Spurn Magic

October 09, 2023

To say Autumn on the East coast has got off to a slow start this year would be an understatement, but this weekend went a long way to making it better at least.

We arrived in very mild conditions on Friday and after a very nice ‘chippy tea’ I had a wander down to the Humber bank to watch the sun set.

A big bank of cloud obscured the sun bu5 the sky was quite dramatic.

Nothing of note was around and given that it was low tide, that would explain the dearth of waders on view.

However a few curlew, shellducks, a bar-tailed godwit and a few little egrets made for a tranquil scene, blissful in fact. A hunting barn owl and hundreds of pink footed geese was a nice end.

I put out the moth trap seeing as it was forecast to be mild. I was quite surprised at the amount of moths in the trap. Mainly Setaceous Hebrew Characters and Large Wainscott but a Scarce Bordered Straw was notable.

An early start at Kilnsea Wetlands, and it had a feel of Autumn about it. Pink Footed Geese, Whooper Swans and the odd flock of Redwings were a promising sign. One or two goldcrests and a few cliff-chaffs were around but with south westerly winds all week, it was no surprise there were few migrants in the bushes. A weasel in the verge was a highlight of a wander round Kilnsea

A showy Jack Snipe on Sykes Field was a nice bonus in the afternoon.

Saturday night was still mild so out went the moth trap again and the highlight this time was a black rustic.

Overnight the winds has swung easterly. There was definitely a sense that something big had happened overnight, I left the caravan at 6.30 and the air was full of the ‘peeep’ of redwings. I made my way towards the beach at Kilnsea and it was obvious there had been a big fall of thrushes. They were swirling around and lifting of the bushes-there were birds everywhere!

An hour on the beach produced a few ducks flying south as well as the odd red-throated diver and skua.

A walk back towards Spurn produced a rock pipit on the beach and at least 6 stonechats. As it got lighter more birds appeared. Flock after flock of redwings and song thrushes. Lesser amounts of fieldfares, but there were lots of finches around including a few brambling, goldcrests were flitting around in the bushes and ring ouzels were popping up amongst the redwings.

Two short eared owls came in off the sea, yet more stonechats along the canal and then news of a yellow browned warbler came on the radio. It showed well in the willows but it was against the light so not good for a photo.

The afternoon went on with more thrushes and seemingly more goldcrests- no doubt there was more. Also around were hawfinches, little bunting, arctic warbler and a very brief black-throated thrush.

So Autumn has finally arrived, it just goes to show that favourable winds make good things happen, today was definitely a sprinkling of Spurn Magic.

Late Summer at Spurn

August 28, 2023

I had a very enjoyable couple of days at Spurn over the weekend.

It started with a walk down to the sea at dusk on Friday night-on the way back there were 8 bats hunting along various hedgerows and sheltered spots.

Saturday morning had me down at Beacon Ponds. There were lots (over a hundred) little egrets about a dozen grey herons and a great white egret. They provided some nice photo opportunities as the sun rose. Interesting to watch them all disperse as the light improved.

Not much in the way of migrants around and a very small tide made it very quiet on the wader front.

A quick check of the moth trap when I got back to the caravan produced a rusty dot pearl, a bulrush wainscott and a bulrush veneer-all very interesting.

A wander round in the sunshine produced 11 species of butterfly including lots of small heath as well as a single wall and a single small copper.

I put the moth trap out again on Saturday night-this time in a slightly different spot but with very poor results.

Sunday morning had me back at Beacon Ponds-not much different from the day before with the exception of a flyby spoonbill.

A couple of crossbills were called out and it was nice to see a fine male feeding on the spruce in Church Field.

The weekend ended with a failed attempt for a rather elusive wood warbler, that had shown very well half an hour before I arrived.

A lovely late summer trip-not much in the way of migrants but nature filled nevertheless.

Autumn Kicks Off Early At Spurn

August 20, 2023

Easterly winds with rain forecast had me watching in anticipation throughout this week.

A trickle of drift migrants on Thursday followed by a more significant arrival on Friday got the juices going. A couple of pied flycatchers on Friday night for me, whilst very welcome where somewhat disappointing.

However no-one could have predicted what would unfold during the first hour of light on Saturday morning.

I started on the beach at the warren but with little to photograph in the first half hour other than distant terns and the odd gull, as well as two very distant arctic skua, I soon had itchy feet.

I heard a message on the radio that mentioned Cory’s Shearwater. I scanned out to sea and couldn’t see anything that resembled a shearwater. Having gone back up to the seawatching area it soon became apparrent that the shearwater had been on the Humber and quite close!

I watched a black tern fly east out of the Humber thinking what might have been if i’d not have gone onto the beach.

Cory’s Shearwater are a rare bird in Yorkshire at the best of times and most are seen distantly off-shore. To get one in the Humber was unprecedented.

It get better-the shearwater had tracked west along the Humber and a running commentary was played out over the radio by various birders between the gate and Sammy’s Point. It had turned around and was heading back. First past Sammy;s, then the Crown and Anchor and then the gate. It did this 3 times each getting a bit closer, before eventually cutting out to sea over Kilnsea then heading north. What an exhilarating hour that was!

The light was fantastic and with high tide around 9am it made for perfect photographic conditions. Common waders were very obliging as they flew along the tideline looking for somewhere to roost.

A showy red-backed shrike was a nice addition to the day as well as more pied flycatchers, a spotted flycatcher and a redstart. I looked for both Icterine Warbler and Wryneck but saw neither.

Sunday was much quieter but a trip on to Kilnsea Wetlands produced more waders including wood, curlew, common and green sandpipers. A few ruff were around as well as greenshank. A great white egret posed nicely in the early morning sun.

A drive back to check the moth trap and then we were away mid morning.

What a fantastic weekend!