East Anglia -Undisclosed Location

 Another week of work in the South-East was once again very productive, with plenty of bird activity, as well as lots of insects. In total, I managed three new species of Butterfly as well as many more views of Norfolk Hawker, which was a lifer last time I was down this neck of the woods.

The birding was high quality, with Hobbies seen regularly, Spotted Flycatchers active in a nearby plot of woodland as well as Marsh Tit being abundant. We also spent a night on a nearby heathland looking for Nightjars, of which we found four. There was also a distant Stone-Curlew flying in the gloom calling. Otherwise, my attention was largely drawn to the insects that were around. 

The dragonflies were in fine form. In addition to Norfolk Hawker being seen every day, we also found Southern Migrant Hawker although they did not land. There was also Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker already on the wing. There was not as much in the damselfly this time, as I was unable to find any Variable Damselflies at all, not for the lack of trying.

On the butterfly front, I managed to tick off White Admiral on the first morning’s survey. That afternoon through some research, we discovered a nearby site that held Purple Emperor and the next day I tried it out. Despite the overcast weather, there were a few Purple Emperors in the canopy but only a single female came down to the floor of the woodland, where someone had left a box of rotting fruit for the butterflies. The following day I tried again in sunnier conditions but the wind had picked up and I did not even see a Purple Emperor. Also here I finally connected with Purple Hairstreak, although they too spent most of their time in the canopy. Still, it was good to finally get that species onto my list. There were also more White Admirals here, as well as Grayling and Silver-washed Fritillary, producing a fantastic selection of butterflies for the week.

-Norfolk Hawker

-Southern Hawker

-Southern Migrant Hawker

-White Admiral

-Purple Emperor

-Purple Hairstreak

-Silver-washed Fritillary

-Essex Skipper

-Roesel's Bush-Cricket

Species List:
Undisclosed Location: Mallard, Common Wood Pigeon, European Nightjar, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Stone-curlew, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Common Buzzard, Common Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Marsh Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Barn Swallow, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Eurasian Wren, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Ruddy Darter, Common Darter, Broad-bodied Chaser, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Southern Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Norfolk Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Small Copper, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Common Blue, Purple Hairstreak, Meadow Brown, Grayling, Small Heath, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, Large White, Small White, Peacock, Red Admiral, White Admiral, Purple Emperor, Silver-washed Fritillary, 

Spurn Week 1

Spurn Day 1 - Wednesday 23^rd August

Having earned a little money from my stint as a Bee-eater warden I decided to spent the rest of my year volunteering back at Spurn, whilst at the same time beginning to train to become a ringer. For my first day I was given a real treat in the Juvenile Rose-coloured Starling that had been found the previous weekend was still present and frequenting the feeders at Driftwood. The light was pretty awful but it’s still a decent Spurn tick. In the evening I headed down to the evening tern roost. It was a fairly healthy movement, but still not spectacular. There were over 4000 Common Terns plus a couple of Skuas and Manxies. All this and just in the first few hours, only at Spurn.

-Rose-coloured Starling

-Common Terns

Spurn Day 2 - Thursday 24^th August

Sadly my first full day at Spurn was spent taking down the Little Tern electric fence. This is the worst job of the whole project, so it was a bummer to spent my first day doing it, but once it’s over then it’s not a concern until next year.

As a result I was only able to spent the evening birding. Instead of going down to the evening tern roost I decided to check the high tide roost on the wetlands. There were a few birds present, the standout of the waders being a nice Juv Little Stint, and a few very nice Ruff. A couple of Short-eared Owl were also quite nice, especially when it perched up near-ish to the hide.

-Short-eared Owl

Spurn Day 3 - Friday 25^th August

In my quest to actually find something decent this autumn I decided to work the point as much as possible. It did not get off to an amazing start, with a Spotted Flycatcher about the best bird that I could muster. A couple of Whinchat and a single Wheatear made up the rest of the migrant contingent. It was a pleasant enough walk though, and something I am deffo looking forward to for the rest of the autumn.

Whilst I was down the point a couple of Great White Egrets had turned up on the Wetlands. Upon my return from the peninsula I headed straight off to see them. They were a little distant but I was able to get substantially better views than the last time I had seen this species at Spurn. In the afternoon we had something of a Spurn mega. Tim retrieved a Southern Hawker from the Heligoland trap in Churchfield. This is the first Spurn record since one in 2013, the latter was found by me and was probably my best find of that year.

-Great White Egret

-Southern Hawker

Spurn Day 4 - Saturday 26^th August

Continuing with the theme of working the point as much as possible I headed down the point once again today. Sadly the species composition was much the same as the previous, although I expected nothing less. Once back north of the breach I spent the afternoon doing not very much. In the evening we had a BBQ for the birthday of a Spurn regular. Whilst not likely to be a birding hotspot on the face of it we did have a pretty sweet evening bird wise, with a number of Mediterranean Gulls flying over, a Hobby trying to take out Swallows and the Rose-coloured Starling which dropped into the bushes in Steves garden after spending an hour or so on show with the large Starling flock.

Spurn Day 5 - Sunday 27^th August

After a late night of celebrating a Spurn birthday I was not quick off the mark in the morning. I spent the morning beginning my ringing work by handling my first birds. The vast majority of the birds we caught were Tree Sparrows, although I was also able to handle the only House Sparrow we caught. We added a Willow Warbler to our totals which was also nice, and even posed nicely for a few photos.

In the evening I did a walk around the ponds and wetlands, sadly not much was around although a Common Sandpiper was my first of the year. I also had a Short-eared Owl and a few more Willow Warblers. Ultimately though I failed to see anything overly unusual, besides the usual juvenile Rose-coloured Starling, which was still associating with the large Starling flock around Kilnsea.

Spurn Day 6 - Monday 28^th August

The initial stages of my ringing training involved becoming comfortable handling birds. As a result I spent most of the morning in Churchfield hoping to catch some birds which I could then study and handle. Sadly birds were in very short supply and the only thing we caught was a single Willow Warbler. In the afternoon I was drafted in to cover the new Spurn shop outside the Obs. It was a pretty tedious task and there were sadly no birds involved at all.

-Willow Warbler

Spurn Day 7 - Tuesday 29^th August

After a long and ultimately pointless day venturing into Hull, it was nice to return to Spurn to find that there had been an extremely light fall of migrants. I initially went hunting for the pied flycatchers in the crown car park but failed to connect. I then proceeded to work the canal but to no reward, despite an hour trying. Five Willow Warblers were all I could muster. I ended my search at the Warren where I worked with Kieran, watching him ring what little birds were being trapped. Just as we were wrapping up news came through that Paul had caught an Icterine Warbler. We headed up to see the bird in the hand. Sadly it was not a sitter, but I was able to get a few nice shots of it in the hand. A pretty sweet end to a rather uneventful day!

-Icterine Warbler

Species List:

Spurn Bird Obs: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Brent Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Red-throated Diver, Gannet, Manx Shearwater, Cormorant, Hobby, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Curlew, Greenshank. Common Redshank, Ruff, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Black Tern, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Little Gull, Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Feral Pigeon, Short-eared Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Whinchat, Stonechat, Robin, Pied Flycatcher, Wren, Dunnock, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Starling, Rose-coloured Starling, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker, Ruddy Darter, Common Darter, Common Emerald Damselfly, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Small Heath, Common Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Small White, Green-veined White, 

Spurn Day 46

Since easterlies are due tomorrow I decided to spend today writing the tern report so that it was done and out of the way so I could enjoy tomorrows delights without worry. However, I quickly realsied that I had no idea what I was actualy doing for the report and by 12.00 I had given up and went out to enjoy the afternoon.

I did not know where to go really, but ended up in Canal Hedge doing a little bush bashing in case any early migrants might be hiding within the bushes. They were not, but the Southern Hawker that has been around was showing very well and even landed in a photograph-able position. It meant I could get some proper decent record shots, good enough to prove once and for all that there was a Southern Hawker, placing it beyond all doubt. It is the only one recorded at Spurn this year, so that is certainly one of the best finds I have had since I arrived.

-Southern Hawker

I moved along and up the canal to check no birds were in the bushes along there. There were nothing unusual but there were a loads of young swallows sat on the bushes along the edge of the canal. They were incredibly approachable and as a result I was able to get some pretty decent photos of them looking lovely and sweet.

-Swallows

That was about it until the end of the day with the evenings seawatch. It was quiet again but there were a few waders moving including Sanderling, Knot and Oystercatcher. Overall though it was quite a poor night by Spurns standards.

Species List:

Seawatching: Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Gannet, Arctic Skua, Sandwich Tern, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Sanderling, Common Scoter, Knot, Mallard, Common Gull, Grey Plover, Dunlin,

Spurn Day 37

So I headed out after another nightshift and went straight onto Canal Scrape to see what was about. Even by canal scrape standards it was dead. I made it to 15 species before I gave up, the highlight being a couple of lovely yellow Willow Warbler in the bushes at the back.

On the way out I heard a very unfamiliar call and turned round to see an Accro warbler calling from the bushes. I grabbed a quick picture before the bird dived for cover, but I was left in some doubt as to its i.d., as the call I did not recognize as reed warbler. After about an hour following the bird round I eventually gave up, but research after suggests that it was a Reed Warbler, only it was making some funny noises!

-Reed Warbler

While I was waiting for the warbler I spotted a hawker dragonfly hunting in the hedgerow in front of me. I got a decent view of it and identified it as a Southern Hawker, nice but it did not land and as such I was unable to get any decent photos.

As such when it came to the log and proof was required due to the rarer nature of this dragonfly on Spurn there was some discussion as to the proof, though the green marks behind the head are clearly visible and indicate that it is indeed a Southern Hawker, a spurn rarity.

-Southern Hawker

The seawatch was just as quiet as the day, with very few terns moving and hardly anything besides them. A few Common Scoter and Fulmar was the only addition to the poor tern passage. It has been a quiet day thats for sure, but only by Spurn standards!

Species List:

Canal Scrape: Woodpigeon, Swallow, Mallard, Black-Headed Gull, Herring Gull, House Martin, Linnet, Willow Warbler, Knot, Magpie, Sand Martin, Coot, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Little Egret, Whitethroat, Greenfinch, Reed Warbler,

Seawatch: Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Common Gull, Woodpigeon, Swallow, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Fulmar, Common Scoter, Gannet, Arctic Skua

Potteric Carr YWT

Back in Sheffield to move stuff over to the new house gave me the chance to try and pick up some more year-ticks in the South Yorkshire area. I analysed the sightings and the possibilities were between a pair of spoonbills at Fairburn or green sandpiper at Potteric Carr. Having thought about it I decided Potteric was probably better as it cheaper and the bird seemed more likely.

I made my way over late morning on a really lovely day, looking forward to seeing what was on the site. I arrived in good time so had plenty of time to try and see something on the site. I headed down the main way through the reserve same as before to make my way up to the West Scrape where the green sands had been reported over the last few days. On the way up I picked up good numbers of insects including damselflies and brown butterflies: Ringlet and Speckled Wood.

Near the end of the road I picked up Banded Demoiselle which was looking lovely in the sunshine. However, there was a female and a male, but the female was much harder to track down and was not as easy to get a photo of.

-Banded Demoiselle

While I was trying to get some shots of the demoiselle I flushed a Southern Hawker, an adult male which actually spent a lot of time landed, so I was able to get some photos of an adult Southern Hawker landed, which had been eluding me. I was initially reluctant to try and get close, but soon I was able to get great views and photos of it.

-Southern Hawker

I moved onto the Piper Marsh Hide which is where the Kingfishers were, but there was nothing there except for a Pochard. I waited about 5 mins, but just as I was setting off the Kingfisher flew past the hide, but it did not stick around so I was unable to get any photos or anything.

I moved onto the West Scrape Hide where the green sand was meant to be. I moved in, possibly there being the most birds there I can ever remember being there, so things were looking up. The majority of birds were Black-Headed Gulls and Lapwings. I waited about 5 mins before the bird of the hour appeared on the near mudflat. Thrilled would not cover it, it was such a good view. And as a result I decided to watch the bird, which turned out to be a big mistake as the bird did not stick around. As soon as I raised my camera to take some photos the bird flew off. I grabbed one photo, and its out of focus, but the view I got of the bird flying off was very striking, clearly distinguishing it from common sand by its bright white rump.

-Green Sandpiper

I waited around for the bird to return, but it took significantly longer than I had anticipated. I ended up waiting a whole 2 and a half hours. And in that time I only managed another minuet with the bird, and again I decided to watch the bird rather than photograph it. And so for the moment my record shot remained the one poor quality photo.

There were a couple of other birders there, milling in and out. The original birders mentioned that there was a pair of Godwit around, which we identified from his photos as Black-Tailed. We also found a few Wigeon, and a juvenile Little-Ringed Plover, which had been around for some time and a Marsh Harrier and Buzzard, which frequently sent the gulls up. After a bit the Godwits re-appeared, though we don't really know how they appeared from, as they somehow moved from one side of the lake to the other without flying.

-Black-Tailed Godwit

-Little-Ringed Plover

After 2 and a half hours I decided enough was enough and that the bird was probably lost. I had seen it, got great views and the only thing that was missing was some good photos, but it just did not seem like it was going to show again.

I carried on round, not picking up many birds but I got great views of insects. The undoubted highlight was a Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle, a lifer for me. However, as I found frequently through the day, the wrong lens was on the camera and despite my attempts to keep the beetle occupied by keeping it on the path while I changed the lens, by the time I had managed to change the beetle had scurried under the grass and I was unable to re-locate.

I also picked up Emperor Dragonfly, Four-Spot Chaser and Black-Tailed Skimmer. There was also Ringlet butterfly in large numbers. However, that was the good side. On the bad side there was a Wasp, which decided to randomly sink its stinger into me, although having analysed the mark I think it may be a bite mark rather than a sting mark. I also accumulated about 20 mosquito bites, along my legs over the course of night.

In the main Duchess Hide there was not much happening, so after a short while I continued along the path, but I decided to return to the West Scrape Hide to try and see if the Green Sand had returned. Along the way back I picked up Red Admiral Butterfly, the positive, and Mink along the top of a drain, the negative.

-Red Admiral

Back in the West Scrape Hide I decided I would wait a little while, about 10 mins and see what happened. As it turned out, going back was a wise decision as the bird was showing again. As soon as I wandered into the hide it was on the near shore, but once more I had the wrong lens on. I grabbed a few shots with the 300 before trying to change, during which time the bird decided again to move out of sight. Brilliant!

I waited a little longer, but not too much, but it proved worthwhile as the bird did make another appearance, looking mighty fine, though initially behind the reeds, but soon it was out in the open enough to grab some decent record shots finally, so that I would not be left with a terrible gap in my collection.

-Green Sandpiper

While I had waited the Godwits that were still around had taken flight and given good views as they circled around the lake. They did not stay airbourn for long, but I got great views of the wing pattern, proving beyond doubt that they were Black-Tailed.

-Black-Tailed Godwit

After the green sand had gone I decided to head back, as it could be quite a walk back. Along the wooded edge of the main marsh I found quite a surprise species when I spotted a Willow Tit among a mixed tit flock. I was unable to get any photos, nor was the view particularly good but there was no mistaking the identity of the bird, a really nice surprise to have found.

I decided to call in at the Willow Pool Hide to see if there was anything on the feeders there, the initial willow tit putting me in the mood for more. However the feeders were dead, probably due to the presence of a pair of grey squirrels that were making the most of the bird food on offer. However, the limited birdlife did not seem interested in the seed put down, the only bird being a young Blue Tit that was pulling the seeds off a bulrush, slowly making its way round the head, leaving it bald. It was a great stand to get some photos from, and the positioning of the bird was not bad either.

-Blue Tit

Finally I had in mind to check the Loversall field to see what was about on there. In the past there were good numbers of Dragonflies on there, and I had in mind to try and track some down. On the way there I got a nice surprise when I spotted the tail of a Grass Snake disappear into the undergrowth, a poor and brief but very nice view.

The ponds were quite quiet, lots of Blue Damselflies but not much besides. There was one Four-Spot Chaser on the pond, which kept landing on a stick obviously left for it, but highly inaccessible without crashing through the poolside vegetation. 

It was here that I stumble across my first Emerald Damselfly of the year, resting deep in some sedge, making it difficult to photograph, but not impossible so I was able to grab some record shots of the individual. It made a nice addition to the days list. 

-Common Emerald Damselfly

And that was the last action of what was a very rewarding and productive day spent out in the sun. As I type this up this evening I am now nursing a very sore leg from all my insect related injuries sustained from today. But was it worth it? I would say so...

Species List:
Potteric Carr YWT: Starling, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Blackcap, Great Tit, Robin, Black-Headed Gull, Wren, Mallard, Jackdaw, Mute Swan, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Coal Tit, Treecreeper, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Collard Dove, Lapwing, Long-Tailed Tit, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Great-Crested Grebe, Song Thrush, Jay, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Common Teal, Pochard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Kingfisher, Reed Bunting, Wigeon, Willow Tit, Chiffchaff, Little-Ringed Plover, Sand Martin, Willow Warbler, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Little Egret, Black-Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Swift, Green Sandpiper, Common Blue-Tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Common Emerald Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Four-Spot Chaser, Emperor Dragonfly, Southern Hawker, Common Darter, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Large White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Rabbit, Grey Squirrel, Grass Snake,