Migfest 2024 will live in the memory for a very long time. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe how brilliant it was.
It started for us on Thursday night when we arrived to a near gale northerly wind and our first decision was do we put the heating on in the caravan? Thankfully we chose not but it gives you an idea of what we were seeing and feeling.
I wish I had ventured out for a spot of sea watching but that’s another story.
Friday morning dawned bright and quite mild. I ventured out before dawn, hopefully of some birds over the sea, but it was strangely quiet compared to the night before.
I wandered up towards Church Field after the greenish warbler was called out. I managed fleeting views at Kew its only giveaway was its call. The sun was up by now and I had a very productive half an hour looking over the Humber with a sooty shearwater, common scoter and common and sandwich terns. A quick look in Schippers Field produced a variety of common migrants including pied and spotted flycatchers, redstarts and a garden warbler.
A wryneck was called out then a red-backed shrike It felt like something was happening!
I wandered back for some breakfast and didn’t even get a chance to finish my cornflakes before a red-breasted flycatcher was called out in the Crown and Anchor car park.
Next shout was that it was a stunning male!
It showed beautifully in the warm sunshine-what a stunner.
I’d only just finished my breakfast when a bee eater was found on Easington Straight and the reports kept coming so I went to have a look and as I parked up I realised it was on wires straight across the road.
On the way back to Kilnsea a pallid harrier was called and it flew strongly in a northerly direction as I could only watch in awe. Someone had pressed the crazy button!
I spent the afternoon setting up my stand but all the while news of birds being found was crackling over the radio. Typical Autumn fayre with red- backed shrike, wryneck, icterine warbler, barred warbler-what next?
Friday night was calm and clear would everything clear out or stick around?
A misty morning greeted the Migfesters and slowly but surely all of the previous days star birds were picked off apart from the bee eater. A couple of quail in off the sea was unexpected but a wood warbler slightly more predictable.
A yellow browned warbler was the first one ever to be found at a Migfest event.
Great birds kept coming with an ortolan warbler at The Warren.
I had a great morning with my photography workshop an enthusiastic and appreciative audience seemed to have a great time with lots of questions hopefully answered to the full. I stayed with my stand in the afternoon and it was great to chat about all things Spurn and I even managed to sell a few of my prints.
The Spurn Ladies did a sterling job of keeping everyone fed and watered. The work they put in with limited resource is truly admirable and the evening barbecue was first class.
The evening ended with a little walk around Sykes and Corner Field for me and it was great to see pied and spotted flycatchers, redstarts and a garden warbler feeding up before their onward journey.
Sunday started with rain but I was up and out early. The wryneck was still in Sykes Field and the red-backed shrike was in North Field. No photos but still very nice to see in the most Autumnal of conditions.
I heard a strange call overhead from some kind of wader which was most likely the dotterel that was shouted out a couple of minutes later.
I found a cracking convolvolous hawk moth on the way to set up another photography workshop. I had another very appreciative audience, the questions just kept coming.
More Spurn chat, more sales of my prints and the end came all too quickly.
The atmosphere over the weekend was electric and it was clear that something very special had happened.
It was a privilege to be there, the organisation, the food, the people and the undoubted stars of the show were the birds.
This Migfest will be talked about for years to come and the joy and happiness this weekend created was just immense.
As if to put the final cherry on a heavily cream laden cake a honey buzzard flew by as we were packing away.
Thanks to Spurn Bird Observatory, The BTO and to messers Garner and Roadhouse for your ground breaking vision. Spurn Magic!
