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!

Spurn-A Quick Visit

July 30, 2023

I had the briefest of stopovers at Spurn this weekend.

I arrived on Friday evening and the first thing that struck me was the amount of hirundines (swallows and martins) flying around. Great numbers of mainly swallows were ducking and diving catching insects at mainly low level.

A barn owl was hunting in the last of the light directly in front of the caravan.

I put out the moth trap and it was obvious that there were pleanty around. The next morning it was full!That will be the subject of another blog post.

I had a wander along the beach at dawn. great to see all the terns congregating on the beach about a quarter of a mile in front of me. I didnt go any further to avoid unnecessary disturbance.

the highlight was a fly-through arctic skua as well as a few waders passing up and down the shoreline.

from a rarity perspective a cracking Pacific Golden Plover was found off the gate in the morning. It stayed very distant so no stunning photos.

Wader numbers building up nicely so looking good for the next few weeks.