Having a good preen Video clip taken from below location
Dove perched high in central tree
Spoonbill
Little Gulls with Sandwich Tern behind
Med Gull
After a month of pure fantasy birding in June I was pretty sure the car wouldn't be needing any more petrol as historically July is statisically one of the worst months for seeing new birds. As I sat at Edgbaston watching Warwickshire receive a tonking from Nottinghamshire, news broke of Oriental Turtle Dove in Easington, Spurn.
I had a few plans on Saturday already so I hatched a Sunday plan which Mick T would hopefully give me some early news whether to head on with my journey. I'd done about an hour when positive news landed which made the rest of journey totally stress free. Whilst hoping I'd see the birds fairly quickly, I didn't actually need to get out of the car as it was sitting high in a tree just behind the bungalows. I'd actually seen a Rose-coloured Starling in the same tree a few years ago.
Quickly set up with scope I enjoyed some fantastic views in some stunning morning light where you could study the birds features well. The species is "meena" Rufous Turtle Dove, and should become the 11th accepted record since the turn of the century. It's quite amazing how these vagrant birds make it here from breeding grounds of central Asia. All birders were very grateful of Paul French who found the bird in his garden and gave many birders access when the bird was not in public view. Birding near houses is never easy however it's pretty much a daily occurance in Easington.
It was nice to catch up with a number of Spurn locals and regular birders I see around different places on the circuit.
After a nice session with the Dove I had a relaxing day around Spurn and recorded some excellent species including Little & Sandwich Tern, Little Gull, Spoonbill, Ringed Plover, Greenshank, Golden Plover, Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit & Dunlin.
After a quiet day on Saturday, I was determined to make the most of the rest of the weekend. With easterlies blowing & a decent forecast, Spurn beckoned again. Squire was on driving duty and a plan was hatched to leave at around 6am.
The rain hammered down all the way until we reached Sheffield and then as every mile passed the weather improved. Early news on Bird Guides wasn't overly positive but the Red-flanked Bluetail was still at Cliff Farm.
That turned out to be our first stop but it was rather chaotic so we decided to get parked up and get birding. There were alot of cars everywhere considering there wasn't really a mega in town. The Blue-tail was clearly a big draw for many.
There were hugh numbers of waders swirling around the Humber as high tide was reached. A Bluethroat was found down in the dunes but we never really considered that. There was a huge influx of Song Thrush & Robins closely followed by Redwings as the morning continued. A Short-eared Owl flew past us which was then attacked by Greenshank of all things.
We estimated we saw 15+ Redstart during our day, the most either of us has seen at Spurn. There was at least four on the back of Cliff Farm when we reached the northerly tip of the triange. We watched the Blue-tail away from the crowd and I took a few pleasing photos before we scoured the Crown & Anchor car park. Sadly we only found a Spotted Flycatcher and good numbers of Goldcrest & Chiffchaffs.
The Squire is also now a Friend of Spurn so I took him up to Church Field where they were ringing. We saw some lovely birds in the hand including Brambling, Dunock, Robin & Song Thrush. Whilst in this area we noted more Redwings coming in and a Tree Pipit sat up nicely.
Just as we left Church field news reached us of a Bonelli's Warbler species by the gas terminal. Thankfully I knew the location and we were quickly on the march. Given how busy Spurn was it was going to be important we saw the bird fairly quickly then get out of there as we didn't want to into any scrums. We parked in village and strode up Vicarage Lane with our fingers crossed. A short walk took us to the south of the gas terminal and there straight above us was the Bonelli's Warbler, wow! We doubted if the type would be called by the bird gave sufficient calling evidence to be called as a "Western".
Western Bonelli's Warbler is a phylloscopus warbler that breeds in south west europe or north africa and has a browner tinge to the upper parts than an eastern type.
From there we had a good hunt up and down Beacon Lane where the only bird was a Yellow-browed Warbler. There had been showers forecast which we hoped might bring another fall of birds but this never materialised. Our final stop was Sammy Point where were recorded another Shortie, Redstart & yet more Chiffchaffs.
Many thanks to Luke Nash who kindly forwarded a couple of warbler images.
Four nights away in Spurn was just what was needed after a long summer with very few trips away. The Captain and I came at the time last year on the hope to see an Icterine Warbler but just missed out by a day. With Icterine Warbler finally added to the life list ten days previously meant we could have a chilled break. The forecast was certainly changeable rather than hopeful. With so much good habitat a great few days was guaranteed.
We stayed at Westmere Farm which was a perfect location with views of the Humber and a hearty breakfast each morning. Westmere was excellent value for money and rooms are sold out until the new year.
Sightings for each day were as follows:-
Monday 24th August
Grey Plovers on edge of Humber
Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Marsh Harrier
Curlew Sandpiper
Waders on the marsh
Curlew Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper roosting
Spotted Redshank
Sandwich Terns
Spoonbill
Whinchat
Spoonbills
Plenty of traffic on the wetlands
A big clear out overnight yet we still kick-started the week with a nice Black Tern going north. A single Red-backed Shrike was in the triangle whilst other migrants included Willow Warbler, Spotted & Pied Flycatcher and three Whinchat.
A female Marsh Harrier flew over us heading south when we were in the canal scrape hide.
Kilnsea Wetlands hosted 2 Spoonbill, Little Stint, 4 Avocet, 11 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Ruff, Common, Wood & Green Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank and 15 Mediterranean Gull.
The day also brought a huge influx of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies with an estimate of over 200 being recorded.
Tuesday 25th August
Hornsea sea watching
Morning stroll on the beach
Wood Sandpiper
Ringed Plover
Collapsed war positions on beach
Spoonbills
Signage on the Bluebell
Evening stroll back to farm
Evening liquid refreshment
Starling on the farm
A few of the 17 Green Sandpipers
Swallow
With some foul weather hitting the peninsula we headed up to Hornsea where we sea watched from a shelter on the sea front. We duly added a number of Little Gulls of various ages, Kittiwakes and Arctic Skuas.
The wetlands was excellent again with 8 Curlew Sandpipers being a good addition to previous day.
Wednesday 26th August
Day of the Skuas
Afternoon session
A record day for Long-tailed Skuas
Wood Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Pintail
Spotted Redshank
Sandwich Tern
Kestrel
Wood Sandpiper
Ringed Plover
A double session of sea watching for us given very favourable conditions. Never before had I recorded four species of Skua in a single day. Our own counts were 8 Long-tailed Skua, 7 Arctic Skua, 18 Bronxie, 1 Manx Shearwater, 12 Fulmer , 20 Teal, 4 Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Kittiwake , 12 Sandwich Tern, 100+ Common tern & a Shag.
A record 23 Long-tailed Skuas were recorded during the day.
Thursday 27th August
Knot & Ringed Plovers
Sanderling
Little Tern
Little Tern
Waderfest
Sanderlings
Manx Shearwater closely watched by GBBG
Great habitat at the marsh just a few miles from Spurn
We started at Wellneck Marsh where we had not been to before. This salt marsh looked perfect for some winter owling. Our sightings included a large number of Knot, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Wheatear, 2 Kestrel and 4 Greenshank.
We then walked down to the breech for high tide where there were thousands of waders to enjoy. The further you walked the more birds we saw. Waders included Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Knot, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Curlew & Whimbrel. It's was great to watch a young family of Little & Sandwich Tern going about their daily routine. Very often flying out to sea above our heads. Speaking to Mick Turton,from Scilly crew, who works on the tern colony he said that forty youngsters fledged and productivity was 1.56.
We picked up a Manx Shearwater in the Humber shearing around which was eventually brought down by a Great Black-backed Gull. The Gull took his time to devour the little Shearwater which was strange to watch.
Friday 28th August
Icterine Warbler
Final sighting of the Swallow family
Green Sandpiper
This flycatcher caused some local excitement but in the end it was thought to be a Pied
The week finished with a bang when an Icterine Warbler was reported early from the canal scrape yet despite making it there very quickly all we could find was a Garden & Willow Warbler. Our final hearty breakfast gave us the motivation to give it another go and after much searching the Icterine Warbler duly popped up and showed well from the bushes on the far side of the scrape. The Wood Sandpiper & Spotted Redshank were present again which a male Marsh Harrier headed over south. With us already seeing a host of sea birds and the rain blowing in we both headed for home satisfied nothing else would be seen which proved to be a correct decision as the driving conditions were already bad.
Over the 4 1/2 days we talked a total of 53,969 steps equivalent to 25.66 miles.
