Spurn 30th October - 5th November

Spurn Day 1

For the second day of Lia’s visit we headed to Spurn, to experience the amazing phenomena that is bird migration. As soon as we arrived, we got news that an Isabelline Wheatear was in a field along Kilnsea. Although the bird was distant, we got decent views of it running around a stubble field. We did not stop for long so that we could head towards the ringing station.

Ringing was steady with a few nice birds including a fantastic Water Rail and two Black Redstarts from a group of five feeding along the tank blocks. Later on, in the afternoon, I also ringed a Cormorant that had been bought in to the Obs for the day to be looked after. It was a bit of brute but it was released on the Borrow Pit in the evening. Outside the nets there were also a few nice birds, including a smart Yellow-browed Warbler in the Obs garden. We ended the day by dipping a Bluethroat in the slatmarsh north of the breach.

-Yellow-browed Warbler

-Water Rail

-Black Redstart

Spurn Day 2

We did a normal routine for Lia’s first day at Spurn, with ringing in Churchfield in the morning before heading out birding. The absolute standout bird from the ringing was a gorgeous Icelandic Redwing (Coburni), which I was told was the first processed and documented as an Icelandic at Spurn. Not at all the standout bird that we expected.

Our mornings ringing was interrupted by the reappearance of the Bluethroat from the previous day. Consequently, we sacked off what was a steady ringing period and enjoyed fantastic views of the bird as it crept around the saltmarsh. And from there we carried on birding, heading up to the wetlands for some ducks and as a result finding the Black Brant for the first time in the autumn. Presumably this is the returning individual from previous winters, but it was still nice to spot for the first time this autumn. In the afternoon we headed to Easington Lagoons to look for Snow Buntings, and it did not disappoint with three individuals, two showing very well.

-Icelandic Redwing

-Bluethroat

-Black Redstart

-Common Scoter

-Snow Bunting

-Black Brant

Spurn Day 3

Having had such an excellent day the previous day, today was something of a bump back to earth with rain all day and strong winds. We walked along the beach to look for the Shore Larks reported the previous day, and after a struggle in the wind we finally saw a single individual feeding on the edge of the ponds.

With the rain continuing we struggled to bird during the afternoon but a short trip to Sammies yielded some nice results with a posse of 15 Grey Partridge on Easington Straight. The Little Owl was also still present on the haybales there. In the end we managed to make the most of the poor conditions.

-Shore Lark

Spurn Day 4

After a day away from Spurn at Filey we returned to the action today in fine form. In the morning I made the call to finally catch the bluethroat that had been lingering around the breach. It took no more than a matter of seconds before the bird was in the spring trap and was ringed and being processed. Sadly I held the bird for photos so I wasn’t actually able to take any myself. In addition, we also caught three Yellowhammer and a Bullfinch to complete an excellent morning.

After ringing we tried to see the Pallas’s Warbler that was in Easington. The bird was mobile and difficult, plus it was always against the light, but its still a Pallas’s Warbler so it was absolutely stunning. A flock of Long-tailed Tits numbering around 30 individuals also flew past at close quarters giving amazing views. During the afternoon we tried to find some Cettis Warblers that were around Sammies but we failed to find any.

-Yellowhammer

-Pallas's Warbler

-Long-tailed Tit

Spurn Day 5

Early morning conditions were pretty grim so we first headed to wetlands where we again found a low number of ducks. The Black Brant was still on Long Bank Marsh which once again showed nicely. After a few hours we headed down to the Warren to open nets and look for some twite. While we failed on the latter, opening the nets caught us two Fieldfare which were awesome birds for Lia to ring.

For the evening we headed to Welwick Saltmarsh to see any raptors that came in to roost. We had at least for Short-eared Owls, Merlin, Peregrine, Marsh Harrier and Buzzard completing an excellent day out.

-Black Brant

-Reed Bunting

-Fieldfare

Spurn Day 6

It was another grim day in the morning but we were able to open some nets and as a result we enjoyed a few nice birds but overall it was stready. A few Brambling started to appear mid-morning and this was without doubt the best bird we caught. There was serious rainstorm during lunchtime so we decided to head off to our next destination, ending a fantastic week at Spurn.

-Brambling

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Black Brant, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck, Common Scoter, Common Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Little Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Dunlin, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Snipe, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Razorbill, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Western Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Little Owl, Short-eared Owl, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Shore Lark, Eurasian Skylark, Bearded Reedling, Barn Swallow, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pallas’s Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Bluethroat, Black Redstart, European Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Eurasian Rock Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Brambling, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Twite, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Snow Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, Grey Seal, Roe Deer, Brown Hare,

Spurn Week 18

Spurn 17.10.2016

With the week starting up again, the pressure on the twitch was reduced, allowing me to wake up at a normal time. The Siberian Accentor was still present, remarkably really, but the number of people who came to see it was vastly reduced from what it had been. We started by having a fairly casual stroll down the triangle, which did not yield massive results but watching two Lapland Buntings mobbing a Kestrel was something pretty special.

We ended up down at Numpties in good Vis-mig conditions. 900+ Tree Sparrows, 700+ Goldfinch, 500+ Linnets plus plenty of other things! It was a great mornings birding, with a wide variety of species. Skylarks were one of the main species moving, coming through it small flocks infrequently.

-Tree Sparrow

-Skylark

-Rook

-Sparrowhawk

It was whilst we were standing there that news came through that a probable Isabelline Wheatear at the Easington Boatyard. I grabbed a lift up as soon as, and when we arrived up there the identification was all but confirmed. The bird was showing fairly well in a field just down from long bank. Even having seen one before it was really informative listening to the birders run through all the features of the identification of this tricky species. All were satisfied in the end and we settled down to watch another mega rarity grace the area in this autumn of all autumns. Wheatears are obviously my favourite birds and to have the privilege of seeing the Uks second rarest for the second time in three years is a massive privilege.

-Isabelline Wheatear

After an hour or so we decided to move on. We chose to walk back via the lagoons in the hope of picking something like a shore lark up. Whilst we were walking down we picked up a pair of Bean Geese flying south low enough to grab a few photos of them. Cracking to see more of these rare geese during this small influx! The radio then crackled into life that a Glossy Ibis had been photographed flying south from Easington within the last hour. It did not take long before it had been picked up circling over Wetlands. We picked it up quickly and watched it descend onto the wetlands itself. We dashed along, cutting out most of the rest of our walk, the only additional bird we saw was a Grasshopper Warbler, in order to arrive and see it before it decided to move on again. We crept up on it from long bank and were able to get fantastic views before it lifted off and continued south.

-Tundra Bean Geese

-Glossy Ibis

By now it was early afternoon and I headed into Withernsea with Paul to finally get some shopping done. Upon my return I decided to try for the apparently showy dusky warbler down the point. Alas it was not showing when I got down there but that could be the result of a sudden downpour that went through before I arrived, and the fact that it was early evening. A Woodcock and a very tame Robin were the best of my trip down the point.

Species List:

Triangle: Common Snipe, Ring Ouzel, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Shore Lark, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Brambling, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Goldcrest, Moorhen, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Mediterranean Gull, Goosander, Mallard, Skylark, Rook, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting,

Easington Lagoons & Kilnsea Wetlands: Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Tundra Bean Goose, Mallard, Glossy Ibis, Wigeon, Song Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, Grasshopper Warbler, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting,

Spurn Peninsula: Woodcock, Robin, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Chiffchaff, Wren, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Brent Goose,

Spurn 18.10.2016

A westerly wind and the prospect of showers throughout the day meant that Jonnie and myself finally got to Hull to do all the odd jobs that we had been putting off during the extended easterly period. We arrived back at the observatory just as heavy rain set in. As a result the only birds I saw today was a flock of Pink-footed Geese that were pushed through by the storm as it approached. Tomorrow I intend to make up for my lack of birding today.

Spurn 19.10.2016

A full day of birding as opposed to yesterday’s none birding day. I was a little sluggish getting going in the morning but decided to pay a visit to the two Megas still gracing Easington with their presence. On the way up Easington Straight my attention was drawn to a flock of swans on Kilnsea Wetlands. I checked them out to find 7 Whooper Swans there, which I scoped to prevent any possible disturbance.

-Whooper Swan

My first port of call was to the Isabelline Wheatear, but it had just rained and the bird was hardly looking at its glamorous best. It came fairly close but was incredibly mobile and difficult to phone-scope. I grabbed a few and managed a few more with the actual camera. It’s an improvement on what I had but regardless it’s still great to see such a rare bird again, plus it’s a wheatear, which is always a win.

-Isabelline Wheatear

After an hour or so with the Wheatear I headed off to look at the Siberian Accentor again. It showed well where it was for about 2 mins before it flew into the Gas Compound where it proved more elusive as it scurried through cover on the far side of the fence. I managed to get a few photos of it but it’s not really an improvement on what I had before. I spent about 2 hours with it, with an hours break in between for lunch. Both times it remained in the Gas Compound, restricting my ability to photograph it, and it remained obscured for most of the time I was present.

-Siberian Accentor

After that it was mid-afternoon, so I headed down to the Wetlands to count the ducks. Nothing really any different was on offer, but there continued to be decent numbers of Wigeon and a few Shoveler were nice.

Species List:

Easington: Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Swallow, House Martin, Siberian Accentor, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull,

Kilnsea Wetlands: Whooper Swan, Shoveler, Starling, Mallard, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Linnet, Goldfinch, Pied Wagtail, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Knot, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie,

Spurn 20.10.2016

After nearly a week of gracing us with its presence, today was the day the Siberian Accentor finally chose to leave Easington for pastures new. Alas, it was not seen this morning, or for any of the rest of the day.

I struggled to think where to go first thing so went round Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds counting the wildfowl and waders. There were good numbers of both, as would be expected, but there was nothing outstanding among them. Almost 1000 Dunlin, 250+ Wigeon and 200+ Curlew were the highest counts.

After my walk there I made my way round the triangle counting up everything that I saw. The highlight was a cracking Purple Sandpiper feeding with the Turnstones around the Tank Blocks. I should probably have tried harder to get better photos given how close it was but in the end I just got a few phone-scoped shots.

-Purple Sandpiper

The afternoon was mainly spent doing odd jobs and sorting out the bits and pieces I needed to. After all, it is supposed to go east again at the weekend and I do not want jobs to be hanging over my head during that time.

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands & Beacon Ponds: Mallard, Shoveler, Wigeon, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Teal, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Knot, Redshank, Common Snipe, Greenshank, Little Grebe, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Redwing, Pied Wagtail, Linnet, Goldfinch, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Curlew,

Triangle: Goldcrest, Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Mallard, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Robin, Redwing, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wren, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret,

Spurn 21.10.2016

Having had such an exceptional autumn it does make one wonder how it could get any better. The answer became clear early morning when a Siberian Stonechat was found only a few meters away from the Isabelline Wheatear. We headed up to find the stonechat showing extremely well in the beachside scrub. As a result I was able to get some nice frame filling photos of it. The subspecies was the nominate for Siberian Stonechat; maurus. Not only was it a stunning bird, but it was also extremely educational and I learned a lot about this species.

-Siberian Stonechat

The Isabelline Wheatear was still present but sadly the farmer was spraying his field and so my time with the bird was cut short. Even so, it’s still so cool to have so many rare birds all next to each other. Once it had been flushed by the farmer I headed down long bank to see if I could find anything. Sadly I was unable to find the mega that I dreamed, but finding a couple of female Scaup on Beacon Ponds was nice. They were sat nice and close fairly close to the bank. Unfortunately none of my photos really came out. As a result I went back in the afternoon to grab some more photos of them. When we were there, we were also treated to cracking views of Twite sitting up on the trees at the back of Kilnsea Wetlands.

-Scaup

-Twite

Species List:

Easington Lagoons, Beacon Ponds & Kilnsea Wetlands: Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Siberian Stonechat, Twite, Linnet, House Sparrow, Scaup, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Mute Swan, Brent Goose, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Twite, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Knot, Pied Wagtail, Lapland Bunting, Long-tailed Tit, Grey Wagtail, Little Grebe, Rook, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk,

Spurn 22.10.2016

With the plan being to go into Hull for a night out it was not my intention to go hard for the days birding. A casual walk round the triangle followed by a little cooking and pre-partying was the plan. However, all that very quickly fell apart when news began to slowly filter through from the point of a possible, then probable Stejneger’s Stonechat.

The prospect of a first for Yorkshire, albeit a subspecies (Although a likely split), was enough to drag me away from my relaxed day. Stejneger’s Stonechat is a difficult to identify race of Siberian Stonechat, but substantially rarer. The bird would need to be trapped to gather DNA required or confirmed identification. When I got there the effort was already underway but the bird was proving mobile and difficult to muster. The afternoon was largely spent trying to shepherd the bird into the net, but we ultimately failed. However, the situation was salvaged and DNA was collected.

Whilst stood in the buckthorn whilst a new plan was concocted through the radios to try and trap it, the bird sat up not far from me. Whilst there I observed it have a little poo, and that gave me an inspiration. I radioed asking if it was worth me going in to collect it and this was met with a very positive response. I made my way and unbelievably found the poo on a leaf at the top, as opposed to it having fallen through the scrub. With the bird continuing to prove difficult the trapping idea was all but abandoned, despite the bird returning to the net area springing new hope.

-Stejneger’s Stonechat

DNA now collected, the excitement was only growing. A potential fourth for Britain was hopping around in the scrub, and we would not have to rely of field identification of this extremely tricky subspecies. With the net still up there was still hope of trapping the bird, but when Tim checked his net, it was not the Stonechat he found at the bottom but a Dusky Warbler. Having missed basically all of the birds during the influx I was pretty excited to finally get a proper look at this species. It was shown to a reasonable crowd given we were right at the point but the bird was a nice sitter and I was able to learn a lot about this tricky species.

-Dusky Warbler

After the warbler was released attention returned to the Stonechat but it was still not playing ball and I decided it was probably going to be more worth my while staying. As a result I headed back up to the Obs for a nap.

Species List:

Spurn Peninsula: Siberian Stonechat (Stejneger’s), Dusky Warbler, Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Chiffchaff, Robin, Blackbird, Goldcrest

Spurn 23.10.2016

After a night out in Hull celebrating Jonnies birthday, I was in something of a state when I awoke at the stupidly early time of half 8. I decided that rather than waste my time feeling rough in bed, I’d rather spend my time feeling rough in the field. I headed off to wetlands to count the wildfowl but whilst there I found statistically the rarest bird I have found at Spurn so far this autumn; a Hooded Crow. I was stunned, but there was no doubt about the identification. It hopped about on the wetlands for a few minutes before it took off and headed south. It was picked up on the saltmarsh not long after and spent the rest of the day blogging in the area.

-Hooded Crow

From mid-morning to early afternoon I stayed at the obs feeling sorry for myself. By mid-afternoon I decided to head out for a walk with Sarah. We saw a few bits and pieces, Snow Bunting was nice, but the highlight was two very showy Twite on the deck at the back of Sandy Beaches caravan park. My intention was to try and get some close photos, but I made the mistake of radioing them out and was soon overwhelmed by an unexpected number of birders and photographers, so we decided to leave them. We headed off round Beacon Ponds but did not find anything much different, although the two Scaup were still present.

Species List:

Kilnsea Wetlands, Holderness Field & Beacon Ponds: Mute Swan, Jackdaw, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Hooded Crow, Grey Plover, Knot, Dunlin, Curlew, Twite, Linnet, Snow Bunting, Goldfinch, Little Egret, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Starling, Scaup, Brent Goose, Sanderling, Skylark, Meadow Pipit,