August at Spurn

Obviously a large section of August was spent in Madeira, but my time at Spurn was pretty productive for the most part. A number of nice species were ringed, and I had a great time with the abundance of Dragonflies and Damselflies which had emerged as a product of the warm weather. The most exciting of these was the reappearance of Small Red-eyed Damselfly along the canal after an absence of about five years, the entire time that I had been visiting Spurn. Whilst out photographing them I also found a female Banded Demoiselle, which was a Spurn tick for me and only the 19^th record.

-Small Red-eyed Damselfly

-Banded Demoiselle

Birding remained fairly slow but a cracking male Red-backed Shrike in Canal Hedge on the 8^th August, the day before my departure to Madeira, was a nice treat and made for an excellent start to the autumn. Sadly it remained distant and mobile whilst I was observing it. Ringing remained slow and steady but a Treecreeper was a nice surprise in the nets one morning. A Common Crane flew south over Kilnsea one Saturday whilst I was at work. Of course I abandoned my work and scanned from the foreshore in front of the pub. I was lucky enough to be with Jonny Holiday who had bins with him and was able to pick the bird up.

-Treecreeper

Upon my return the first migrants of the autumn had begun to appear, with 150 Willow Warblers seen in the area on one day. Wheatears and Whinchats also started to appear, and I went out with spring traps and managed to catch on of each, as well as another Whinchat in Corner Field. Pied Flycatchers also began to increase towards the end of the month, and we caught a few of these in the garden. We also caught a Wood Warbler, a real scarcity at Spurn, which Paul brought round to the pub for me to ring whilst at work. A Kingfisher in Churchfield was probably the ringing highlight of the month, and maybe even the year. A really stunning bird!

-Whinchat

-Wood Warbler

-Kingfisher

A cracking male Black Darter on the 24^th was another dragonfly Spurn tick for me, this time found by Tim at the end Churchfield Heligoland trap, as so many rare dragonflies area. On the 29^th Adam, as he so often does, found a Woodchat Shrike at the Warren. It was extremely elusive and difficult to connect with, but as the morning warmed up it became more active and was soon feeding out, even if it remained a little obscured. During the afternoon I headed off to Hornsea with my parents, and as a result I missed out on ringing an Icterine Warbler. The next day a new bird was in the garden at Kew but sadly never went in any nets, but fortunately it reappeared in the nets later the following morning. I was pretty thrilled when I took it out put it that way, even if it’s not a self-find. That was one of two birds that I ringed on the 31^st, the other being a Red-backed Shrike at Sammies Point that Adam and I caught using spring-traps. What a day that was!

-Woodchat Shrike

-Black Darter

-Icterine Warbler

-Red-backed Shrike

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Gannet, Cormorant, Peregrine, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Dunlin, Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Common Tern, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Swift, Barn Owl, Little Owl, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Red-backed Shrike, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Robin, Redstart, Wheatear, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Dunnock, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting,

Spurn Week 14

Spurn 19.09.2016

After possibly the most frustrating week of my life away from Spurn for my mums birthday, today I made the proud return. Yeah, I may have missed a host of rare birds (Including a mega) but now I was back to set things right.

I intended to go down to Seawatching but ended up in Canal Scrape looking for jack snipe. It was not present but whilst there Jonnie heard a Yellow-browed warbler and after a bit of a chase we nailed it in the Sycamores in canal hedge. Two years since my last of this very dainty species, so very nice to catch up with one again.

-Common Snipe

-Yellow Browed Warbler

I spent the rest of the morning walking round the triangle. A Richards pipit was reported but attempts to refind it were unsuccessful. On the canal were a very showy Common Snipe and a fairly showy Water Rail, showing especially well for how skulking they usually are.

It was whilst walking back that I probably had the best of the morning. Along the canal I passed a few birders looking for a barred warbler. It was clearly a tour group of some kind. After I had just passed them the group leader shouted ‘large bunting coming, looks like and Ortolan’. The bird was extremely vocal and then landed right in front of us on the edge of the saltmarsh. It sat out in the open for all of a minuet before flying over us and into a field not to be seen again. Whilst I got pleasing views through bins, between radioing it out and trying to get my camera out of my bag, I had ended up not seeing it for very long at all. A pity really!

The afternoon was largely spent sleeping. When I awoke we headed down to the Seawatching hide, slowly via the canal and Clubleys field. A Redstart on canal scrape was about the best of it. A couple of Snipe of Clubleys field was also a nice treat. Seawatching was dead. Really dead! Only a handful of birds in total!

Species List:

Triangle: Ortolan Bunting, Yellow-browed Warbler, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Brent Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Water Rail, Willow Warbler, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Rock Pipit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Grey Wagtail, Skylark, Starling, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Winchat, Stonechat, Wheatear,

Seawatching: Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Gull, Swallow, Red-throated Diver, Cormorant, Common Scoter

Spurn 20^th September

It was another damp morning, much like the previous…

The plan was to head down to Seawatching via the canal. Along the way down the canal we picked up a few bits and pieces, the highlight being a Grasshopper Warbler skulking in the bottom of a Hawthorne bush. It’s the first time I have ever seen this species on the deck and not in flight. Once I got down to the Warren I was pretty pleased to pick up a Yellow-browed Warbler in the sycamores. Not a new bird or anything, as it had been present the previous day, but always a delight to see such smart little birds.

The sea was steady, with a trickle of Divers, Kittiwakes and Skuas all going past. A couple of very close dark phase Arctic Skuas were probably the best of it, especially when they started mobbing the terns that were blogging about. The rest of the triangle had obviously seen something of a clear-out from the previous day. There were still a few Meadow Pipits knocking about, and among them I picked out a Corn Bunting on the fence line.

The main order of the day was moving the tern equipment off the beach and into Kew. On my way up to Beacon Ponds I was treated to my first Jack Snipe of the Autumn which I flushed from sea defences at long bank. Obviously it showed no signs of slowing up once flushed, and fair pinged it towards the listening dish.

Species List:

Triangle: Lesser Whitethroat, Whinchat, Stonechat, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Redstart, Yellow-browed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Corn Bunting, Reed Bunting, Little Grebe, Blackcap, Grey Heron, Marsh Harrier, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Willow Warbler, Swallow, House Martin,

Seawatching: Red-throated Diver, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Sandwich Tern, Red-breasted Merganser, Teal, Tufted Duck, Common Tern, Gannet, Kittiwake, Common Gull, Razorbill

Long Bank Area: Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Greenshank, Lapwing, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Woodpigeon, Reed Bunting, Willow Warbler, Swallow, House Martin,

Spurn 21^st September

After the easterlies overnight I was obviously hopeful for some new birds having dropped in. Sadly the winds had changed and the walk round the triangle did not produce much different. Obviously though Yellow Browed Warbler is always a treat to see, and once again I picked one up in Cliffe Farm on my walk down to the Canal Zone. And the walk then ended with seeing one in the hand with one trapped and ringed in Churchfield. Such cracking little birds!

-Yellow Browed Warbler

The afternoon was spent doing work on the garage for the preparation for the new roof coming on Friday. During our work in the obs garden we had 2 more Yellow Browed Warblers and a flock of 14 Long-tailed Tits which are something of an irregularity down south of Easington.

We had just finished with the garage and I had just set off my dinner when the radio buzzed into life; Paul had recaught the Blyths Reed Warbler that I had missed on Sunday. Cue absolute pandemonium as all 7 birders sat in the obs kitchen sprung into life. Given my disastrous weekend it was good to settle my score with one of the species I missed.

The light was fading but I still managed a few decent enough shots of the bird in the hand. I’m not gonna lie, I have tried to read up on this species and I still have very little idea what I’m actually looking for beside the ‘banana shape’ which this individual did not even show. Still, something to read up on one quiet evening I suppose.

-Blyths Reed Warbler

The bird was released after being shown to the small crowd that had gathered. Its weight had gone up substantially since its previous trapping on Sunday, which is a sign the bird had obviously made itself at home in the area. It begs the question as to why nobody had seen it over the past few days, as its skulked away through the undergrowth no doubt.  

Species List:

Triangle: Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Linnet, Lesser Whitethroat, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Mallard, Teal, Shelduck, Herring Gull, Whinchat, Stonechat, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Redshank,

Spurn 22^nd September

Wednesday morning brought a change in the weather, and with it the emphasis changed from bush bashing into vis-migging. So I headed down to the warren in the morning, as per, hoping for a good day’s passage, or something moving on the sea.

As it happened I got neither of those. The previous night there had been a photo sent through the Spurn account of a Siberian stonechat seen the previous day. It was somewhere down the point and as a result the effort given to trying to refind the bird was negligible. As a result, I decided to go down and hopefully recover the bird.

Sadly I did not recover the bird, although it would not surprise me if it were still down there. Birds as a whole were at a bit of a premium. I heard a Yellow-browed Warbler but could not get it out of the bushes. A few Wheatears were still around at various points along the road and a smart Lesser Whitethroat was probably the best of it.

In the afternoon I made the most of the bike that we have at the Obs and made my way up to Kilnsea to count the wildfowl, the down to the canal scrape to see if any snipe had dropped in. The wetlands was good, with 209 Wigeon, 92 Teal plus small clusters of Shoveler and Pintail. The canal did not have the variety as Wetlands but did have a Kingfisher on it, which is always a bonus. I was able to grab a few photos but the light was badly against me.

-Kingfisher

After Canal Scrape I was beginning to cycle back when a radio message came over of a possible Siberian stonechat ‘stejneger’ at the Warren. I know nothing on this topic, but went along to learn. In the end all birders there left none the wiser. The consensus was that the bird would have to be trapped and sampled to be anywhere certain, but it was in the company of 2 other European Stonechat and there was no obvious difference in the field.

Species List:

Triangle: Brent Goose, Whinchat, Stonechat, Wigeon, Merlin, Kestrel, Long-tailed Tit, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Mallard, Dunlin, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Teal, Redstart, Little Egret, Moorhen, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Common Snipe, Kingfisher, Meadow Pipit, Swallow,

Spurn Peninsula: Wheatear, Song Thrush, Turnstone, Knot, Rock Pipit, Willow Warbler, Eider, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Little Gull, Cormorant, Brent Goose, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Kestrel, Golden Plover, Grey Plover,

Kilnsea Wetlands: Mediterranean Gull, Wigeon, Greenshank, Lapwing, Ruff, Teal, Knot, Shoveler, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Jackdaw, Magpie, Common Snipe, Mallard, Herring Gull, Wigeon, Swallow, Meadow Pipit,

Spurn 23^rd September

Today was basically given up to the construction of the new garage roof at the observatory. That being said we did get out birding a little bit. Most of the birding we did get done was on canal scrape, largely looking for and then at the Jack Snipe that finally decided to show somewhat. It showed badly obscured and asleep but I have now finally seen it. Hopefully in the coming days it will decide to show a bit better…

-Jack Snipe

Also on the agenda was chasing down yesterday’s Stonechat but to no avail. To consensus seems to be that it’s just a normal Stonechat anyway, which suits me as I could see no difference in the bird the previous evening. However in being down at the warren I was on hand to admire the Long-tailed Tits that the ringers caught. It was the same flock that had been around for some time and all the birds caught had previously been caught by Paul only a couple of days ago.

-Long-tailed Tit

Species List:

Triangle: Stonechat, Whinchat, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Dunlin, Jackdaw, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Yellow-browed Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, Mallard, Wigeon, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Hobby, Sandwich Tern,

Spurn 24^th September

With the garage roof all but done, we were afforded more time to go out birding. Of course the first port of call was Canal Scrape to see if the Jack Snipe was showing at all. It was, and much better than yesterday. With the morning light still very much sub-par I decided my best option  was to phone scope it which did get some results, although not as fantastic as I would have liked. In the end, the bird bobbed away into the reeds until all you could see was its bobbing profile.

-Jack Snipe

Next call was numpties for the Vis-mig. There was a steady flow of a mixture of species, but it was by no means exceptional. A few finches, Hirundines and Meadow Pipits were the main movers. The undoubted highlight was a Merlin that flew past us a couple of times, fairly close too, and then proceeded to chase starlings over Clubleys field.

-Merlin

After a short food break I headed onto Wetlands for a look at the high tide waders. Sadly none came on. A few Waders already present were showing well, as they often do from the hide. I resorted to counting the ducks, but even their numbers had seemingly dropped off.

The afternoon was largely spent running up and down Easington Straight after a possible pacific golden plover but sadly nothing much came of it, and then the task of moving wood into the new woodshed. However, the day reached its peak when late afternoon I sacked off the wood moving and went to have another look at the Jack Snipe, and the Jack Snipe was obliging greatly by sitting right out in the open, showing well. I think it’s best to let the photos do the talking on this one…

Species List:

Triangle: Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Red-throated Diver, Starling, Merlin, Shelduck, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Cormorant, Gannet, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Wigeon, Moorhen, Little Egret,

Kilnsea Wetlands: Knot, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Greenshank, Little Egret, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Wigeon, Teal, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Swallow,

Spurn 25.09.2016

After a night in the pub, and with an oncoming cold I was not exactly in a rush to get out of bed in the morning. When I did eventually get up, eventually being 7.30, I headed down to the canal scrape in the hope of seeing the Jack Snipe in good light, but sadly it was not showing. A Water Rail made a brief appearance and a Common Snipe showed very nice.

Most of the day was spent sorting out wood, but had a few breaks to go out birding, namely a return trip to the Jack Snipe which had now come out and was showing well. This was followed by a trip to the Borrow Pits for a reported Red-crested Pochard, which was still there among the mallards, but obviously has to have some questions over its origins. That being said, there are a number of Spurn birders who seem to think that it has indeed got some credentials, so we will see what happens to it…

-Red Crested Pochard

In the evening I checking in on the Jack Snipe again, which continued to show well. The problem was the light was against me trying to improve on the photos which I had already got. I decided not to stay long and then go down to the Seawatching. It was fairly quiet down there, but a nice movement of Mediterranean Gulls, about 25, was something a bit different and made going down worthwhile.

-Jack Snipe

Species List:

Triangle: Water Rail, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Whinchat, Reed Bunting, Red-crested Pochard, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Dunlin, Swallow, House Martin, Grey Heron, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Kestrel,

Seawatching: Arctic Skua, Common Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Gannet, Razorbill, Red-throated Diver, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Swallow,

Spurn Day 8

I was kinda supposed to go home on Tuesday but with the oncoming easterlies I decided to stay and cancel my driving lesson. This turned out to be one of my greatest calls in my birdwatching time, as Wednesday turned out to be one of the best days birding I have ever had.

It was a muggy, overcast day, but as per usual the day started at 6.00 for me. Paul was down ringing and there were five of us up at Seawatching, one of those being Tim who was commuting between Seawatching and Ringing. Ducks were the only things really moving, but numbers were down on the previous seawatches.

Tim called out to get on this at around 7.20. The bird he had seen was very Fulmar like, but was flapping far more frequently. He quickly followed up his initial alert with his identification of a probable pterodroma petrel. It was about three quarters of the way out, but even at that distance, as it approached north, you could almost make out the ‘W’ mark on the wings, and the black underwings were obvious. After a short while, as it came further north we all watch and discussed, until Tim made the call that it was indeed a Feas-type petrel. He began to film it, so I decided to borrow his film rather than try any photos of my own. It sheared only occasionally, but was clearly a Feas Petrel. Tim ran down to get Paul and wake Ed and when Ed arrived I lent him my scope so he could see it, but by now it was well north and had moved further out, and whether he got it or not is not overly clear. 

-Fea's Petrel (Video and Screenshot: Tim Jones)

To say we were all buzzing after that was an understatement. One of the lads in the hide had come up from Southampton for a meeting, but that had been cancelled and had gone to spurn instead. Apart from that we were all Spurn regulars. It’s a bird I never expected to see, and never as well as that. Obviously you can’t twitch them, so it’s all down to luck. And thanks to Tim we had indeed got that slice of luck.

Buzzing after the morning, and with easterlies in the air, I decided to wander around to see if any migrants had dropped in. The birds were a little thinner than I would have hoped, the only real migrants were not Autumn but Winter, with 2 Brent Geese on the ponds being the highlight. I thought it was a Pale-bellied and a Dark-bellied but was not sure, so I was pleased when Tim confirmed my identification.

-Pale Bellied and Dark Bellied Brent Geese

I decided to walk along the beach by the ponds to see if any snow buntings had dropped in. They had not but a large flock of gulls up by Easington Lagoons drew my attention. There were a few Mediterranean Gulls but no others of any note. I had a quick look round the boatyard and then set off back. A few more large gulls seemed to be arriving on the beach, so rather than return by long bank as had been my initial plan, I set off back via the beach again.

This was well founded, as on my first scan through the gulls I picked out one which seemed to had an odd shaped bill and white head. I immediately thought Caspian and as I approached my suspicions did not dim. Sadly though all the gulls were then flushed into the water by dog walkers, and the subsequent bird then got up and flew south leaving me with nothing expect a few poor photos to go on.

I called it out, rather timidly, and set off for long bank. Doubts were running through my head. And though I felt confident about my identification I remained unsure. Imagine then, the horror I felt when the bird I had called out thinking would now be in Lincolnshire rocked up on wetlands. I was mortified. I called out its new location rather reluctantly, followed by a request if someone could come and check I was right. 

Ian Smith came up, more to photograph it than anything else, and together with a few others in the hide, we discussed the points of the bird. The more we looked the more points we saw for Caspian, but the more we saw against it too. In the end, we took a tonne of photos and decided to ask Tim.

The first person I saw who asked was Rael, and when he looked at the photos he thought Yellow-legged. My heart sank. And when I showed Tim in the evening he said the same thing, although when I mentioned we had flight shots he requested a look, as they would prove conclusive. And conclusive they did, as the bird clearly showed an extended white rump and white underwings, which are diagnostic for Caspian Gull.

I had kinda hoped when I lifered Casp, I would get a stonking and obvious first winter bird with small eye and long beak, not had a dubious bird that around 10 birders couldn't work out for sure. That being said, I learned an awful lot from it, especially now I had more diagnostic features to go off for future. In addition to it being a lifer, my first truly self-found lifer for a long time, its also my first Yorkshire description species and my name in the Spurn report. All in all, its been a very exciting, nerve wracking and educational day... 

-1st Winter Caspian Gull

Still unknowing the true identification of my gull I headed back down the canal for a bite to eat at the Warren. Half way down Tim collard me. He had caught yesterdays kingfisher and asked my to run it up to Churchfield. I was pretty thrilled, so delayed lunch. My surprise when I heard a kingfisher calling a little way back up the canal, was perhaps a little uncalled for given what was in my bag, but all became clear when I spotted a second Kingfisher hunting the top of the canal. That makes two Kingfishers in one day, and just yesterday it was a new bird for me at Spurn. Of course it goes without saying that in the hand it looked simply fantastic. Beautiful.

-Kingfisher

I spent the rest of the afternoon eating my lunch/dinner, before heading up for a relaxed spot of seawatching. Not so. Soon after we arrived we saw a aisled fulmar on the water, and it eventually crashed into the beach. Ed collected it as we assessed its health to see if we could revive its fortunes. Sadly, it died during the night.

-Fulmar

It was quite a day, with 2 lifers and a host of other goodies. I think its safe to say that staying on an extra couple of days was a very good idea...

Species List:

Seawatching: Wigeon, Teal, Fulmar, Common Scoter, Fea's Petrel, Arctic Skua, Gannet, Red-Throated Diver, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Common Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Swallow, Dunlin,

Canal: Woodpigeon, Swallow, Mallard, Wigeon, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, Reed Bunting, Turnstone, Redshank, Little Egret, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackbird, Shelduck, Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Spotted Flycatcher, Robin, Gadwall, Teal, Graylag Goose, Mute Swan, Greenshank, Lapwing, Curlew, House Sparrow,

Ponds, Lagoons: Peregrine, Curlew, Dunlin, Cormorant, Black-Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Little Grebe, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Yellow Wagtail, Starling, Brent Goose, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull, Ringed Plover, Sandwich Tern, Sanderling, Wheatear, Kestrel, Pied Wagtail, Caspian Gull, Reed Bunting, Kingfisher, Whinchat,