Early Migrants at Spurn

August 15, 2022

Another memorable weekend at Spurn come to a close this afternoon.

We arrived on Friday night and there had been some reports of some common migrants arriving. Its always an exciting time when we get the first movement of the ‘Autumn’. Its made up of what you might call the usual suspects-pied flycatcher, redstart, whinchat and spotted flycatcher. With a hint of east in the wind there is always the prospect of something a bit more unusual.

It started with a trip out on Friday night-there were lots of birds on Kilnsea Wetlands but they were all quite distant due to the rapidly diminishing water levels {hopefully this weeks rain might provide a much needed top up) Lots of common waders plus spoonbill.

Saturday morning dawned bright and breezy but very warm. I chose to stay local and first port of call was Sykes Field. A nice redstart posed nicely in the early morning sun as well as a few willow warblers. Next stop was the Churchyard then Crown & Anchor car park then Cliff Farm-not a single bird of note!

I wandered along the floodbank heading ina southerly direction. There was a few birds on the humber-waders, gulls and terns but nothin g unusual.

I walked back to canal scrape once I had completed the floodbank. I saw a small bird perched low on the roadside and it revealed itself to be a spotted flycatcher, quickly followed by a lesser whitethroat.

A quick look in canal scrape hide yielded nothing of note but a walk back alomg the road provided 2 whinchat in Walker Butts.

Back up to the Blue Bell and then into corner field and as the sun had risen, things had become more active. More willow warblers as well a a second redstart and a pied flycatcher.

Back for breakfast and some relaxing. I had another walk out late morning. I headed up yo the Cliff Farm/Crown 7 Anchor area and here there was at least 10 pied flycatchers and a redstart. Not great for photography in harsh mid-day light but very nice to see some good numbers.

BAck for a siesta at the van then later afternoon a black tern was on Kilnsea Wetlands I. eventually managed some fairly decent shots given how far away it was.

A nice evening was spent at The Spurn Bird Observatory annual barbecue and we watched the sun go down over the Humber.

Another early start and some wonderful light. My plan was to photograph waders in flight as they were moving up and down as the tide rose. The light was absolutely fantastic and it gave some great photographic opportunites as waders flew by and gulls, swallows and sand martins fed on the feast of flies.

The humber ws flat calm and with reflected pink and blue skies the backdrop was superb.

Once it reached high tide the aactivity slowed and I made my way back for breakfast.

Early morning and evening definitely give off the best light as can be seen in the shots below.

Dawn to Dusk at Spurn

August 09, 2022

We had another fantastic trip to Kilnsea this weekend and it was truly a case of wildlife from dawn to dusk.

Starting on Friday night , there had been a report of a white rumped sandpiper near Chalky Point. I went up there an hour before sunset and it was just the most gorgeous evening. The sun was setting, yje silence was only punctuated by calls of various wading birds. I had an interesting chat with The Biking Birder and it didn’t matter that the white-rumped sandpiper didn’t show.

Next morning I was up early and on the beach before 5-just as I like it. There was no=one around yet the wildlife is at its most active. My plan was to shoot waders and terns over the sea into the rising sun. It seemed unusually quiet as I walked up but there was still half an hour to go before sunrise.

As dawn got nearer, birds became more active and pretty soon there was plenty to look at and photograph. Little terns were busily hurrying out to sea and returning with fish in what seemed like a conveyor belt of activity. Waders were zooming up and down the beach but given that it was low tide I guess most would have been feeding on the humber. A grey seal made its way down the beach towards the sea after being hauled out overnight, swallows flew north in their droves no doubt after roosying on Sykes Field.

As the sun rose, the light went back to ‘normal’ and the activity slowed up. Imade my way back and after an uneventful look on canal scrape and Kilnsea Wetlands I made my way back for breakfast.

I spent a while looking for butterflies and whilst not as busy as previous weeks I was pleased with a count of 12 species in the Kilnsea area-the highlight being a nice female common blue.

The day finished with a nice session on ‘Wozzas Bench’ watching the swallows flocking in their masses against a magnificent sunset with the added attraction of a flyby barn owl

Next morning I was up early again. I missed the very early start but was till on the beach before half 5. I had the sam plan as the day before but I was lucky because there was slightly more broken cloud and this prolomged the sunrise effect keeping yellows and pinks in the sky for longer.

There must have been a hatch of flies overnight as there were loads of birds feasting on the masses that were mainly around the high tide line. Mainly dunlin and ringed plover but the glorious morning was puntuated with even more colour as a small flock of yellow wgtails fed with the odd pied wagtail amongst them.

Again the sun rose past the ‘golden hour’ effect and it was time to go. News came over the radion of a convolvulus hawk moth that had been trapped overnight in Church Field. A beast of a migrant moth along with a couple of other nice ones-orange swift, salt-marsh plume and gold spot.

Back for a couple of hours relaxing and a bit of breakfast. A roe deer and its fawn were feeding in well Field and a peregrine falcon shot through just as we were packing up.

There is no place like Spurn-it is a natural marvel and theres no place on trhe planet I would rather be.

Until next time-thanks for reading.

White-rumped sandpiper (from a previous visit)

Waders at Dawn

July 29, 2022

I am firmly of the belief that the best time to photograph wildlife especially for creative photography is the half hour before and the hour after sunrise.

Someone who I was very privileged to meet once said, when talking about performance ‘there’s very little traffic on the extra mile’. What he meant by that was when you are trying to get your best results, being there first, being at it all day, being the last one there at the end-how many other people do that? That is the extra mile.

I use it as a driver to get me up and out because theres no doubt that whilst the half hour before and the hour after daybreak (especially in summer) are the best times, I quite often find myself being the only one there-even at popular places like Bempton.

My plan earlier this week was to get out early in the hope that it wouldn’t be too cloudy and photograph some waders at high tide.

I got to my chosen spot around 4.30am, it was approaching high tide and I used the cliff behind me to break up my silhouette.

The wind had been in the north-east for a couple of days but had died away leaving a nice swell but out to sea it was oily calm-conditions were perfect.

All I needed was for the wildlife to oblige. It wasn’t long before oystercatchers and terns were flying by. Then the waders were most obliging as the came along the shore running backwards and forwards in search of food. Ringed plover, a turnstone and a group of sanderlings posed nicely along the high waterline with crashing waves lit up by the rising sun made for a great photo opportunity. An inquisitive hare ran along the sand and stopped abruptly for a few seconds before shooting off in the other direction when he realised I was there.

It was all over by around 6 o’clock. The waders were still around and the waves were still crashing but crucially the sun had risen making the photos far less interesting.

It was a joy to be out on such a fine morning the only company I had on the extra mile was the wildlife.