Spring Arrives at Spurn

April 18, 2022

A fleeting stopover at Spurn this weekend was most enjoyable- since our last visit it seemed like Spurn had stepped out of winter into early Spring.

We were greeted by overhead swallows as we pulled up to our caravan, what a lovely welcome.

It immediately became obvious that there had been an influx of common migrants as a tuneful but distant sedge warbler was accompanied by both chiff-chaff and willow warbler.

A quick look over Sykes Field produced nothing out of the ordinary but a very close encounter with a very surprised roe deer was nice.

I had an evening look at Beacon Ponds on Saturday and the recently arrived pair of red-breasted mergansers were still on view, albeit distantly then a quick look on Kilnsea Wetlands delivered my first yellow wagtail of the year-a spangly yellow jewell lit up by evening light. A feeding first year little gull was another highlight as well as a small group of sand martins feeding over the water briefly before drifting off north.

Sunday morning dawned beautifully. A low mist created some nice atmosphere and the sunrise was a hazy mix of purples and reds.

Given that we had a stiff south-easterly wind for most of Saturday, the day dawned with high expectations.

There were common waders and wildfowl on the Wetlands but nothing new since the night before. Onward to Sammy’s Point and the mist prevailed.

A pair of marsh harriers were hunting distantly towards Welwick and one started to journey south, halted and startled by my presence it made a dramatic u-turn.

My first whitethroat of the year was busily gathering nesting material-then out of nowhere a fine male sparrowhawk popped up right on the branch the whitethroat had been on only seconds earlier.

The morning ended with a fine sight of 5 jays heading south in formation calling intermittently as they approached the point where estuary meets the sea- undeterred, they carried on south.

The last couple of highlights was a flock of barnacle geese heading north and a dapper looking fox crossing the field in front of the caravan.

Not the hoped for Spring migrant fest, however the Springtime feel to the trip more than made up for

Bempton

April 04, 2022

I started the first day of my 2 week holiday wondering if the off-shore wind would have an effect on the albatross that has re-appeared at Bempton. An alert from Birdguides told me it was still there any by 9.30 I was perched on the windswept cliff top in eager anticipation.

No smash and grab today- my attention was soon diverted to other stuff. There were plenty of guillemots and razorbills and a few puffins that were staying low and out of photographic range.

Gannets were doing their usual thing as were the kittiwakes and the odd flyby fulmar. A couple of shags were feeding below on the sea. A passing peregrine falcon caused a brief flurry of activity-the albatross however remained rooted to the rocks.

I tried my hand at photographing incoming razorbills with limited succes, however this does have some potential for a more unusual shot.

I began to make my way back around 2.30 and as I passed the next viewpoint, the albatross had shown some signs of movement. I made my way back to Staple Newk and within 10 minutes it took flight and flew directly out to sea. It stayed there for a further 15 minutes then made its way back in. By tghis time the light was not as good as earlier.

A couple of flybys and it then settled on its favoured ledge just out of sight.

Still a thrilling bird to see and hopefully the first of a few trips this year.

April 03, 2022

I had my first ‘proper’ trip to Spurn this weekend-in fact we stayed over for 2 nights so managed to fit quite a bit in.

As often happens at this time of year migration gets halted by a cold blast of Northerly air and this weekend was no exception. A frost on Saturday morning and hail showers overnight into Sunday morning made it feel more like winter than Spring. Not to be deterred I was up early on Saturday and whilst it was chilly, it was nice and bright. A couple of snipe flushed off Sykes Field and a singing chiff-chaff was a nice start.

I made my way down to the breach and there was not much happening other than a few brent geese and waders moving around on the dropping tide.

canal scrape yielded a few teal, little grebe and a mute swan carefully constructing its robust nest of reeds.

The firs decent birds of the day were at Southfield Farm. First a stonechat then a black redstart. Eventually there were 4 ‘black reds’ which showed amazingly well alighting on posts near the road side giving some nice views.

I like black redstarts when they are in flight and especially if they are backlit, they can look quite cool. Unfortunately capturing a sharp shot is easier said than done and my meagre offerings below can only be described as a work in progress.

Not much else appeared until after tea when news of a ‘continental’ stonechat was viewable from Sykes field. It was distant in fading light but looked a very smart bird.

Unfortunately it didnt hang around and there was no sign on Sunday morning.

A ride up to Long Bank Marsh yielded a spoonbill and a couple of pintail and a quick look again at Southfield Farm held only 2 black redstarts but no sign of the continental stonechat.

Hopefull some southerly winds will encourage more migration in the next couple of weeks.