps it had just come in and was otherwise preoccupied but whatever the reason it was really something. One of the days many many highlights.

-Pied Flycatcher

Its hard to wrap up a day like that, but having got everything I wanted for the day, all with fantastic views and at least record shots. Its days like this which birding dreams are made of. 

Species List:
Saltholme RSPB: Redshank, Swift, Dunlin, Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Ringed Plover, Herring Gull, Black Tern, Whiskered Tern, Little Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard, Great-crested Grebe, Reed Bunting, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan. Meadow Pipit, Coot, Lapwing, Tufted Duck, Spoonbill, Shelduck, Starling, Red-breasted Merganser, Garganey, Little Egret, Feral Pigeon, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Peregrine, Reed Warbler, Avocet, Sand Martin
Seaton Common: Lapwing, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pied Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Swallow, Sand Martin, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Shelduck, Carrion Crow, Greylag Goose, Linnet, Goldfinch, Pied Flycatcher, Grey Heron, Sedge Warbler, Swift,

A few days at Spurn

Got a message from Tim on Thursday asking if I wanted to go for some LSWs. We did and failed but he convinced me to go to Spurn for a few days. I had to come back on the Saturday for a 21st but the conditions looked great and he was confident there would be plenty of birds.

Sadly it did not materialise like that. There were 3 good birds over the weekend, but only 1 of which I managed to connect with; Turtle Dove (Bee-eater and Serin the others). Another Turtle Dove however is always great and appreciated. 

There were good birds about. On the first day I got to see my Little Terns again after a long time apart and spurn-ticked Garganey with two on Holderness fields. An evening walk down the canal yielded Cuckoo, fantastic views of Hobby and Spurns first Spotted Flycatcher of the year. Other year-ticks included Lesser Whitethroat and Whimbrel. 

Day two I decided to do sammies early morning and missed Serin for my troubles. The only decent birds I got in return were Tree Pipit and Short Eared Owl. The day was hot and with no birds grounded it was hard work. A short walk down the point was made but the only notable sighting was a pair of Common Lizards possibly fighting, but looks like a male and female (?), on the road which were very preoccupied and easy to view.

Day three was shrouded in sea fret but a few birds had dropped in. Spotted Flycatchers had increased and I had my first Whinchat of the year. The Turtle Dove was also today, although the view was only brief sadly. Something of a Spurn mega on wetlands with a Canada Goose thats apparently set up for the last month or so...

-Little Tern

-Garganey

-Hobby

-Lesser Whitethroat

-Short-eared Owl

-Common Lizard

-Whinchat

-Spotted Flycatcher

-Canada Goose

-Brown Hare

Species List:
Spurn Bird Observatory: Blue Tit, Oystercatcher, Blackbird, Robin, House Sparrow, Collard Dove, Swallow, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, Whimbrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Starling, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Avocet, Shelduck, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Little Grebe, Ringed Plover, Little Tern, Garganey, Sandwich Tern, Little Egret, Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Dunlin, Wigeon, Sand Martin, Gadwall, Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Kestrel, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Hobby, Cuckoo, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Starling, Short-eared Owl, Wheatear, Tree Pipit, Cormorant, Common Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Jackdaw, Whinchat, Canada Goose,