Back to Spurn for Long-tailed Skuas

Long-tailed Skua (Chris Griffin) facebook.com/griffinwildlife

 

Long-tailed Skua (Chris Griffin) facebook.com/griffinwildlife

 

 A bit busy on east coast

Garden Warbler

Adam holding the GW

Red-backed Shrike

Waiting game

Red-backed Shrike

There was no way I was going to Spurn on Sunday however a late call from the Squire and the chance to finally see a Long-tailed Skua proved too much. I know from experience how its a hard drive on your own so I opted to jump in for the ride.

On arrival we saw Cliff, Chris & Adam who told us they had seen one go straight over their heads. This was a big opportunity we thought, we just needed some patience. It seemed like every second the Bird Guides alarm was going off with more sightings further north. However with sightings in Norfolk we remained hopeful.

There was a constant passage of Sandwich Terns which was nicely topped up by flocks of Common Scoter & Teal. Then the Skua action commenced. First a Bronxie bombed past, then a Arctic Skua which came close chasing a Tern and then at last two juvenile dark Long-tailed Skua's emerged. They flew out of the Humber and across the breach allowing us to pick them up at first in our binoculers and then our scopes before they headed further out to sea in a north easterly direction. The wait was very much worth it. Like anything with birding, you then want to see an adult in breeding plumage. 

The Squire had a full agenda of birds to see in the time we had when it wasn't pouring down. 3 Red-backed Shrikes on same hedgerow was nice before he recorded two more lifers with an Icterine & Barbed Warbler. We rounded the day off with 2 Whinchat, Pied Flycatchers, Redstart and a Wheatear. The drive home was very difficult given the conditions. See you in 8 days Spurn !

Massive shout out to Chris Griffin who kindly sent me these images of the Skua's for use on the blog. 

Rolling into Christmas

Peregrine 

Pochards

Winter scenes

Wigeon (Main pit)

Chiffchaff (Abbots Salford)

Plenty of Thrushes

Great White Egret

Meadow Pipiy

Gosanders (Abbots Salford)

Shelduck (Main pit)

Hiding Great White Egret

Pied Wagtail

Brown Hare

There hasn't been a lot to report as we edge to the end of 2018. The water levels have risen giving hope of a late rare duck or grebe and it's suddenly become sticky underfoot. I've been doing some work with an unnamed third party to try to secure some of the remaining habitat purely for conservation. The third party have an outstanding conservation record, outstanding management record and have a solid financial standing. We are very much hoping the work done will open the door for some formal discussions to take place.

At the pits, Great Black-backed Gull was a late addition to the year list taking it to 143. Most of the counts have remained pretty stable. Our Shelduck have returned to the main pit whilst the Peregrine has been in fine form in recent days, hunting at close quarters. Other counts have included a Water Rail, 14 Gadwall, 37 Shoveler, 135 Teal, 10 Wigeon, male Bullfinch, 44 Cormorant, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Goosander, Peregrine, Red Kite, 2 Snipe, 200 Fieldfare & 150 Redwing. 

Down at Abbots Salford, there has been at least one Great White Egret but sometimes two.  Other sightings have included 2 drake Pintail, 3 Pochard, 6 Wigeon, 7 Goosander, 4 Bullfinch, 3 Shelduck, 2 Shoveler, Kingsiher, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 20 Grey Heron, Chiffchaff and a Water Rail.

Great White Egret....finally.....

After not being able to track down the wandering Great White Egret in recent weeks I thought I'd try Abbots Salford on Saturday as I'd noticed on BirdTrack the bird had been reported there.  My hunch proved correct as I found the Egret feeding in front of the reeds on the hide side of the pools. The bird seemed very comfortable in the company of the local herons, 16 recorded. Other birds present were 3 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Goosander flying over,  & a Green Sandpiper. After getting some excellent views I headed back to Salford Priors where it was very quiet except  for 4 Wigeon, 11 Pochard, 22 Shoveler,  a Shelduck briefly, Grey Wagtail, 4 Siskin, 4 Lapwing, 6 Goldcrest, 2 Raven and a Sparrowhawk.

On Sunday Jon discovered a Great White Egret on the main pit late morning, so could this have been the same bird ? As I was getting ready to head down, Francis text to say he had two at Abbots Salford ! The car went a little faster down the lanes and it was great to see both birds on the same pool. We both checked Salford Priors but there wasn't any sign. Just the two Great White Egrets in the area.

Jon's count included :- 7 Little Grebe, 10 Bormorant, 4 Grey Heron, 17 Mute Swan, 485 Greylag, 615 Canada Geese, 18 Gadwall, 134 teal, 420 Mallard, 23 Shoveler, 13 Pochard, 56 Tufted Duck, 137 Coot, 38 Lapwing, 2 Snipe, 2 Green Sandpiper (Pophills), 100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 35 Herring Gulls, 1 injured second winter Common Gull, 900 Wood Pigeon, 29 Meadow Pipits, 20 Skylark, 250 Fieldfare, 200 Redwing, 3 Jay, 2 Raven and 15 Siskin.

Keeping it local

Greylag flock on main pit

Squire on duty

Green Sandpiper (Abbots Salford)

Winter Thrushes

Bank of Abbots Salford

Abbots Salford

Fieldfare

Abbots Salford

Once again very little variation to report, the shooting season appears to be at it's peak which seems to be really unsettling the wildfowl. 

Best of the midweek reports were 14 Pochard & 20 Golden Plover on Wednesday by Mark Clarke whilst Chris Lane saw the Great White Egret with a Little Egret flying south over main pit on Thursday. The Great White was apparently at Abbots Salford on Saturday but I  only found out when I looked on BirdTrack on Sunday. Shame as there were quite a few people who would have liked to see it. Let's hope it sticks around in area a little longer.

Weekend Salford Priors highlights included :-12 Pochard, 90 Teal, 10 Gadwall, 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 4 Snipe, 80 Lapwing, 1 Pied Wagtail, 14 Skylark, 2 Buzzard and 350 Greylag in the company of the Squire.

On Monday, I opted to try Abbots Salford as there was shooting on the east fields of the main pit. A pleasant enough walk which I spent most time watching a mixed flock of 400 Redwing & Fieldfare feeding on winter berries. Bullfinches are much more plentiful here than at the pits and always good to observe. Other sightings included a Green Sandpiper, Great Crested Grebe, 105 Black-headed Gulls, 15 Grey Heron, 19 Cormorant and 6 Stock Doves. 

Sunshine, snow & showers

Snow and flooding greeted me on Saturday morning at Salford Priors making it a most forgetful morning. Sessions like this make you consider why you really do it. Everything seemed to be taking cover except for a large flock of all three hirundines. With very little passage of birds over head I retreated home with a morning grump on. 

Not to be beaten I headed for Abbots Salford where thankfully I found our first Reed Warbler of the year and then four Sedge Warblers. The morning rain looked to have brought down large numbers of Blackcaps as I found 20+ all within the same area. A number of Swallows were sat up on the wires between the pools which was great to see. Wildfowl numbers are generally the same except for the dropping number of Teal. 

Hopefully next week will bring something different. 

The February Patch Challenge resulted in a drop of four places to 11th and I will be surprised if I don't get another drop in March. After a brilliant trip to Gambia its been tough to keep motivated with habitat being destroyed daily and a lack of birds. 

Please note I have added the Warwickshire March sightings complied with Jon. You may note a Firecrest is included at Salford Priors. Regular pit birder Mark Islip found this bird on 28th March but given the habitat, access arrangements in addition to me being away on holiday it was decided that the information could not be shared along normal channels. A first for site and reward for Mark for plodding round in difficult conditions. Great work.

April patch delights

It felt like it was going to be a good weekend. I had planned to have a morning on the Somerset levels and take in the reported White Stork before it showed more anti-social tendencies and took of to head north.  I made the most of the time & had three patch visits.

As soon as I got out the car a male Blackcap was in full voice on the edge of the plantation, after a couple of minutes of patience the bird showed very well. My target of the morning was most definatley Wheatear as it’s a species that passes through and then becomes almost impossible to catch up with.  We have some very shallow flashes in the middle of the pits that seems to be the hotspot and it paid dividends again. It started off by my finding a stonking male then I found another three females keeping him company. I called Paul who joined me as I watched them for about an hour and tried to get a couple of records shots.

Three Little Ringed Plover are flying around Pophills and the middle areas. I managed to photograph one as I was waiting for the Wheatears. The Green Sandpipers seem to have dropped to just two at the moment, with the water level very high our change of wading birds is diminishing this spring. On Snipe meadow it seemed the local Hare population are enjoying the new habitat, I’m guessing it has to please someone.

Sunday was WEBS count day so John and I set off around 8am. Heading back from the main pit was Ann & Noel who had seen a Yellow Wagtail but sadly we couldn’t find it. As we caught up with the gossip the first of two Red Kites came into view heading west towards the village. The second Kite (a different one) was hunting the landfill areas where I caught up in the action above our heads. When does a bird become a trash bird for your site ? 5 sightings on the bounce, certainly indicate its heading towards that category.

Whilst on the main pit all three hirundines could be seen in good numbers including my first House Martins of the year. Swallows kept moving through all morning.  A White Wagtail flew into the main island  around the busy Oystercatchers. It was good to meet Andy Woodhouse who was around the south pools and reports two Avocets on Friday. That’s a species a few of us need to see at the site. After that is was a pretty tame end to the morning other than 17 Buzzards on view and a Sparrowhawk.

Complete sightings care of Jon as I'm phone ran out of battery  :- 16 Little Grebe, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Cormorant, 4 Grey Heron, 6 Mute Swan, 14 Greylags, 32 Canada Geese, 4 Shelduck, 31 Gadwall, 24 Teal, 83 Mallard, 12 Shoveller, 85 Tufted Duck, 2 Red Kite, 1 Sparrowhawk, 17 Buzzard, 2-3 Kestrel, 12 Moorhen, 74 Coot, 2 Oystercatcher, 4 LRP, 25 Golden Plover, 1 Lapwing, 1 Redshank, 3 Green Sandpiper, 12 LBB Gull, 5 Herring Gull, 20 Sand Martin, 3 House Martin, 10 Swallow, 6 Meadow Pipit, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1

White Wagtail, 2 Wheatear, 3 Blackcap, 1 Raven, 50 Linnet, 3 Siskin.

The good lady fancied a walk on Sunday afternoon so we headed to Abbots Salford for a quick lap of the area. As it turned out it wasn’t a quick lap at all as we found a male Redstart on the northern side of the pool. I made every effort to get a record shot but the bird was way to smart for me. Other sightings included Willow Warblers, two Blackcaps and two Wigeon.