Spurn Weekend Day 1

So for my first full day at spurn before the NGBs arrived in the evening I had already decided to do the point providing there was not much moving. There was nothing moving as a thick fog had set in overnight. As a result I set off down the point with the intention of doing a proper count and hopefully getting plenty of stuff seen.

It was pretty quiet, with most of the birds seen being Common Whitethroats, of which I counted 36 singing birds, though there were undoubtedly more. At the point I was harassed by a crow overhead which would not stop calling while I was there, which probably did not help the number of birds. This crow played this way all weekend according to other birders that went down the point. There were plenty of Brown-Tailed Moth caterpillars which I had heard so much about but never seen, as well as a host of Garden Tiger moth caterpillars. The birding highlight was a Tree Pipit that went over my head calling. I did not recognise the call but a quick check of the Collins App left me in no doubt. I also found a Redpoll at Chalk Bank, as well as a Sedge Warbler.

-Common Whitethroat

-Sedge Warbler

By the time I had done at the point I decided to head off up to the ponds to have a proper look at my Little Terns for the year. Along Beacon Lane I re-encountered the Lesser Whitethroats that were still keeping a very low profile and proving very difficult to photograph.

-Lesser Whitethroat

I wandered round Holderness field. I kept checking the ponds to see what was there. I checked the phalarope pool, but the bird had not been seen for a week, so imagine my surprise when I saw it feeding. I radioed it out, but still could not believe I had refound it. Given the butterflies I had for a obvious bird that was only a refind, imagine how tense its going to be when I find something new and mega!! 

-Red-Necked Phalarope

After watching the phalarope for a while I head on my way. I had a look over wetlands with Mick, and we spotted Little Grebe (which was later put out as a red-necked) and a drake tuftie, both good birds for Spurn. Ponds was quiet, but there were a few Little Terns along the edge of the ponds and with the new Swaro I was finally able to get a proper good look at them, even though I had all of last summer.

Mick had told me about the Corn Buntings, that they were up at the top of the Easington lagoons. I had always planned to head up that way but this was good news to hear. The Lagoons were quiet courtesy of a some disruptive dog walkers. At the top of the lane, exactly where Mick had described I connected with only my second (third and fourth) Corn Bunting. 2 birds were in the corn in the field, but one was singing from the hawthorn next to the path giving me a proper good look and a chance for some nice shots of the yeartick.

-Corn Bunting

I could tell I was a little close to the birds singing perch so did not stay long. I decided to walk back down the beach to find anything there. I was rewarded with a Fulmar flying down the beach super close, probably as a result of the fog. There was also an adult Guillemot in the shoreline breakers. It seemed fine and had probably been disorientated by the fog.

-Common Guillemot

Since it was only early afternoon and I had already done the point and the lagoons I decided to do all of Spurn for the first time since I had been here, so I headed over to Sammies via Long Bank. There was not a great deal there, not even for the day list, but it was in the mid afternoon lull in the middle of the day, so its not a massive surprise.

I finished off the walk down Canal Bank where I added Coot to the day list, but not a lot else and I was knackered so after that went back to the Warren for a little sit down. Overall a smashing day with Corn Bunting the star species being only my second ever, best ever view and Year and Spurn tick, its got it all really.

Species List:

Spurn Point: Mistle Thrush, Swallow, Whitethroat, Dunnock, Linnet, Little Tern, Meadow Pipit, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Gannet, Guillemot, Reed Bunting, Starling, Great Tit, Woodpigeon, Wren, Carrion Crow, Tree Pipit, Kestrel, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Sparrowhawk, Lesser Redpoll, Sedge Warbler,

Numpties and Beacon Lane: Woodpigeon, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Swallow, House Martin, Common Gull, Skylark, Magpie, Starling, Mallard, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Whitethroat, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Lesser Whitethroat,

Holderness Field, Beacon Ponds and Kilnsea Wetlands: House Martin, Magpie, Black-Headed Gull, Mallard, Reed Bunting, Great Tit, Whitethroat, Avocet, Woodpigeon, Swallow, Starling, Linnet, Red-Necked Phalarope, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Shelduck, Gadwall, Oystercatcher, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Little Tern, Little Egret, Redshank, Knot, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Sedge Warbler, Grey Heron, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Corn Bunting, Blackbird, Herring Gull, Fulmar, Guillemot, Sandwich Tern, 

Sammies Point and Canal Bank: Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Shelduck, Mallard, Starling, Swallow, Carrion Crow, Skylark, Linnet, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Stock Dove, Little Egret, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Black-Headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Sanderling, Sand Martin, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Common Gull, Coot, Great Tit, Coot,

Stanage Edge

So today my parents were coming down to see me, and as is usual when they come we headed into the peaks. Todays destination was the familiar site of Stanage Edge, as I could now provide directions to the top car park which I had been unable to do before.

It was a blustery day on the top but quite warm and not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination. We wandered along the path to the main section of the ridge. There were not many birds about to be fair, and those present were all Meadow Pipits except for a solitary singing Dunnock, which felt a little out of place. 

The first bird that was of real note was a Peregrine that flew along the moors and then behind us before flying towards Hathersage. I was not expecting it and by the time I had the camera the bird had already gone. Its hard to tell if it had caught anything, but I don't think so.

-Peregrine

I had a boot round where the Ring Ouzels had been before but did not find any, so I assumed that they must have moved on. I did spot a large moth flying around at this point, and was hoping for an emperor, but it was actually an Oak Eggar. Inexplicably it landed too close for me to use the camera to grab a photo, but it was still pretty sweet to see.

When we reached the highest point on the ridge we settled down for a little while. After a short while I heard a familiar call and caught 2 Ring Ouzels flying along the moors below the ridge. They landed quite distantly but soon came much closer and we quite obliging for photos. I could probably have got much closer in the hour I was watching them but it looked like they were feeding a nest or fledgling, so I avoided getting close. I still managed some nice enough record shots, of these fab birds. It was the best views I have ever had of the species, with both the male and female behaving relaxed and naturally at the base of the ridge while I was on top.

-Ring Ouzel

Once we were done at Stanage we drove to Chatsworth for a walk along the river there. It was nice and the wind was much less here. There were plenty of commoner birds here, including great views o Rook, Jackdaw and Chaffinch at the cafe. And there was also a female Mandarin on the river which was nice to see.

Species List:

Stanage Edge: Meadow Pipit, Peregrine, Swallow, Swift, Ring Ouzel, Dunnock, Curlew, Northern Wheatear, Woodpigeon, Skylark, Cuckoo, Oak Eggar, Latticed Heath, 

Chatsworth Estate: Rook, Jackdaw, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Black-Headed Gull, Grey Heron, Blackbird, Wren, Mallard, Moorhen, House Martin, Coot, Mandarin, Sand Martin, Carrion Crow, Grey Wagtail, Blackcap,

Peak District - Finally getting the gropper

I had met Clive at Spurn on the Friday and he had offered to take me into the peaks to a few of his Grasshopper Warbler sites so that I could get them on my list at long last. We arranged to go on Tuesday so off we headed in the afternoon with the hope of landing my biggest tart tick.

First we went to a site on Ringinglow Road where Clive said he had seen one the previous week. Despite our attempts to locate the bird there was no sign at that site. Having said that there was decent compensation as I was able to yeartick Tree Pipit. It was the highest concentration of the species I have ever seen before with around 7 birds all around. Meadow Pipits were also present meaning that I could compare calls, something I don't often get to do. Also on site were a few Curlews feeding in the neighboring fields and a couple of Linnets.

-Tree Pipit

Since we had no luck there we headed onto another site which was near Longshaw Estate on the southern side. It was, essentially, a field filled with sedge, so it was easy to see why the site had a good record for the species.

As soon as we played the tape Clive picked one up and it was not long before the bird was doing flybys at close quarters checking us out. Sadly there was no time for photos, as the bird either flew from where we did not expect it, or was so close to us that there was no time to react when it did. We heard a jangling call that Clive said he had heard only once before, so in that sense we were quite lucky.

Other birds on site were at a premium but we did have a flyby Redpoll. I would have not picked it up had I not had the one flying round numpties on Sunday, so when I heard the call it was relatively fresh in my mind.

We then moved fields in our attempt to get a photo, and here we found a second bird which was reeling. We played the tape once and the bird came right to the reeds in front of us. Sadly we could not find it and it moved away the next time it flew.

Also on site were a small squad of Red Deer, presumably the ones the trust has on site. They had been hunkered down in the sedge so we had not noticed them until we had flushed them, but they observed us from the far end of the field so I grabbed a couple of shots.

-Red Deer

It was at this point Clive realised he had lost his phone. We spent the next half an hour or so looking for it, but fortunately found it. Once we had that found we headed back to the initial bird, which was just as obliging as before, as in not very! Still, it did some nice close flybys, and we could even see the grass moving in front of us as it scurried along, but sadly no photos.

It was getting on now so we decided to call it quits there. The views were consistently brief but were plentiful and after this Grasshopper Warbler has finally been added to my life list. What a relief. Big thanks to Clive for the lift and showing me the sites.

Species List:

Peak District Sites: Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Swift, Swallow, Linnet, Grasshopper Warbler, Lesser Redpoll, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Curlew, Woodpigeon, Kestrel, 

Spurn Weekend Day 3

It all started very quickly today. Ed and I were walking back from the pub down canal bank when we heard 5 seconds of song coming from the reeds. Obviously it was dark but we both immediately turned to each other knowing that this was not something either of us had heard before. We waited but it did not sing again so I went to the Collins app on my phone and played a couple of songs of birds that I thought it could have been. We did not find one that was an exact match but we could eliminate a lot of possibilities just from that.

We went back to charge the phone and discuss it, where we reached the conclusion that, based on song, location and time of day, that it was either a nightingale (Eds thoughts) or a marsh warbler (my thoughts). We waited for Pete to get back before we went up again, but it did not sing again.

At first light the next morning I went up canal bank hoping it would be singing, but it was not. There were other birds singing now, including Whitethroat and Reed Warbler. Sadly this will be the one that got away, though I am almost certain that its a marsh warbler.

Having got up so early I then headed to numpties where there was a steady stream of Swifts trickling down, presumably the remnants of yesterdays movement. A few other hirundines were also moving but nothing major. A flock of Bar-Tailed Godwits came over, which was a yeartick for me and I was very pleased with that.

After a while the movement dried up and so I decided to head to the ponds to finally have a look at my little terns again after so long away. Beacon lane was quiet, and there was no sign of the phalarope on holderness field. The only bird of note really was a Common Buzzard circling quite low being mobbed by crows.

I did however get my first dragonflies of the year in the hedge near the wetlands. I saw a medium sized dragonfly take off from the grass and land on the hegde, where I got bins on it to see that it was a Broad-bodied chaser, a superb adult male. I grabbed a few photos (a lot) and then saw that there were a few females around as well, at least 3, so I took a few snaps of them too. Its a dragonfly tick for me at Spurn this one, so I was pretty chuffed with that.

-Broad-Bodied Chaser

It was at this point that I checked the bird news app to see what was about. I was distraught to see that a possible pacific swift had been reported up the coast and was coming south, about an hour ago. Panicked I went to the ponds for a quick look, saw my terns and then rushed back down to numpties praying that whatever it was, it had not gone over yet.

When I got back to numtpies there was already a crowd assembled there, but they had obviously been there a while as some of the guys were calling it quits already. It was not difficult to see why, as the steady trickle of swifts from the morning had now dried up completely, so that if any unusual swift were to come down it would be the only bird in the sky. But I did manage a yeartick here, and it was another finch with a Lesser Redpoll blogging about. In fact it was so quiet I helped pass the time by photographing the Meadow Pipit parachuting on the wires in front of us, serenading us while we waited.

-Meadow Pipit

By mid afternoon there were only a handful of birders left so I decided to head down to the new numpties behind the warren to see if there was anything about. Of course there was not but if anything had of come past I would have been able to see if, unlike yesterday. Another birder had come with me but he could pick up nothing either.

We headed back to numpties, where now only Pete and Rob were. Pete said that there was a good chance we would be leaving pretty imminently due to the fact that it was so dead. At this point the other birder came over to say goodbye when he pointed to a bird behind me and said, in the rushed tone when you know what it is but can't take it in, 'whats that'. At which point we all spun around. The image I saw them I will never forget, as a big brown swift with a distinctive white belly was flying down about 5 meters away from me.

Pete was onto in like a shot and began crying 'Alpine Swift, Alpine Swift' before radioing it out. It all happened so fast and I tried to get the camera out of the bag it was well on its way by the time I had managed it, leaving me with only a stab at a record shot.

But like I said, the image of that bird when i first saw it was remarkable and I will never forget it. Once it had gone it all began to settle down, Rob was thrilled, he had been waiting there for years to get one and he finally had it, and it more than compensated for yesterdays bee-eater for me, what a bird, superb.

-Alpine Swift

That gave us the boost to stick around a little longer but it returned to a state of nothing happening. Ian and Steve both arrived to chat about the swift but then they both left, though Rich and Graham set up at numpties. Were it not for the swift we would have left early but as luck would have it we stayed.

But late afternoon things had still not picked up until the guys at numpties shouted that they thought they had a bee-eater near the bluebell. Rich ran off to drive to where it was to confirm, and the rest of us sat scoping the bird from a long way off. As soon as we had received confirmation that it was one I jumped in Robs car and we raced up to find a small gathering already assembled from the news, and a superb bee eater chilling on the wires.

I only got a couple of shots with the light and the bird moved further away along the wires as we watched. It was fantastic to see, at long last after a weekend of dipping the species here I finally saw one and it was sat down so I could properly appreciate it, and a stunning bird it was too, there are not many better looking birds on the British list that this.

-European Bee-Eater

It had been quite close but gradually moved along the wires until it was only really visible through the scope. As a result we drove round to the other side of Kilnsea where we could watch it, not as close as it had been but clear enough views, and we got to see it in flight and catching bees, what more can you ask for than that?

After maybe half and hour to an hour of watching it dropped over the hedge and that was that. I was thrilled to bits about it, superb bird. We drove back down to the warren and I went to bed for a bit as I was knackered. Given the form of the day I did not miss anything, with hardly any birds having been present, but those that were were nothing short of exceptional, what a day. Its one of the best days birding I have had for a long time. Fantastic.

Species List:
Numpties Watchpoint: Swift, Swallow, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Starling, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Dunnock, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Collard Dove, Common Gull, Carrion Crow, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, House Martin, Mallard, Curlew, Little Tern, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Feral Pigeon, Oystercatcher, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Jackdaw, Shelduck, Magpie, Little Egret, Sparrowhawk, Grey Plover, Tufted Duck, Ringed Plover, Spotted Flycatcher, Knot, Whimbrel, Great Tit, Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Dunlin, Cormorant, Lesser Redpoll, Tree Sparrow, Alpine Swift, Sand Martin, Gadwall, European Bee-Eater, Gannet, Lesser Whitethroat, Puffin,
Holderness Field and Beacon Ponds: Avocet, Shelduck, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Little Tern, Dunlin, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Grey Heron, Broad Bodied Chaser,

Spurn Weekend Day 2

First full day back at the site where I spent 3 months solid. I got up nice and early, half 5 and was just on my way up to numpties when Steve ran down saying Mick had got Bee-Eater up in Easington and turtle dove at Wetlands. As a result I jumped in the car with Steve and we rushed off to Easington to see if we could track in down on the wires. We could not, which follows the pattern of the bird the previous day.

I decided the wetlands would be a waste of time and instead got a lift back to Numpties where I hoped the bee-eater would go past. There was a steady trickle of swifts moving down over numpties and a few other bits and pieces. It was not pulling up trees but there was enough to keep you sharp whilst seeing some good stuff.

During the morning a reported 3 Grey Herons came in off the sea, though 2 were before I arrived. It was bizzare to see these great big birds which I usually see flying over wetlands or fields, out in the sea coming inland, and made for some more unusual photos of the birds in their habitat.

-Grey Heron

The wind was an absolute nightmare so we were watching from the downwind side of the seawatching hut. It was just as well as otherwise we would have missed some good stuff. Early in the morning Rich Swales picked out a couple of Egyptian Geese flying in the distance, which was the rarest bird recorded at spurn all weekend, but they were distant and seemed to drop down over the ponds, though we heard nothing.

Next I picked up a flock of Canada Geese at the same sort of distance. However, not yet completely familiar with the workings of Spurn I considered them 'just' Canada Geese and kept them quiet, until I mentioned it in passing later to a cry of them being suppressed. Awkward! Given they were now very unusual and I had only got the facial pattern on one of the birds I told Paul that there had been one Canada Goose and 5 other geese sp. but after seeing that a flock of 6 Canadas had been reported earlier in the week it would make sense that they were all canadas. The weird workings of birds at Spurn have caught me out again.

The highlight of the morning for me came a little later on. It all happened very quickly but simultaenously we heard a call that sounded familiar but I could not put my finger on it, and a pair of birds flew past us, the one closest to me was clearly red and a reasonably large finch sp. Had I time I would have got it, but the others there were onto it straight away, Common Crossbill, my third Spurn Tick of the morning. There seemed some confusion that it might have been two Crossbills and a Linnet but we will never know as the birds kept on going over and beyond the buildings at the Warren. I was pretty buzzing after that to be sure.

The same thing happened again not long after, with another call I knew I recognised but could not put my finger on it. This time we picked up the bird much quicker, though it still went through pretty fast, a Siskin, which is only my second for Spurn.

There had been Cuckoos calling yesterday up at wetlands but by late morning we had 3 flying about over Clubleys. Two went back to canal hedge but one did a full loop of clubleys allowing me to get some decent, if not exceptional, shots of the bird in flight.

-Cuckoo

By early afternoon the numbers of Swifts had started to pick up and we were soon on over 1000 having passed through. Other stuff continued to be around, and next on the list was a Hobby that one of the birders had picked up coming in over the Borough Pits. Obviously that's a long way away and I managed no photos of it. It kept diving below, and stayed down for a while before coming back up. It did this a couple of times before moving back out to sea and going south, again at a distance.

The Siskin decided to come back, unlike the crossbills, and did a loop over our heads before heading south again. I was keen to try and grab a photo but caught my camera on my bag, breaking the screen. fortunately no internal damage was done but it does mean I have now broken 2 cameras at Spurn, which is far from ideal.

-Siskin

After 8 hours up at numpties I decided to go for a little walk round the triangle, despite Ian saying it was a big mistake. The wind, of course, kept everything down in the triangle and the only birds I saw were Grey Plover and a solitary Brent Goose (Pale Bellied) from Canal Bank.

-Pale Bellied Brent Goose and Grey Plover

I was thinking to myself that I should have stayed at numpties when the inevitable happened; Pete text me saying that the bee-eater had gone south while I had been away. I was gutted, but felt surprising not bothered. Whilst I had not seen the bee-eater, major bummer, I had always wanted to tick it where I could appreciate it, and not some flyby, so I did not feel as bad as I could have done. That being said, it did not help me when I was being ripped to pieces by the guys when I returned to numpties...

I waited at numpties to see if it would come back, but it did not. I helped Steve count Swifts and in the end there were around 2300 that went through, which is not bad going at all. Another fantastic days birding at Spurn, with 3 Spurn Ticks to boot.

Species List:

Numpties: Egyptian Goose, Gannet, Swift, House Martin, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Black-Headed Gull, Brent Goose, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Carrion Crow, Whimbrel, Mallard, Little Tern, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Common Crossbill, Great Black-Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Canada Goose, Collard Dove, Goldfinch, Oystercatcher, Reed Bunting, Skylark, Little Egret, Collard Dove, Common Scoter, Pied Wagtail, Cuckoo, Siskin, Common Gull, Grey Plover, Graylag Goose, Hobby, Tufted Duck, Knot,

Spurn Weekend Day 1

Having some time off is lovely. I spent the last week patching Orgreave and off twitching, but for the weekend I decided to make my first visit of the year to Spurn, which has been long overdue. I arrived back from the greater-legs at 2.00 in the morning so allowed myself a lie in to recover fully before setting off for Spurn at around lunchtime. Pete had set off on the Wednesday before I had contacted him and as such I was travelling by public transport again.

I arrived in Patrington after 4.00 before Paul picked me up and took me the rest of the way. On the way I received the outstanding news that the Red-Necked Phalarope, which had not been seen since Tuesday, had reappeared on Holderness field. So when I arrived that was where I first went.

Paul had described the exact pool to me but I still could not pick it up. I went via Beacon Lane but neither of the first pools I came to had the bird on them. However, on the final pool I connected with it. The RNP was swimming around the pool, which was around 50 meters away. I grabbed a few record digiscoped shots but the bird was distant.

It was a stunning looking bird. The only other phalarope I have ever seen was a grey, but my views of that were distant and brief, so to see one like this, swimming around the pond not too far away was a real treat. Add to the fact that this was a summer plumaged bird and you really have got it all. I was later told that it only had one leg, so I guess it does not really have it all, but it seemed active and healthy enough...

Of course phalaropes are incredibly dainty and small birds, and I got a nice record shot of it alongside a female Pied Wagtail giving a really nice example of just how small they are, what super birds!

-Red-Necked Phalarope and Pied Wagtail

Whilst I was there Pete text me letting me know there was a Bee-Eater at Kilnsea wetlands, so I ran the short distance along to see if I could see it. The bird had obviously moved on and the wetlands themselves were very quiet but I did spot a pair of Gadwall on there, which is a Spurn tick for me.

-Red Necked Phalarope

The bird then moved across to the other end of the pond. We followed it round but this meant the light was ideal for photos so I got out the DSLR and started using that to take photos. I'm not a massive fan of my SLR as it never seems to get pin sharp focus, but having said that my efforts for these were not too shabby. 

-Red-Necked Phalarope

The bird then flew off to the far end of the pond again but I decided I had taken enough. Being so close to a bird like that was phenomenal and I have to say that this was possibly the second best birding experience I have had this year after the harlequin duck. What a beautiful bird.

It was getting towards late evening now so I headed back to the warren via Beacon Lane. On my way down I found a couple of Lesser Whitethroats in the bushes. They were impossible to photograph as they only came out into the open for a couple of seconds at a time. It was another yeartick for me, keeping the ball rolling.

What a way to start the weekend, with a lifer, and an incredibly showy and photogenic one at that. What a super bird.

Species List:

Numpties Watchpoint: Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Swift, Swallow, Gannet, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Martin, Great Black-Backed Gull, House Sparrow, Meadow Pipit, Skylark,

Beacon Lane: Great Tit, Blue Tit, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Magpie, Dunnock, Robin, Wren, Starling, Woodpigeon, Swallow, 

Holderness Field and Kilnsea Wetlands: Linnet, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Gadwall, Avocet, Little Tern, Shelduck, Red-Necked Phalarope, Mute Swan, Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, Little Egret, Swift, Swallow, House Martin,