October at Spurn

I arrived back from Germany late in the evening of the 8^th of October, ready to continue ringing and birding until the end of the month. My return started with a bang, as the previous evening a Red-flanked Bluetail had been found at the Potato Fields. I cycled down but the bird proved extremely elusive and only the occasional fleeting glimpses were obtained. During the afternoon I even headed down for seconds but on this occasion I did not even see the bird. On the same day I had a Shore Lark fly south over the breach, although consensus is that it was the bird that had been seen regularly in front of Chalk Bank hide.

-Red-flanked Bluetail

Now that the license to occupy has been renewed there was finally the opportunity to ring again at the Warren. During my first week back I spent most of my mornings down here, picking up such goodies as Rock Pipit, Yellow-browed Warbler and plenty of commoner birds.

Between ringing and working at the pub I had limited time available for actual birding. That being said, just being at Spurn means birds are around, and when I clocked off work on the 11^th at lunchtime, I was immediately greeted by Jonnie Fisk racing out of Kew to inform me that an Olive-backed Pipit was flying overhead. We both got onto the bird as it called and whizzed overhead. I got to enjoy nice on the deck views of this bird as well, when it set up at the north end of the canal. On the 9^th I also saw the juvenile Rose-coloured Starling that had turned up along the canal during my stay in Germany. It occasionally drifted down towards the Warren, but despite trying to use tapes we failed to catch it.

The weather turned at the end of the week, but at Hornsea Britain’s first White-rumped Swift made for an exciting turn of events. I was of course working and did not get to see the bird, and it never made an appearance at Spurn.

Ringing ticks continued to pour in over the next week; Stonechat, Grey Wagtail, Coal Tit, Yellowhammer and Barred Warbler, a bird which I myself drove into the Heligoland trap. I was of course buzzing when I pulled it out of the catching box. As I was walking the trap, the bird ahead of me, I began to wonder what on earth this bird was, but I had inkling long before I reached the end that it was indeed a Barred Warbler. Even rarer for Spurn, although not this autumn, was a Cettis Warbler that Tim caught in Corner Field. On the 20^th we caught a Willow Warbler in Kew. Not only is it an extremely late date, but the bird was enormous with a huge wing comparatively. We took some feathers for DNA but it seems unlikely that anything will come of it.

-Coal Tit

-Grey Wagtail

-Yellowhammer

-Rock Pipit

-Willow Warbler

-Cetti's Warbler

-Barred Warbler

The highlight of the autumn for some was a Great Skua that was picked up aisled on the beach and brought to Kew for some TLC. Of course, it being a great skua, the bird was violent and aggressive but easy to look after as we threw it any manner of roadkill to keep it occupied. When the day came for its release it was ringed and brought down to the Bluebell. I had the privilege of holding the bird during its transport, and in a moment of lapse concentration was reminded why these birds are so vicious, as it marked my face less than an inch from my right eye. The bastard then did not even fly off, and returned to our care for a few days before we let it loose on the Humber. Because of its temperament, I gave it the name Lucifer.

-Great Skua 'Lucifer'

Towards the end of my stay the ringing list got a real boost. A Merlin caught on the 24^th was sadly not ringed by me, but was still an absolute treat to see in the hand, a bird very rarely caught at Spurn. A Waxwing on the same day spent the afternoon around the trees at Kew but frustratingly bounced out of the net. We also finally caught the Kew Tawny Owl after nearly 12 months of trying. Our method was brutal but effective, and I had the honour of finally ringing it. Right before I headed off to Germany there was an influx of Mealy Redpolls, including some real stunners. I was able to ring around 20 birds, and among them, although not ringed by me, was a cracking Coue’s Arctic Redpoll, a solid Spurn tick. On the same day I caught a Firecrest, which was a nice bonus to what felt like a real autumn day.

-Merlin

-Tawny Owl

-Coue's Arctic Redpoll

My last days were dominated by birds on the sea. I spent very little time at the Sea-watching Hut but did enjoy a nice Pomarine Skua passage when I finally did venture down. I flew out to Germany again on the 29^th effectively ending my autumns birding at Spurn.

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Shelduck, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Gannet, Cormorant, Peregrine, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Water Rail, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Dunlin, Redshank, Greenshank, Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Skua, Pomarine Skua, Arctic Skua, Guillemot, Razorbill, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Short-eared Owl, Long-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Shore Lark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Cettis Warbler, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Waxwing, Wren, Starling, Rose-coloured Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Robin, Redstart, Black Redstart, Wheatear, Red-flanked Bluetail, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Dunnock, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Mealy Redpoll, Coue’s Arctic Redpoll, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting,

Northumberland: Birling and Cresswell Pond

Well, lectures started again today, so what better excuse to run off twitching for the day? Northumberland was the chosen destination on account of its potential two lifers and generally pleasant birding.

I got off the train at 8.00 in Alnmouth and then got the bus down to Birling for the Arctic Redpoll that had been there for a while now. Just about managed to catch the bus to save myself some time, followed by a short walk down to the very vague location of the bird. along the way I picked up my first yeartick of the day, Whooper Swan. There were a small number of individuals feeding with the Mute Swans in the fields along the side of the road.

-Whooper Swan

I had a rough idea of where to look for the Redpolls and it was not long before I was able to pick up a number of birds in flight moving along in the field but I was not able to get them down for about an hour. An entire hour spent chasing Redpolls before I finally got them in an open area. I had a scan along the fence with the scope and within seconds I had the Cous' Arctic Redpoll sitting on the fence. It was obvious it was unbelievable, I barely had to wait to see the white rump, although it did not take long for it to duly oblige. 

The flock kept moving and I had my best views in the car park about half an hour later, although then it was in the trees and the views were quite obscured at times. I was quite pleased with my shots though. It was quite a bird to look at. In addition to the Arctic I tried to mind a mealy redpoll among the ranks of birds, but alas I found none.

Arctic Redpoll is my first lifer this year, and a real super looking bird. It was quite an education looking at Redpolls for so long. This bird is quite something.

-Cous' Arctic Redpoll

Whilst there I got a host of other goodies too. Perhaps the highlight of these was during my five mins seawatching when a super Black-throated Diver flew south not too far out. An unexpected yeartick to say the least, and possibly the best view I have ever had of the species.

Also a bonus yeartick were the Grey Partridges that abounded in the game crop. The crop was tall but from it I could heard strange croaking noises. I had no idea what was going on and it took around half an hour before any of the culprits decided to fly out of it and reveal themselves, but once they had I found that there were Grey Partridges everywhere around the site.

-Grey Partridge

I had intended to get the bus down to Cresswell Pond for the LB Dowitcher there but as it happens there were a couple of local birders at the Redpoll and one of them offered to take me, saving me plenty of time and allowing me to arrive right at the pond rather than a substantial walk.

The Dowitcher was not on the near scrape, but Another birder in the hide picked it up on the very distant far side of the pond. Second lifer of 2016 in the bag. This does mean I labored to get any photos and the ones I did get were not helped by the fact that the bird spent most of its time with its head underwater.

It was nice to see it in context with the other waders though, so stumpy compared to the redshank it was feeding alongside. Whilst I did not manage to get a good photo of it I did manage a very poor quality video which is a bit better, although if that will be the same on here we will have to see.

-Long-Billed Dowitcher

-Long-Billed Dowitcher

A double lifer day, both birds playing ball, what more could I ask?

There were plenty of other birds at the pond too, yearticking Bar-Tailed Godwit and Dunlin among the other waders present. There were also masses of Pink-Footed Geese in the fields around the ponds. I knew there were a couple of Eurasian White-Fronted Geese in with them and so was painstakingly analysing all the flocks in the hope of picking them out.

Somehow the flock I found them in was the one directly opposite the pond which I had already scanned 3 times before I finally got them. I counted 4 White-fronts in total, a species I have not seen for many years and a really nice addition to the yearlist.

The geese were feeding in the fields along the side of the road, and so when I left Cresswell and headed up to Druridge Pools I got to walk right past them and get a few nice record shots...

-Pink-Footed Geese

-White-fronted Geese

Along the walk to Druridge I did not pick up much; a Stonechat and a few Yellowhammer the best of them. By the time I arrived at Druridge it was early evening and there was not much that there had not been at Cresswell. I added Pintail to the day list but the real highlight was a nice Short-eared Owl that was hunting around the area. A really nice way to finish off the day.

-Short-eared Owl

By the end of the day I was knackered but to have seen both my targets, plenty of other stuff and had a pretty sweet all-round day I could not ask for anything more. Thanks again to the local birders who gave me a lift and information about birds in the area and what best strategy to take. What an incredible days birding. 

Species List:

Birling Carrs: Rook, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Jackdaw, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Yellowhammer, Grey Partridge, Oystercatcher, Lesser Redpoll, Guillemot, Black-throated Diver, Grey Heron, Cous' Arctic Redpoll, Blackbird, Dunnock, Wren, Golden Plover, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Skylark, Pheasant, 

Cresswell Pond: Dunlin, Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Long-billed Dowitcher, Lapwing, Wigeon, Common Teal, Mallard, Shelduck, Pink-footed Goose, Moorhen, Common Snipe, Starling, Jackdaw, Rook, Great Tit, Red-breasted Merganser, Carrion Crow, White-fronted Goose, Oystercatcher, Little Grebe, Sparrowhawk, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Magpie, Turnstone, Eider, Herring Gull, Goldfinch, Robin, Yellowhammer, Wren, Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Kestrel, Lesser Redpoll, Pied Wheatear, Sanderling,

Druridge Pools: Mallard, Shelduck, Pintail, Wigeon, Common Teal, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Shoveler, Grey Heron, Lapwing, Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Short-eared Owl, Pink-footed Goose, Carrion Crow, Gadwall, Tree Sparrow, Siskin, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Little Grebe, Coot, Pheasant, Long-tailed Tit, Stonechat, Red-throated Diver, Feral Pigeon,