Soil Hill birding; updates from the week 17th October - 23rd October

  Its been quite a week on the Hill, with some days being very pleasant and producing incredible migration, while others have been awful with strong winds, rain and thick fog until late afternoon. This is the time of year when the weather can dictate the birding on offer, so it has been pleasing that the days which have been calmer have produced some of the best birding days I have ever had here.  

• The first day with notable passage was the 18^th, when Woodpigeons really started to get going with 1291 all heading south. Most of these birds went south within the first hour of light and seemed to die off after that. This is only a prelude to what was to follow for VizMig this week.  

• It is simply impossible to describe the scenes on Soil Hill on the 19^th this week. The first easterly winds of the autumn and fortunately it didn’t bring the mist and rain that they normally do. What it did bring though we masses and masses of thrushes. I headed up before first light and could already hear flocks of Redwings moving in the dark. Once the light cleared at around 07:30 I started counting as thousands of birds started passing through. With the torrent not slowing down until after lunch, I ended up staying until 12:30 watching flocks pile through. In the end I managed 12679 Redwing, with an additional 1035 Fieldfare and 812 Woodpigeon, as well as a small selection of the usual finches. Outstanding stuff, exactly the kind of day I had hoped for when I knew I would be here all October. 

• The 22^nd of October saw the wind switch back to southwesterly, and with no rain in the forecast it looked promising for VizMig. And so it turned out to be with big groups of thrushes, mostly Fieldfare, heading south from first light until 10:30. In total I managed 3308 Fieldfare with 934 Redwing mixed in for good measure. Woodpigeons were slightly down on what I expected, with ‘just’ 449 going south. Another very enjoyable days birding. 

-Redwing

-Fieldfare

-Woodpigeon

Among the throngs of migrants there were a few standout birds to enjoy as well, some real local rarities and others that are just special for here, including a patch tick…  

• Although it was long expected as a patch tick this autumn, it was nice to clinch my first Brambling on the 22^nd when a single flew south over the North Slope calling. Later a flock of seven also flew south but much more distant. This is my 121^st species for the patch! Fittingly, it was also my 100^th on Soil Hill this year.

• On the 19^th, just as I was finishing up the insane mornings VizMig, I picked up a Red Kite slowly drifting north, to the east of my VP. It came a little closer but was always high and continued to slowly move it’s way north. Remarkably, this is my first of the year here. Long overdue!

• On the 22^nd there was a nice surprise in the North Slope Tree-Line when I spotted a day-roosting Tawny Owl perched atop one of the fenceposts that runs down the slope. Its almost two years to the day since I first found this species roosting on the Hill, and I have only seen it one other time since, so to find it again on the nearly the same perch is quite the coincidence. 

• The final real notable species for the week was in the afternoon of the 23^rd when the high pitched calls alerted me to the presence of a flock of Long-tailed Tits. It was this time of year in 2020 when I also found this species here, when they lingered for just short of week. This time it was a flock of nine birds on the Ned Hill Track. Time will tell how long they will keep visiting the Hill for.  

-Brambling

-Red Kite

-Tawny Owl

-Long-tailed Tit

There were a few bits of Wildfowl this week, some on passage and others visiting the site itself. Although there were no huge numbers on passage, it’s always nice to see flocks on the move. 

• It’s been a long time coming, but the first Whooper Swans of the autumn finally passed south past Soil Hill this week. A group of 15 went south on the 19^th, passing down the Ogden Valley, with another small group of 8 on the 22^nd, which went out much further to the east over Bradford. 

• The 19^th was the only date this week where Pink-footed Geese were moving, with two small skeins totally just 91 birds heading northwest in the low cloud. 

• The NK Pond has hosted variable numbers of Teal during the week, with sightings every other day ranging from just three individuals to a personal record of 9 on the 22^nd.

-Whooper Swan

-Pink-footed Goose

-Eurasian Teal

  There was plenty of other good winter to be birding this week, even on days with poorer weather conditions. The poorer weather conditions produced a huge count of Common Snipe on the 20^th, when a passing ATV flushed a flock of 15 off the summit. Further walking produced another eight individuals bringing the total to 23! Another impressive count was on the 22^nd, when I totalled 15. My hunts for Jack Snipe have been successful for the most part, although no more than one individual at a time. Frustratingly though for most of the week it flushed before I was able to locate the bird with the thermal. That was until the 23^rd when one sat rather nicely and conspicuously, glowing in the thermal. The only other wader of note this week was a flock of six Golden Plover that flew north on the 19^th.

  Passerine migrants have been much reduced, as expected. Probably the last Chiffchaff of the year was present on the 17^th, and given that almost a week has passed since then, I think it is safe to say that this will indeed be the last of the year.  Goldcrests have been present almost daily but the best count of the week was just two on the 18^th. And finally, there have again been a number of Stonechat hanging around the Hill, with up to four being present almost every day, although they are mobile around the site.

   Throughout the week there were finches present in varying numbers, generally on VizMig but other times settled in the bushes feeding up. A Lesser Redpoll on the 21^st was the first I have ever seen on the deck here, surprising given how many I have heard and seen flying over. Siskins especially saw some nice totals on passage, with 29 on the 17^th and 28 on the 22^nd both being my best counts for this species here. Bullfinch have also been present daily, with the best count being four on the 22^nd. These were settled in the North Slope Tree-Line.

  The final note of the week was a flock of I estimated 500 Starlings on Perseverance Road on the 21^st, moving around in the fog in rather atmospheric conditions. 

-Jack Snipe

-Lesser Redpoll

-Starlings

Species List:
Soil Hill: Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Whooper Swan, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Goosander, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Common Moorhen, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Western Barn Owl, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Brambling, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting, 

Soil Hill birding; updates from the week 26th September - 2nd October

 This week saw the end of September with an impressive 82 species recorded on the Hill, helped greatly by the end of the summer migrants followed by the first arrivals of winter migrants. However, the season moves on and October is now upon us. The weather has caused some difficulties this week, with more rain and strong winds on a number of days but others have seen good passage of VizMig in very pleasant conditions.

• There was one mega for me on Soil Hill this week, although I am aware other birders have seen it here before when a Merlin was hunting over the North Slope. It circled for a few minutes then headed off south. This was a patch tick for me, and is my 119^th species for Soil Hill. 

-Merlin

Visible migration was absolutely the highlight of the week, with days of nice steady passage being the best days birding. Often I have only gone to do the VizMig and spent barely any time searching the bushes, largely due to the strong winds and cold conditions. 

• Once again the largest movements have been of Meadow Pipit, with the largest counts being 341 on the 2^nd and 265 on the 27^th. But numbers have been variable and on some days there has been no movement at all, although this is almost certainly a consequence of the poor weather conditions on those dates.  

• The first Redwings of the autumn arrived this week, and they arrived with a bang with 75 all heading southwest on the 26^th. The highest count of the week however was on the 29^th when 104 passed through but in different directions. Otherwise most dates just had one or two individuals. It is lovely to hear their seeping calls again. 

• The movement of Hirundines remain intermittent during the week with just a handful of birds throughout the week until a very sudden burst on the 2^nd with 27 Barn Swallows, 7 House Martin and a single, but extremely late Sand Martin. Otherwise the weekly movement was limited to a handful of Swallows and a group of four House Martin that flew north on the 1^st. 

• Although there was not a significant movement of finches during the week, there was a scattered variety including a single Greenfinch on the 2^nd, an impressive nine Lesser Redpoll on the same date as well as 10 Siskin, plus nine on the 29^th and smaller counts on other dates. The most significant finch mover was Chaffinch, with 21 south on the 02^nd and 15 on the 28^th being the best counts of the week. 

• In tandem with the Meadow Pipit flocks could often be found a few Pied Wagtails moving south, normally in small numbers but on the 2^nd I counted no less than 36 birds flying south in three and a half hours! There were also a few Grey Wagtails during the week, with four also on the 2^nd being the largest count. 

-Redwing

Although there was no change in the composition, there was once again good movement of the expected wildfowl species during the week, plus the usual species frequenting their usual haunts.

• The start of the week saw very impressive movements of Pink-footed Geese, but towards the end of the week these tailed off with just single flocks on the 30^th and 2^nd. The best count was of 744 on the 27^th, during which 15 skeins passed being visible from Soil Hill, the largest being 146, during a three-and-a-half-hour watch. The next highest count was a much reduced 380 on the 28^th, which saw just five skeins pass. There were a few Greylag Geese during the week, with small flocks on three dates, the largest group being nine that flew south on the 27^th. 

• I had a new record count of Goosander with eight that went south as a flock of seven and a single on the 27^th. Singles were also seen on the 26^th and on the 30^th. The small group of Teal that has been around intermittently was again present on the NK Pond on the 28^th and again on the 01^st, when four were present. 

-Pink-footed Goose

-Greylag Goose

-Goosander

  Now that the autumn has fully arrived, and summer species are largely displaced by winter species, there seems little need to deep dive into passage migrants from the week. Needless to say Chiffchaff was the only warbler present during the week, with individuals recorded daily sometimes even singing. The highest count was of three on the 27^th.  The only other species I would classify here is Stonechat which continued on the Hill throughout the week with the highest count again being five, which were all together at the bottom of the North Slope on the 01^st. Goldcrest continued to be present every day, with the highest count being four on the 30th.  

  There were just a few waders on show this week, besides the Common Snipe that winter in the various ditches around the site. During the first couple of days of the week there were a few Golden Plover, with three flying north on the 26^th and a single also flying north on the 27^th. A Curlew was feeding on the bottom Cattle Fields on the 26^th and then again on the 28^th. 

  Other bits were limited during the week but it was good to see the Grey Partridges again, with all ten being seen as a flock of seven and a three on the 30^th, with the three also seen on the 28^th. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew southwest on the 26^th, a pair of Raven was seen on the 26^th and then again on the 2^nd, and finally Bullfinch made an appearance with two individuals seen on the 01^st.

-Grey Partridge

Species List:
Soil Hill: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Goosander, Grey Partridge, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, European Golden Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Common Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting, 

Spurn Week 9

Wednesday 18^th - Tuesday 24^th October   

As has increasingly become the came as the autumn has progressed, my time is now nearly all spent in Churchfield ringing. Over the last week I was able to ring an awesome selection of birds including Brambling, Bullfinch, Twite and my first Yellow-browed Warbler. The bulk of the ringing totals were made up of thrushes, particularly Redwing and Blackbird

To keep my bank balance ticking over I started doing some work for Ian Smith in the village, helping him build a deer fence for a new area of land. Whilst this meant most of my afternoons over this week were spent working not birding, we did have a Great White Egret fly right over us, which was something of a bonus.

The 19^th of October was an exceptional day that is definitely worth mentioning. Despite the wind remaining a light westerly, there was a massive arrival of Redwing, over 12000 in the area as a whole. We continued ringing in Churchfield, and even though we only managed to catch 86 we could see thousands flying overhead or moving through the hedges. There was also a four figure count of Blackbirds, 1342, and then 213 Fieldfare. There’s nothing more exciting than when a large fall occurs, it really was an amazing day!

-Brambling

-Redwing

-Yellow-browed Warbler

-Twite

-Siskin

Species List:

Spurn Bird Obs: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pink-footed Goose, Brent Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Gannet, Cormorant, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Merlin, Common Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Curlew, Greenshank. Common Redshank, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Feral Pigeon, Short-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Whinchat, Stonechat, Robin, Black Redstart, Wren, Dunnock, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Yellow-browed Warbler, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Starling, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin, Linnet, Twite, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Lapland Bunting, Snow Bunting, Migrant Hawker, Common Darter, Red Admiral, 

Spurn Week 20

Spurn 31.10.2016

Another day largely built upon westerly winds. The strength of the wind had dropped off markedly, but there did seem to be a large number of thrushes in, with Blackbirds lining the road and fieldfares in most of the bushes. I decided once again to head down the point, but the trip was punctuated by other birds. It started fairly poorly, when I returned at the breach to have a look a couple of Twite that had been caught at the Warren.

-Twite

Once down the point I struggled to concentrate as not long after I arrived at Chalk Bank, news broke through that a shrike sp. had been seen in Canal Hedge, but it had only been seen briefly. I initially stalled in the area so I could race back if I needed to, but when no more news was received I decided to continue down the point. At the lighthouse I stumble across 5 Snow Buntings, including a bird that appears to be an Icelandic individual based on how brown it is.

-Snow Bunting

Not long after this the radio buzzed again regarding the shrike, suggesting that it ‘looked interesting’ but nothing more would be said. I made a call to head back to make sure I was near if anything was going to become of it. I was just on the far side of the breach when the Paul French announced that he had seen it clearly, and thought it looked like a Brown Shrike. Panic set it and I fair paced it back to the hedge.

The Shrike proved difficult at first, showing clearly but not for long at all. However, with only Spurn Regulars on site it was easy to manoeuvre ourselves into a position where we were able to see it clearly. The bird was clearly much more uniform brown than would be expected for a red backed and was obviously too dark for either Isabelline race. Its mask was also striking. A cracking bird, and Spurns seventh MEGA of the autumn (Five of which I have connected with).

-Brown Shrike

In the afternoon we continued with the ongoing odd jobs associated with the observatory garden. However we did see the four White-fronted Geese that were knocking about in Easington, although from a distance.

Species List:

Spurn: Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Twite, Snow Bunting, Dunlin, Sanderling, Knot, Grey Plover, Mallard, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Brown Shrike, Woodpigeon,. Swallow, Water Rail, Moorhen,

Spurn 01.11.2016

The first day on November brought with it cold northerly winds, leaving the whole of the Spurn area feeling rather wintery. I headed down the point early on to try and find whatever was down there first. Sadly though I failed to find anything good and, despite good numbers of thrushes, there was a general dearth of species variety. The undoubted highlight was relocating the Icelandic Snow Bunting on the beach. This time I was sure to get some rump shots, the dark centres of which confirm the bird to be of the subspecies ‘insulae’. An interesting and extremely educational bird!

-Snow Bunting

In the afternoon, with the bushes continuing to be hard work, we continued to work in the garden, clearing rubbish and storing firewood. In the end a rather steady day but a pleasant affair anyway!

Species List:

Spurn Peninsula: Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Brambling, Chaffinch, Snow Bunting, Reed Bunting, Curlew, Common Scoter, Turnstone, Starling, Wren, Robin, Cormorant, Herring Gull, Dunlin, Sanderling, Great Black-backed Gull,

Spurn 02.11.2016

November is meant to mark the slowing down of autumn with fewer birds and generally colder weather. My parents were coming today, so I was in no rush to really do much, rather try and keep myself in order. After a lie-in I headed down to the Seawatching hide in the hope of something flying past.

And something did. We were all watching out to sea, when the radio crackled into life with obvious excitement. The only word I heard clearly was Egret flying north over the warren, but a quick pivot round quickly put me on a Cattle Egret flying straight over my head. If only I had picked it up sooner, as my photos were all of the bird flying away from me. It looked initially like it might drop in, but instead it flew off out over the Humber and then north. It was only when it was out over the Humber that I finally got decent views of its bill and a more general impression of its overall structure. I had rattled off record shots as soon as it had come over, a lifer after all, sadly though all but a few were of just the wings and feet. I managed a few of the bird in profile when it flew more westwards towards the Humber over the triangle. I scoped it out over the Humber and followed it as It drifted up river until it was pointless following it anymore. Another lifer this autumn and only the third record for the Spurn area!

-Cattle Egret

Once the excitement had reduced I realised I should probably head back up to the obs in order to meet my parents. I had only just got back when the radio again crackled with the news of the Rough-legged Buzzard in the triangle. It was apparently flying north, but neither myself nor Ian who were there could see it. However the behaviour of the crows suggested it could be flying quite low, and when I checked the Humber we had it flying low down going north. Again, if we had gotten onto it sooner we would have got cracking views and shots, but sadly not to be.

The afternoon with the parents nice. I took them out to see a couple of birds in the hand, which included a Twite and a Woodcock. Both cracking birds and really nice to see in the hand, especially the Woodcock, which was docile enough to be held in a ringers pose without too much bother.

-Twite

-Woodcock

Species List:

Triangle: Woodcock, Twite, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Rough-legged Buzzard, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Gannet, Guillemot, Common Scoter, Mallard, Wigeon, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Common Snipe, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Robin, Dunnock,

Spurn 03.11.2016

Having discussed with Sarah about trying to catch Snow Buntings down the point today we headed off in the hope of finding some by the lighthouse. It quickly seemed like we might not have to go down, having come across three approachable birds at the breach, but they were not having any of it. One bird took a long look at the spring trap before changing its mind, and that was as close as we got. On the other hand I did get a cracking view of the buntings, two of which I reckon were Icelandic Snow Buntings judging by its brown rump with dark centres. Being around the breach meant we were in luck when a Waxwing was caught at the Warren. Its great to see these stunning birds up close like this. 

-Waxwing

After a while the buntings took flight and headed south down the peninsula. We did not come across them again on our trip down the peninsula. To be honest, we did not find much of anything, the best of it probably a Woodcock flushed. The highlight was a single run of the Heligoland trap at the point, which produced a whopping 17 Blackbirds, plus a single Redwing. That was extremely exciting, as I scribed or Sarah who ringed them.

-Blackbirds

-Redwing

Species List:

Spurn Peninsula: Woodcock, Robin, Redwing, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Reed Bunting, Kestrel, Goldcrest, Turnstone, Cormorant, Snow Bunting, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull,  

Spurn 04.11.2016

After a night of drinking it was remarkable that we all woke up at a reasonable time and that we continued with our original plan of going down the point. The walk down was good fun, but we saw very little. There was an obvious clearout of birds down the point, with thrush numbers much reduced on what they had been the previous day. Still we ran the Heligoland trap a couple of times and caught a small sample of Blackbirds which was nice.

The obvious highlight was an absurdly tame fox on the main loop path. When we first saw it we all quietened down in order to not scare it, but then it came running up to us. We were able to touch it the thing came so close.

-Fox

On the way back we spotted the three Snow Buntings that Sarah and I had spent the previous morning trying to trap. We tried again, but sadly we were not successful once again. Whats worse is that this time one of the birds actually stepped into the trap but failed to set it off. After at least an hour of trying the buntings all got up and flew south, and that was the end of that. Two of the birds were Icelandic Snow Buntings, and this time I got a few pictures, although nothing spectacular.

Species List:

Spurn Peninsula: Woodcock, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Reed Bunting, Snow Bunting, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Redwing, Robin, Dunnock, Dunlin, Sanderling, Curlew, Knot,

Spurn 05.11.2016

The weather started cold, wet and windy. It was not pleasant. When I did eventually get out birding I went round ponds and wetlands but it was a waste of time. Besides the usual wildfowl species there was not much happening. The wind made it a struggle to hold the scope steady. It felt good to get out though, even if it was pretty unproductive.

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands, Beacon Ponds & Holderness Field: Wigeon, Mute Swan, Teal, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Brent Goose, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, Grey Plover, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Redshank, Greenshank,

Spurn 06.11.2016

I could have got up early and gone to Welwick to see if the Pallid Harrier came out of roost, but I didn’t. As a result, when I was proven wrong and the bird was seen in the morning there was a massive sense of disappointment, even though it was my own stupid fault.

We walked up to Sammies to hopefully pick it up flying over the saltmarsh. A few other birders were also there and after a bit of time I did manage to pick the Pallid Harrier up. It was distant but a clear view, with a distinctive white rump and rusty underwings both obvious in flight. It then dropped and despite our efforts we were unable to pick it up again from Sammies. As a result I managed to flag a lift round to Welwick to try and spot it closer and showing better. Sadly though, despite two hours waiting there, the heavy rain and hail meant that the bird did not show again.

The heavy rain, wind and cold temperature put pay to most of the rest of the days birding. On the way back we had a look at the putative Greenland White Fronted Geese in the fields in Easington. I would rather spend the time in the Obs warming up after the morning’s cold session.

In the afternoon we headed out again, back to the Harrier site at Welwick marsh. After a  short while it showed much better in the evening gloom, slowly flying across the saltmarsh. This time I was able to fully take it in, including the neck collar among the other features. A cracking bird that’s for sure.

-Pallid Harrier

Species List:

Sammies Point/Welwick Marsh: Pallid Harrier, Turnstone, Little Egret, Sparrowhawk, Greenland Whitefront Goose, Brent Goose, Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Mute Swan, Marsh Harrier, Reed  Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Redshank, Common Snipe, Dunlin, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull,