Well you could say its always a great time to be at Spurn and I wouldn’t disagree, perhaps I should say its a wonderful time to be at Spurn, but then the same applies.

We have hads a few nice trip to Spurn durning the month of August and thankfully it coincided with some nice arrivals of migrants both birds and moths.

‘Easterly winds are what you want at Spurn’. That saying is only partly true as Easterly winds alone aren’t that much use. If it is fine weather the birds will carry on moving, however if the easterly wind is is coming straight out of Europe with some cloud -or even better rain, then its a different proposition.

Our first couple of trips had a very slight hint of easterly with bright sun and that was reflected in the birds. The odd pied flycatcher here, a few willow warblers there but nothing to suggest a fall. Also no drift migrants-barred warbler, wryneck, greenish warbler, ortolan bunting. All what you might expect with a fall of birds from Europe. Which suggests to me that the birds I was seeing earlier in the month were of British origin moving down from breeding grounds futher north-who knows?

However within the last week, things have taken a far more interesting turn. It began on Tuesday when easterly winds strengthened with cloud cover, this continued through Wednesday, which also brought rain. As if by magic (Spurn Magic) birds started appearing all over the recording area. Pied Flycatcher seems to be the most numerous followed by decent totals of redstart, spotted flycatcher, whinchat and willow warbler. A few wood warblers have turned up along with the inevitable wryneck and barred warbler and the slightly less common ortolan bunting and an unseasonal serin (to name but a few).

I had a great day yesterday. As soon as I arrived (just after 6am) it had a feel about it that there was going to be a few birds about. Sure enough after stopping to view the fenceline between Well field and Southfield farm, 3 whinchat and 2 wheatears were showing nicely.

A little wander around the canal bushes produced a few more migrants and whilst a barred warbler was shouted out there, I didn’t hang around to see if it popped out.

A wander around The Churchyard, Crown and Anchor car park, Cliff Farm and Schippers Field produced yet more common migrants.

It was a pleasure to be out, the easterly wind was more a breeze but still prevailing from the right direction. The sky was becoming more overcast and the expectation grew with every passing minute.

News of a wood warbler in Easington had me heading north. They are not a rare bird in the UK by any stretch (although they are getting scarcer) and no doubt I could plan a trip in Springtime to one of the well known locations and get some stunning photos. But I’m all about whats going on in East Yorkshire. I know there is a very narrow window of opportunity for wood warbler at Spurn but rarely do I manage to connect. So much so, I’ve seen more arctic warblers at Spurn that I have wood.

As soon as I arrived it was on show, and at one point came really close. It continued to show on and off for a couple of hours but got increasingly more loyal to the denser parts of the garden.

I had a wander around Sammy’s Point. Again more of the same but with an increased threat of showers. Sure enough, it became heavy and I thought it might tempt the wood warbler down to a lowere level so headed back.

Unfortunately, it became too heavy so reluctantly I packed my gear away at around 2pm and headed for home.

I was pleased with the day-very atmospheric, plenty of birds to look at and most of all some lovely photos of an East Yorkshire wood warbler. A fine sprinkling of Spurn magic on a fantastic day.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Great Time To be At Spurn

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