The Black Stork at Spurn

I've been a few times to see the black stork at Spurn-first night was Tuesday when it was first seen, then Thursday when it spent all night in the middle of well field, then last night when it performed very well.

It was news of a white winged black tern that had me heading out for Spurn around tea-time yesterday, however that had disappeared but a pectoral sandpiper turned up in its place.

I moved on to see the black stork and whilst waiting a nice barn owl flew by just to liven things up.

All in all not a bad night.

Sabines Gull

having never seen a sabines gull before news of a showy individual at an inland flash near Manchester proved rather tempting.

Prompted by a tweet from Flamborough birder Andy Hood I set off early on Saturday morning.

The drive over was pretty uneventful low cloud eventually giving way to glorious sunshine.

After parking up I had a quick look at one of the maps-I knew I had to be near Horrocks hide, as it turned out it was the one nearest the car park only a hundred yard walk.

I saw a small group of photographers and birders focussing on something close to the bank-surely this could not be it?

Upon closer inspection it was! a sabines gull not more than 10ft from the bank!

I got some shots of it low down in the water at firs,then some in sunshine and after that it performed magnificently flying by at head height, coming occasionally to bread and then feeding just off shore on tiny insects.

After a couple of hours I was on the way back.

A stunning rare bird and the photos don't do it justice.

Patrington Haven

Its been a while since I last went to Pat Haven and I have to say its been a bit disappointing over the last few years as the lagoon has slowly filled with silt making it rather unattractive to waders.

After a bit of a reconnaissance mission on Sunday I went back last night to a likely looking spot and set up my bag hide and waited for the incoming tide and hopefully a few waders.

The key to getting the birds to come close is ensuring they feel safe so it helps if a few gulls or other birds settle close by giving the waders more confidence.

firstly a few gulls landed (black-headed and great black blacked gull) followed by a little egret and a curlew.

Then a shell duck landed in front of me then without warning masses of dunlin and redshank were swirling around and landed within feet! a few wary greenshank also came in as well as my target species-summer plumaged knot.

Unfortunately they didn't hang around that long.Then a monster downpour came and thankfully i didn't get too wet then as the night wore on the wind dropped and peace and tranquility broke out!

Just a note of caution when visiting Patrington Haven, it is not easy to get close to the birds.In fact its very difficult.It requires a combination of high tide, the right light, the right place and most importantly ensuring there is a safe way back to the bank without getting cut off by the rising tide.It is also muddy and chest waders, a groundsheet and bag hide are the other essential items of kit.