December is here. And whilst most birders brace themselves
for the weariness of winter birding, at Spurn its seems things are only just
kicking off. As it was on the first of December that Spurn finally got its new
bird for 2017 when Jonnie found a LESSER YELLOWLEGS on the puddle in
Northfield, the field two across from Churchfield. I was busy with the nets
when the news was announced so was not able to stop and look at the bird for
long, but in the afternoon once Paul and I had finished running our errands I
went back for another look and was treated to some excellent views by this very
smart bird. A very graceful bird; much more delicate than a redshank with
spangled plumage like a wood sandpiper. An excellent way to kick off December!
-Lesser Yellowlegs
The 29th was also an excellent day, but not on
the bird front. Spurn awoke to a blanket of snow, the first time I have ever
seen it at Spurn. It continued to snow throughout the day, but it was clear
that it was not going to last, and by the following morning the vast majority
had melted, with the remainder being little more than slush. Still, it was
beautiful whilst it lasted, and it caused chaos among the local birds. I was
not able to open the nets as a result of everything being so wet but I laid out
a spiral trap as I had most mornings in an attempt to catch moorhen. It had an
excellent day, catching three Pheasants (Including two at once), a Greenfinch,
a Blue Tit and finally the Moorhen, although the bastard slipped out of the
trap before I could catch it fully.
-A Snowy Obs
The weekend was taken up by a work party to repair the
Churchfield paths. I was responsible for breaking up the large concrete slabs
we had been left. It was a thankless job, but we had a few bits and pieces to
entertain us whilst we worked, including a Woodcock and a few Snipe, as well as
small flocks of Siskin overhead. On the Sunday we caught half the flock in the
Heligoland trap, quite by chance, so got to ring 10 Siskin.
-Weekend Work Party
In addition to all that has been going on over the week we
have had the nets open most days. A Bullfinch was nice, as was a Blackcap. A
German ringed Blackbird was the first of the species that we have controlled
this autumn and about time too. We also tried wader ringing, and although we
did not catch anything, we did see the Scaup pair that have set up on Kilnsea
Wetlands, along with hosts of Curlew, Redshank and Dunlin, as well as the odd
Black-tailed Godwit mixed in for good measure.
-Sunset over the Humber
Species List:
Spurn: Wigeon,
Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Scaup, Whooper Swan, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Brent Goose, Water Rail,
Moorhen, Coot, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover,
Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common
Snipe, Woodcock, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed
Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Tawny
Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock,
Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House
Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Lesser
Redpoll,
