Had the total pleasure of being at Spurn Migfest from Thursday until Sunday. A great event that I can thoroughly recommend. Some of the highlights seen by myself and Vicky around the the area were:

2+ Wryneck, 1 + Red Backed Shrike, Greenish Warbler, Pallid Harrier, Icterine Warbler, Red Breasted Flycatcher, Nightjar, 10+Common Redstart, Black Redstart, 10+ Whinchat, 15 Spotted Flycatcher (1 in ringers hand), 5 Garden Warbler (one in ringers hand), 5 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Yellow Wagtail, Little Owl, Barn Owl, Spotted Redshank, 2 Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Hobby, 2 Arctic Skua, 2 Great Skua, Great Northern Diver, Sedge Warbler, Marsh Harrier, 7 Avocet, Grey Plover, 6 Tree Sparrow.

Really well run and many volunteers made this a special few days and for me it will surely now be an annual event.

Image of the Red Backed Shrike attached. It was next to the tent as we pitched it.

Sun 4th June.
Early morning visit with a short window.

As predicted the Great Snipe had done a bunk.

The male Red-backed Shrike was a no show at the Warren as it had been caught and ringed minutes earlier so had probably gone into hiding for a while.

Highlights
- 2 Cuckoos from canal path
- 1 Little Stint bristly at Kilnsea Wetlands
- 3 Yellow Wagtails on approach to KW
- 2 Avocet KW
- Grey Plovers some in simmer plumage

Also..
- probable Marsh Warbler at top of canal path, whilst parking the car I could hear this lovely singing with a bit of Blackcap type sound mixed with melodic chatter so thats what I thought it was.

One bird that for now remains unidentified also at the end of the canal path looked initially like a large Warbler when it flew passed me but a couple of brief views suggested Chat type, a nice Hazel brown with pale breast, very skulks though and it disappeared. Couple of other birders got on it too but we were all unsure.

Bumper fall of migrant birds at Spurn, Yorkshire. 21/10/2022

  With all of the rare birds this autumn being found on places like Shetland, Scilly Isles & Ireland it felt that we had been starved of good birds during this exciting time. None of our team are what you may call chequebook birders (Having limitless money and time to twitch rare birds anywhere) So as we watched the weather patterns develop during this week, we decided that a trip to Spurn area was in order on Friday.

  A nice early start from Rochdale at 6am with Craig B, Kevin C & myself also picking up Dave W near Leeds, the weather was overcast with some rain. The M62 was busy at this time but as we got through Hull traffic became much lighter. First stop was Easington village to catch up with a species that used to be a great rarity, Red flanked Bluetail, it now occurs a little more regularly. It was soon located feeding on seed on the old school playground in the village, lovely bird to watch. Just around the corner on Vicar`s Lane near the high security fence of the gas terminal, was a typical species that had been blown over from Siberia, a Pallas`s Warbler. A very small green coloured bird with significant yellow markings, have always made this a much sought-after bird with the twitchers! Their size and speed of movement has always made them difficult to locate, but this one was calling and almost singing, after an hour I had failed to see it properly. Another one of the same species was about 150 yards away, so we went and saw it almost immediately, then of course walked back and saw the original one without any bother! Lots of Fieldfare & Redwing were passing over in large quantities also.

  In the trees near the Crown & Anchor pub we located the first of 3 Firecrest seen on the day along with a few Bramblings. Robins & Goldcrest seemed to be everywhere after the long journey they had just made, a possible Eastern race of Lesser Whitethroat, giving very close views was also watched as a Yellow browed Warbler dashed from tree to tree busily feeding. Next stop was the Canal Scrape where a Bobbing Jack Snipe was located as more thrushes passed through, real migration in front of our eyes taking place. Around an hour was spent watching a Firecrest at very close distance, what a lovely bird! A couple of Ring Ouzel then flew past the hide, news of an arrival of some Black Redstart`s meant a trip to Sandy Beaches to see them and 4 were seen, very smart birds. An Olive backed Pipit was being reported again in Easington Village, we went to have a look for it, but it proved very difficult apart from a brief glimpse as it fed in amongst the branches of a tree, they are usually ground feeders? A Common Redstart was also seen there, then it started raining and as it was nearly dark, we decided to end this fantastic rarity and migrant filled day`s birding. I reached home by 8-30pm, thanks to Craig B for driving. What a special day!

Dave O.

Two-barred Greenish Warbler at Spurn, Yorkshire. Sunday 17^th October 2021

   Mid Saturday afternoon a visiting birder to the Spurn Point area had seen what he thought to be a Yellow-browed Warbler then, after taking some pictures of the bird, it became apparent, after looking at the photograph`s by expert`s, that the bird was indeed a Two-barred Greenish Warbler! About 20 or so birders managed to see the bird that afternoon.

   With all the members of our team never having seen this species in Britain an urgent plan was put together and an early start was planned. With Craig B driving, myself, Bob K & Kevin C we set off on a wet, gloomy, dark autumn morning. As daylight came the rain stopped and as we got nearly to Hull news that the warbler was still present cheered the mood up considerably. As we headed towards the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust/Canal scrape area a crowd of some 80 birders could be see filling the road and watching something in the surrounding bushes, was this the warbler? We quickly gathered our equipment together and joined the throng and had really good views of another rare warbler to our British shores. This little sprite should be safely on its way to winter in south East Asia by now probably having been born in Siberia this year. After 10 minutes or so the bird was lost to view and what followed was managing to get into a position to see the bird as the crowd swelled to around 150/200 birders. The warbler kept moving all around the various small trees and bushes and if you were in the right place at the right time allowed some really good observations. The rain then began to sweep in but after some sustenance, and a brief rest we went back out and really all enjoyed some great views of the bird, sometimes right above our heads! We had been in the area for around 6.5 hours and had met lots of birders that we had not seen for quite a number of years. By 4-00pm we decided to go Sammy`s Point to try to see some Short-eared Owl`s.

    With our own owl expert Bob K leading the way it was not long before I saw one take off and land in the next field. What a lovely bird to observe, then Bob found another two birds roosting in the paddock and giving really excellent opportunities for the photographers. A further 5 owls seen in flight being hassled by the local crows made a very healthy total of 8 Short-eared Owls seen on our visit. These birds have all just come over the sea from the continent to enjoy our Autumn/Winter, they were quite magnificent! It was going dark as we left the Spurn area having all had a new bird on our British list and having enjoyed a great day out.

Dave O.

Saturday 18th-20th September.

Due to a cancelled trip to Mallorca we quickly decided Spurn was as good as anywhere so off we set at daft o'clock again. First stop Ferrybridge services not for a bird but a butty from Greggs then off we went again not taking the turn off for Blacktoft as this was left for Tuesday !

We landed at the car park got our gear together and off we set to the Canal Scrape and Hide, this was Caths day so I had to go along with her wishes. We sat down in the the hide and got straight onto three Water Rail, a great start then Teal, Snipe and Little Egret made up our numbers.

A short stop off at the Seawatching Hide did not produce anything of note, certainly no Skuas. We turned our attention to the Humber Estuary where there were lots of waders some of the Grey Plover and Knot still carrying summer plumage. We could not pick out the single Dotterel though.

Cath announced that we were to walk down to  Spurn Point which is a six mile walk there and back in memory of her dad who had never walked it there !!! Down at the Point we soon learned that there had been a Red-breasted Flycatcher seen just twenty minutes ago, so off went went to search around the picnic tables (not on the map) after a good hour with no joy apart from Chaffinch, Reed Bunting and a welcome Pied Flycatcher we set off back, the Red-breasted was seen again later in the day.

Kilnsea Wetlands and Hide was our next stop, well mine anyway, where after avoiding a packed hide I managed a single Spoonbill and plenty of Mediterranean Gulls plus the usuals. By this time we were shattered and headed for our digs and food (digs fine but food bloody awful) 

Sunday saw us tuck into a good breakfast (chef on holiday) cooked by the owner. My plan ( I was in charge today) was to walk the famous Triangle as many times as was required to find something good, off we set up the road towards the old Bluebell Cafe there was nothing of note but as we approached the Crown and Anchor pub a small car pulled up and told us a Red-backed Shrike was seen in Little Hedge (not on the map) so off we went walking by the Estuary. Arriving at Little Hedge which is now bigger than Big Hedge we are told it has not been seen since the first sighting. We along with lots of others wandered around the area as best we could but again no joy. By around noonish we set back off to walk the Triangle in the other direction, along the way we bumped into others and asked about the Shrike but again it was a blank. I then recognised  a young lass and asked her about the Shrike " oh yes it was right over my head near the ramp at the Information centre" we legged it over or actually just walked faster ! We managed to take up a good position looking across the hawthorn and willow scrub facing the Information centre after several minutes the Shrike was called as it flew across the scrub into another hawthorn, I managed a good look at its back as it flew across Cath just a glimpse, at least we saw it !

It was 13.45 and then the heavens opened we retreated back to the car for a brew and a kip (getting on a bit now) by 15.00ish the rain stopped and I set off for a better look at the Shrike if it was still there! After an hour, a nice Whinchat and getting peeved at people shouting there it is at everything that flew I had a wander about, Cath then text to say its just been seen again in the same place so off I go again and we stand around for another twenty minutes before my stomach tells me we are booked in for Sunday Lunch at the Crown and Anchor ( highly recommended it was brilliant and great service)

Monday morning we set off in search of breakfast in Withernsea as the chef is off at the digs, we find a cafe right on the front by a car park it will do for me and it was pretty good, a late return to Spurn saw us Seawatching we saw Common Scoter, Red-throated, Black-throated Diver and Razorbill but we again missed any Skuas. Heading back off to the Canal Scrape and Hide we picked up Spotted Flycatcher and Redstart. We managed to chat with the finder of the Shrike and decided to try and find it again as it had been seen again however we again dipped on a good sighting of the bird despite it showing a couple times.

17.00 hours arrived and saw us at Sammy's Point for hopefully a grand finale and by 17.20 we had three birds flying and then another and another, one bird flew low mocking a Common Buzzard that was on the ground eventually we had eight birds flying over and in front of us we stood and watched in awe what a perfect end to Spurn  eight Short-eared Owls.

We did off course miss some good stuff.. Ortolan Bunting, Isabelline Wheatear and Common Rosefinch to name a few

Thursday 18 Aug, arrived at Easington 9 30 am walked around church didn't see,much at all,a further wandering along a local lane gave willow warbler a very yellowish individual at that,kestrel, pheasant, tree sparrow,linnet,swallow and house martin,a couple of hours here, then on to spurn to see what's what,tide well out lots of birds too distant but curlew ,dunlin,little egret,golden plover,sparrowhawk, kestrel, linnet, a couple of hours was the limit here as the tide was forecast highest before 5pm ,so off to kilnsea, this is a great place to visit,green sandpiper, ruff,black tailed godwit, dunlin,sandwich tern over,caspian gull,redshank, greenshank, greylag goose,common tern, usual selection of gulls ,mallard,teal ,gadwall, merlin, the stay was highlighted today as the stay was a bit longer and later, after about 6pm a wander about gave a little gull on beacon pond and a cracking display of two short eared owls mobbing a marsh harrier as it crossed their patch,later still a short eared owl passed only 40 yards away hunting, sparrowhawk with prey resting on a post ,as we left the car park a short eared owl was quartering the field opposite which was also showing, a real good day.

First stop, kilnsea wetlands, high tide and very windy,lots of sandwich tern squeaking as they passed, little tern,green sandpiper, wood sandpiper, dunlin,knot,little ringed plover, little egret (20),spoonbill (3),Caspian gull,oystercatcher, kestrel, mallard,cormorant, black headed gull,starling, lesser black backed gull , great black backed gull,common tern, roseate tern,mute swan, herring gull, pied wagtail,grey plover , yellow wagtail,carrion crow ,redshank,beacon pond gave a turnstone to add but even windier here,whitethroat seen on the hedge by the footpath,plenty too of swift  ,swallow, house martin, sand martin over.   Spurn itself ,little tern,curlew,redshank, coot,carrion crow,kestrel,little ringed  plover,sandwich tern,golden plover, dunlin,black headed  gull, lesser black backed gull, herring gull,swift ,swallow on eggs in canal hide,little egret, swift,oystercatcher, swallow ,linnet,high wind here today, and low tide on my second visit made me realize the enormity of the mudflats available for feeding birds,as we left spurn a final visit to kilnsea showed a much quieter scene as i presume most of the birds were  now feeding on the mudflats, spoonbill feeding well here now, a great trip again over on the dark side ,will be back.......

Friday 7th May.

Got called back into work this week and as usual I was pulling my hair out watching reports of good birds turn up whilst I couldnt do anything.
But I wasnt needed today so with a window of opportunity for a free morning I set off early hours to try for the showy male Golden Oriole, Ive only ever seen a female briefly in Cyprus and heard a male in Cornwall.
Unfortunately it did a bunk as I suspected, so the wait goes on!

Other birds of note...
- 1f Ring Ouzel (mobile between Warren + Canal)
- 1 Marsh Harrier (over Triangle + Seawatch)
- 1 Whooper Swan (near Wetlands car par)
- 1 Lesser Whitethroat (near Obs)
- 4 Wheatear (in Walker Butts Field)
- 1 Fieldfare (also in Walker Butts)
- 1 Yellow Wagtail (along Easinton straight)
- 1m Black Redstart (on hedge top, Easington)
- c20+ Whimbrel seen in different areas
- Lots of Grey Plover in summer plumage on Humber
- Plenty of showy Reed and Sedge Warbler

I had to chuckle at the Marsh Harrier sighting, when I first picked it up from canal path I wasnt sure what it was and neither were the other few Spurn regs I pointed it out to. It looked a bit like a Black Kite but it was bit distant. It flew over Bluebell and banked down towards the Seawatch Hide.
A bit later, one of the Seawatch lads arrived and said Black Kite was debated but in the end they settled on Marsh Harrier, and they had better views than us.
Just goes to show, these things are never easy, even for the more experienced regulars.

Spurn Weekend. 18/19/20th September 2020

Friday

  Our annual trip to the Easington, Kilnsea and Spurn area took place a little earlier due to, what seemed like migration taking place sooner? Our first call was to be at Sunk Island/ Stone Creek to visit John Ward who has been recording the birds at this location for many years (he also co-found Britain`s first Mugimaki Flycatcher) The tide was going out as we arrived and as the boys walked around myself and John had a good catch up. A Kingfisher flew past us and appeared to land close by. Masses of gulls, waders and a few egrets were observed in the hour we were there. Our friend from the Wirral Mark G had arrived at Spurn and we arranged to meet him near the sea watching hide, not much movement on the sea apart from: - 12 Red throated Divers (11 in one party) Teal, Wigeon, Common Scoter, 4 Sandwich Tern and the regular gulls. News of a Little Bunting having been trapped in Sykess Field came as a surprise and as Kevin C needed it for his British list, we all gathered pace to see the bird. It was released and sat out for all to admire this fairly rare bird on an adjacent barbed wire fence. At Kilnsea Wetlands we saw: - 2 Little Stint, lots of Dunlins but mainly about 20 Mediterranean Gulls coming into bathe, quite a sight! More news in the form of a Lapland Bunting on the concrete slipway at Beacon Ponds reached us, off we went and after a short wait the bird was seen. The Lapland Bunting performed really well at 10 feet distance allowing us all to get some nice pictures of it (yes even me). We headed for the Marquis of Granby in Easington for our two night stay and had our evening meal at the Crown & Anchor in Kilnsea that is now under new ownership.

Saturday

  Now I normally like to get up and get into the field nice and early but, with a sore hip I decided to rest a little longer in bed. A magnificent full English breakfast was enjoyed and then back to Sammy`s Point to catch up on the birds that I had missed. A few Pintail were seen on Kilnsea Wetlands but news of a Firecrest in Kew Villa had us heading for there. The Firecrest sat out for a few seconds bathed in sunshine (hopefully captured by ace photographer Craig B) and the bird had us all gasping at its real beauty. A Wood Warbler in St Helen`s churchyard was seen very actively chasing small prey items, a very well-marked bird. A walk around Church Field had us looking at a couple of Mealy/Common Redpoll in amongst a small flock of Lesser Redpoll. We had a look in the Canal Scrape and after locating a Common Snipe we were told that a Jack Snipe was sat very close to it. Mark G let us all see the Jack Snipe through his scope, thanks Mark. Towards the end of the day we enjoyed another look at some of today`s good birds e.g. Firecrest, Wood Warbler then we had a look down Vicar`s lane in Easington, but failed to locate the Hawfinch`s. We watched some football in the Marquis of Granby, a nice meal there and a couple of pints in The White Horse ended proceedings for the day.

Sunday

  A rather misty morning had us visiting Kew Villa, St Helens churchyard and we quickly managed to see 2 Brambling and a few Siskins, its taken myself until now to catch up with both these species this year! More great views of the Firecrest followed with Pied Flycatcher, Lesser and Common Whitethroat, Wood Warbler, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. News of a Ring Ouzel along Peter Lane had us taking a look for it, without any success. Another look for the Yellow browed Warbler at Sammy`s Point was our next quest. Now as we waited patiently for the bird to appear in its chosen tree or clump, which it did not do in 2 hours, something unusual happened. This is not criticism of our fellow birders, as we all have to start somewhere but, when a couple of fully loaded gentlemen with the top optical and photographic gear miss identify 2 Chiffchaffs as 2 Yellow browed Warblers, surely there is a problem? I would have loved to have pointed this out but they were bigger than me, enough said about that then. We said goodbye to Mark G and left the Spurn area around 2-30pm with the intention to visit Southfield Reservoir to possibly see a Glossy Ibis that was there. As sleep had overcome our party we decided not to bother and reached home by 5pm having enjoyed a great trip.

P.S. If anyone reading this is a regular visitor to Spurn please join The Friends of Spurn its only £24  per year and you receive a brilliant yearly bird report and can visit all the great areas to see the birds

Dave O.

Monday 21st Sept - 7.10am to 1.30pm

Our holiday to Lanzarote that was booked last year was cancelled couple of weeks ago so took advantage of time off work and Lucas in nursery.
Warm sunny weather. Met some nice people today as always and just to make it clear !!! I travelled on my own, wore a mask when appropriate, social distancing observed in all areas, rule of 6 observed at Church Field ringing station and the one hide I went in at Kilnsea Wetlands (KW) only 5 of us in there.

Arrived at KW 7.10am straight away got onto a bird flying over and 2 Waders from the car park viewing area.
- 1 Lapland Bunting flying over me calling
- 1 Little Stint
- 1 Pectoral Sandpiper
(Just thought it was a Dunlin at first but I soon realised it appeared a bit bulkier, legs were pale with a yellow tinge and then the sharp demarcation of the upper breast streaks)

Suddenly everything on the Wetlands was flushed as the black sheep herd came charging over, this coincided with news of a release at Church Field (CF)

- 1 Blyths Reed Warbler (in the hand & seen after release)
- 1 Yellow-browed Warbler (CF and entrance)
- 2 Brambling (at CF entrance)
- Hawfinch heard (behind ringing station)
- 1 Wood Warbler (showed well in Churchyard)
- 1 late Whimbrel (in North Field next to CF)
- 1 Barred Warbler (briefly in hedge opposite CF, disappeared over North field towards KW)

Another Blyth?s Reed (unringed) was claimed along the canal by a Spurn local, I stood with the observers present and we only managed 2 Eurasian Reed Warblers, the sighting was later changed by the original observer, that?s not to say he didn?t see one.
- 1 Yellow-browed Warbler at the north end of canal path with Goldcrests

Back to KW.
- 1 Little Bunting - Lifer (Listening Dish hedge)
(Brief clinching view with another observer. Small compact Bunting, partly silhouetted but some features still visible, short tail, wings drooping low, eye ring just about visible, straight culmen on the bill was obvious.
- 1 Twite (in the same hedge)
- 1 Willow Warbler (in same hedge)
- 1 Great Egret flew(in to Beacon Ponds but flew off again)
- lots of Mediterranean Gulls
- 5 Sandwich Terns over
- 2 more Little Stints
- 1 Yellow Wagtail over
- probable Lapland Bunting (with Meadow Pipits over)
- 1 Hobby over the car near Skeffling

Best of the rest included...
- 6 Black-tailed Godwits
- 1 Bar-tailed Godwit
- 1 Common Snipe
- Pink-footed Geese over
- Brent Geese + usual Spurn Wildfowl
- 10+ Stonechat
- Tree Sparrows
- Meadow Pipits
- 2 Goldcrests
- 100?s GoldenPlover
- 100?s Knot
- Dunlins (alpina race)

Of note...
- 1 Mealy Redpoll reported, I had a Lesser Redpoll same location / same time
- 1 Curlew Sandpiper reported with 2 Little Stints, myself + others could only see a Dunlin with them. Could?ve flown off in the 2 minutes it took to walk from the listening dish.
- adult Gannet wrecked at Beacon Ponds (been there a few days). Response from the Obs Twitter was if it was a juv then they?d take it in and give it a chance but as it?s an adult they haven?t got the facilities to take it in and will leave nature to take its course.
I was a bit bemused by that reply but there you go!





-- Edited by Rob Creek on Tuesday 22nd of September 2020 09:55:13 PM

Another good day at Spurn, Yorkshire. 30/8/2020

  With some good seabird passage having been reported from Spurn area during the week and with the winds being from a similar direction, we decided to take a trip there. We gathered at Newhey for a 6am start with Bob K in charge. We had been informed that the Long tailed Skua breeding season in Scandinavia had been a great success due to lots of Lemmings being present, which are the main food item of this species. A pleasant trip along the M62 soon had us arriving at Spurn at 8-15am, our first stop was the sea watching hide. Lots of birders surveying the waves and beyond, then as sightings were shouted out using the off shore wind farm towers as guides we managed to see: - Sooty Shearwater, Red throated Diver, Manx Shearwater, Arctic Skua, Long tailed Skua and lots of Gannets, gulls, terns and Common Scoters in an 1.5 hour seawatch.

   Then news reached us that a Barred Warbler was about 200 yards away, so we went to have a look at it. My knowledge about this species habits usually means that you have to wait quite a while for a glimpse of it as it is what we call a real skullker About 12 people stood around some low, quite sparse vegetation as we arrived, including Rossendale`s own Craig B who had found the bird, then just to prove me wrong the Barred Warbler was seen moving around, almost straight away! Thats a first I said, we all enjoyed lots of close views of this annual migrant warbler species until, news of a Wryneck in The Warren area. We headed off again and after a little wait the Wryneck was seen perched out on a convenient post, what a nice bird. A male Red backed Shrike had been found in the canal area and as Chris B had never seen one in this plumage we went for a look. The bird was a real beauty sat in a bush full of berry`s in the sunshine, what a gem. Steve B then told us that a Great Skua was flying over our heads, what a bird, then news that a Long tailed Skua was flying over the triangle was heard, but sadly not seen! Pausing to catch our breath, more news that another Wryneck had been found at the side of the road adjacent to the Canal Scrape. Upon arrival the bird was no more than 10 yards away and merrily catching ants with its incredibly long sticky tongue. Photographers clicked away merrily, some even lying in the road (none were injured during the birds stay by passing vehicles) The Wryneck performed beautifully for its admiring crowd, time for some food we all thought. A few pale bellied Brent Geese were then seen as if to remind us about the arrival of autumn, but its only August we all thought. We made our way to Kilnsea Wetlands and into the hide where lots of birds had begun to gather prior to the high tide. Mediterranean Gull, Little Gull, Sandwich Tern, Greylag Geese, Dunlin, Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Little Ringed Plover all being present as we wound down after a busy mornings birding. A White Stork had been in the Welwick area for a while (it is part of a release scheme) so as we headed towards home we thought we might try to catch up with it. After checking out a lot of the back roads north of the B1445 as far as Holmpton no sign of the bird could be found. We headed for home on an unusually quiet M62, another good days birding at Spurn.

Dave O.

Spurn at its very best. Tuesday 11^th August 2020

   After Monday`s news that a first year female Collared Flycatcher had been caught and rung at the warren at Spurn had got a few of us thinking and with easterly winds still blowing. Now as it would be a new bird for two of our group and that a good supporting cast of birds that were also present, a trip was organised. As I always seem to say about Spurn is that the day after the event, most birds seem to carry on with their migration overnight (I was too be proved wrong on this occasion). Its always important to get past the Leeds area as soon as possible during the week or you will suffer the worst traffic congestion, we managed this and passed through Hull without any problems. News that the Collared Flycatcher & Icterine Warbler were both still present was very welcome news!

   We headed straight for the warren where around 20 or so birders were gathered and when asked about both birds, the news was good. After around 10 minutes the well-marked female Collared Flycatcher was on show chasing and catching it favourite food items, quickly followed by a delightfully marked Icterine Warbler, what a great start to the day. A nice walk along the canal area soon had us all looking, albeit distantly, at 2 Red backed Shrikes both juvenile types. Whinchat, Meadow Pipit and Swallows all received a little attention from the shrikes, good to watch really. Again we moved on, this time to Kilnsea Wetlands, a little less busy after last weeks car accident. As the tide was in lots of birds were seen and we soon managed to locate: - 2 Little Stints, Pectoral Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, 2 Spoonbills, Mediterranean Gulls, Greenshank, Dunlin and a pleasing mixture of gulls and terns. In St Helen`s, Kilnsea churchyard another Icterine Warbler was seen along with a few Pied Flycatchers that seemed to be in every area that we visited, quite a major fall. A Common Redstart at Cliff Farm was also busy feeding and fluttering its rusty tail. We had managed to see all the main birds that we had come to see at Spurn, which is not a common thing to do, so it was time to have seconds at the Collared Flycatcher and the bird did not disappoint. After such a great days birding we decided that, as it was 2-30pm that we would head for home and avoid the rush hour traffic. Well we almost did, until we reached the Huddersfield area when the M62 ground to a halt, we managed to reach Rochdale by 5pm all of us having had a memorable day out.

Dave O.

Ten Gull day at Spurn. Sunday 2^nd July 2020

  After a Red Necked Phalarope and various waders were seen in the Kilnsea/Spurn area on Saturday we thought it was time for our first trip to the Spurn area this year. Two of our elder statesmen were missing for the trip so it was myself at the wheel with Chris B and Kevin C. We left Newhey at the leisurely time of 7-30am and by 8-45am we found out that the phalarope had gone. A mild westerly wind, with lots of sun didnt really make us feel that something good might be found though. At Kilnsea Wetlands throngs of waders were on show from the hide with: - 2-Curlew Sandpipers in partial moult, lots of Dunlin, Redshank, 2-Greenshank and Yellow Wagtails, various terns made a very pleasant hours birding. As we headed off towards Beacon Lane pools a loud noise was heard from the direction of the road, it looked like a car had crashed. With the subsequent arrival of some police, fire brigade and ambulance vehicles it proved to be a bad crash. On the way to the pools Chris B found what was an Essex Skipper butterfly, well found Chris! A Great White Egret on the pools along with a distant Ringed Plover and the nesting Little Tern colony at full swing being the highlights.

  Back on the carpark we had our lunch as lots of emergency crew milled around, the lady casualty was being made comfortable as the Air Ambulance helicopter landed on the road right in front of us. She was soon whisked off to hospital, we later found out that she didnt suffer any serious injuries. We headed to the warren area and had a sea watch, all of us sat in the sunshine, very pleasant but not many birds though. One highlight was two Oystercatchers together with a Whimbrel headed south close into the shoreline, not seen that before. Five Kittiwakes, Common Scoters, Gannets, terns and loafing gulls and a few more small flocks of Whimbrel made up a nice sea watch. We had been joined by a gentleman from Bury called Peter who as we exchanged names said that he read my reports and enjoyed them!

   We returned to Kilnsea Wetlands as the tide was coming in to find lots more gulls being present. A total on the day of 10 species of gull namely: - Mediterranean, Great Black Backed, Lesser Black Backed, Herring, Black Headed, Little, Common, Caspian and Yellow Legged (Kittiwakes on the sea) The identification of the Caspian Gull, which was a juvenile, took a little time as we pondered the various identification features!

Dave O.

North Cave and Spurn area. 3/11/2019

   As we head ever closer towards the end of the autumn migration period it was nice to have, maybe, one last bash at Spurn. With the sad demise (no its not dead) of the putative Lesser Kestrel record put behind us another strange occurrence in the form of a Paddyfield Pipit was found at Sennen, Cornwall. No real takers for that one, so a trip to the east coast was made. Nearly a full team with Kevin at the helm had us heading towards North Cave in the hope that a rather smart Green winged Teal, male, was still present. Nice weather all day with early mist soon clearing as we headed for the Teal`s last known position. We went into Turret Hide to the news that the Green winged Teal was showing very well just 30 yards from us! We all had plenty of time to enjoy this beautifully plumaged duck, apart from when a Marsh Harrier sent all the birds into panic. Luckily it returned and allowed all to get some pictures.

   As we passed through Easington a few birders were seen along Vicar`s Lane, probably looking for yesterday`s Pallas`s Warbler? The regular Little Owl was seen on Giant Haystack on the way to Kilnsea. Our first call was to be at the area just north of the breach, when the news arrived that the bird had been caught and ringed, not good news, after a wander around that area no Bluethroat was found (I wonder why?) The news from Dave W that the Pallas`s Warbler had been refound on Vicar`s Lane had us soon on our way. The little sprite showed really well and was admired by the birders present, also a Yellow browed Warbler was seen. Back to a new hide for us all at Long Bank opposite the entrance to Kilnsea Wetlands to see a Black Brant, which is the American version of Brent Goose. The bird showed very well in amongst the dark bellied Brent Geese, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Curlews and Starlings. We searched the obs garden for another Yellow browed Warbler which with patience showed very well. Some Fieldfare, Redwing and a couple of Chiff-Chaff sat on top of the bushes in the sunlight was a nice sight to see. I had a little seawatch with: - 3 Red throated Divers, 10 Common Scoter, 6 Gannet, and 12 Wigeon seen. The lads told me about 2 Black Redstart at the seaward side of the caravan site. After I made a bit of a detour down Beacon Lane, I was able to enjoy these very popular migrants, who seem to like messy places, around all the caravan rubbish!

   We had a final call on Vicar`s Lane, Easington to see the Pallas`s Warbler again, but got distracted by another 2 Black Redstart`s in the gas terminal compound. As the light was beginning to fail we headed for home, another good day out. The Bluethroat returned to its spot at Spurn this morning (Monday)

Dave O.

Easington, Kilnsea & Spurn, Yorkshire. 20/10/2019

   After a rather hectic week, it was nice to visit one of our favourite birding places. We met at Newhey, in the dark, as the days/nights begin to draw in and with Bob K driving were soon on our way to the Spurn area. Last weeks Red eyed Vireo had been reported yesterday as still being down by the point, but no news about it meant having a good search around would be the order of the day. We started at Sammy`s Point on a dull and fresh morning with a few Redwing, Fieldfare being seen. I noticed a familiar bird perched up as I had walked on in the form of a female Ring Ouzel, but after a good search for the bird I was unable to get the rest of our team on to it. Mistle & Song Thrushes were also seen along with Chiffchaff Great Tit then I saw a warbler with a good eye stripe and what appeared to be orangey legs, despite a good search around it wasn`t seen again? A solitary Wheatear was found in the horse paddock but very little else.

    A couple of House Martins and a few Brambling were seen in the Beacon Lane area, we then checked out the sighting of a Hawfinch around the obs garden without any joy. A decision to have a seawatch proved to be a good one with Great, Arctic & Pomarine Skua being seen along with a few distant terns. Masses of Gannets were also passing mainly south with lots of juvenile types, it looks like they have had a good breeding season then. Various auks and an unknown shearwater also passed by during our time sea watching. A trip to the café on the caravan site again proved to be very popular with a warming drink and some sustenance. A call from Darren W telling us about a well-marked Long tailed Duck that was on Borrow Pit near the Blue Bell carpark soon had us enjoying this beautiful sea duck, thanks Darren. After the last two visits we have made to Spurn, we have decided to leave mid-afternoon and good birds have been found after our departure e.g. Great Snipe. So after a good days birding in the area another early departure was made, but this time nothing too exciting was found after we left!

Dave O.

Mon 21st Oct 2019

Made my annual autumn jaunt to Spurn today. N/NE winds gave promise of some good sea-watching and the possibility of a few migrants. An early start saw me in the (full) seawatching hide for 8.15am. In a 2.5 hour seawatch a few good birds were seen:

Highlights:
20+ Little Auks
1 Sooty Shearwater
3 Arctic Skua
2 Great Skua
3 Eider
A few Red-throated Diver
Kittiwakes
Plenty of Ganne
many other Auks (mostly Guillimots)
A few Common Scoter

Most dramatic though was a Peregrine catching a Woodcock over the sea about 100 yards from the shore. The Peregrine then dropped the Woodcock that then fell into the sea. The Peregrine then swooped down amd picked the stricken Woodcock out of the sea but then dropped it a second time! Again, the Peregrine plucked the Woodcock out of the sea only to drop it again! The Woodcock then got swept into the breaking waves in the surf and lost to view. I don't think the Peregrine was able to retrieve it but I doubt the Woodcock survived. Dramatic stuff but brutal.

The rest of the day was spent around the Kilnsea area. Migrants weren't in big numbers and a strong breeze made them harder to find. However, the main highlights were:
1 Little Bunting - showing well at the helgoland trap at the Warren
3 Bearded Tit - Canal zone- heard and seen briefly
2-3 'Eastern' Lesser Whitethroat (1 at Crown & Anchor, 2 together at Cliff Farm (but 1 of these may have been the Crown & Anchor bird)
1 Redstart - male
2 Short-eared Owl ( 1 'in-off' the sea and 1that flew off the saltmarsh and out over the Humber)
1 Peregrine (imm)- Kilnsea Wetlands (perhaps the earlier bird?)
1 Woodcock (accidently flushed - this one obviously made it over the sea safely !)
1 Mediterranean Gull
3 Brambling
2 Yellowhammer
1 Treecreeper - Crown & Anchor carpark (only my 2nd ever record in Spurn area after 35+ years of visits!)
1 Great spotted Woodpecker - Crown & Anchor carpark
3 Stonechat
3 Whooper Swan - ( 1 + 2 south over the Warren very late afternoon)
40+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese
Flocks of Wigeon and Teal
Numerous Redwing
A few Fieldfare
A few Chiffchaffs
Numerous Goldcrests
Numerous Tree Sparrows and Goldfinches at the Warren
The supporting cast of usual Waders

Also - 1 Barn Owl hunting the roadside verge near Welwick on way home

Total 75 species seen

Mammal species also seen - 1 Porpoise, 1 Weasel, 1 Roe Deer

Red Eyed Vireo in Easington, Yorkshire. 13/10/2019

   After a good influx of American bird species, no doubt caused by a recent hurricane, it came as no real surprise when a Red Eyed Vireo was found on Vicar`s Lane, Easington. The weather forecast for the east Yorkshire area was for constant rain for most of the early part of the day, so a few extra layers were added. With Kevin C at the wheel four of us set off at 6am. We were treated to a nice diversion through the city centre of Hull before reaching a wet Easington. Not as many vehicles as we had thought there would have been were on site. News that the bird was still present near the gas terminal car park on Vicar`s Lane also helped. After mingling with the 30 or so birder`s for about 20 minutes the bird showed itself really well right in front of us at 5 yards distance. It was a new species in Britain for Kev C but getting a picture might be a little bit trickier. After having seen a Red Eyed Vireo only on Scilly in 1985, 87 & 89 it was quite a thrill to see another on the mainland 30 years later. The bird`s feeding pattern allowed all birder`s to watch this American stunner around every 15 minutes. The rain finally soaked us and our equipment and a hasty retreat to the car was in order. Shall we stay or shall we go was on again and after a discussion a move was agreed (little did we know that a Great Snipe would be found much later in the day)

Dave O.

With several days off and a planned trip away falling through I decided on a day out being a second best option, and it turned out pretty well really! I headed over to Spurn but a power cut at home and the alarm going off late didn't help! Then the M6 was a car park so I did 15mls in the first hour, not great. But I did eventually arrive.

First stop was Vicars Lane where I joined a throng of birders (I resisted the tabloid cliche of 'Flock of Twitchers' ) but no vireo. I only had to wait about 10mins though and the bird was picked up moving along in the willows further down the lane. It then moved along and finally flew down into its favoured berry tree and started feeding in full view, a superb Red-eyed Vireo, my 2nd in the UK. The papparazi blasted away as it carried on feeding oblivious to all the attention. Then it flew up into the adjacent oak where I got some shots that I liked better than my ones in the berries, they are different from everyone elses on facebook, that's why I prefer them (one attached). A Pied Flycatcher was in the same trees too to add to the bird list. After watching the vireo for a while it was down to the main Spurn area to carry on the day's birding.

Next stop was Kilnsea, and the Crown & Anchor car park. I walked in and immediately directions were shouted and I was on an Arctic Warbler that showed superbly well midway up in the trees by the car park. Again it showed out in the open for long periods but always on the move so digiscoping was impossible. Next I moved down to 'Corner Field' where I joined 3 other birders and we were soon watching a Yellow-browed Warbler, again showing very well in willows by the field along with a few Goldcrests. I moved around the field and saw at least 2 more Yellow-browed Warblers, one shoing low down in a dead umbellifer out in the open, superb, as well as more Goldcrests and 2+Chiffchaffs. Just as I was about to leave I had a phonecall from birding pal, Malc Curtin, to say that another bird we had been looking for had been found. Rushing back round the corner of the field I eventually got good views of the eastern race prob Turkestan Lesser Whitethroat, a race at the moment but maybe a future split (although I'm not holding my breath!). Overhead a Swallow and massive numbers of Redwings passed over whilst Linnets and Goldfinches were also in big numbers around the hedgerows.

Given the traffic over I decided that a great day had been had, no lifers but good birds, and I headed home relatively early. This proved to be a good decision with a much more relaxed and trouble-free drive!

A Weekend in the Spurn Area. 4^th to 6^th October 2019

  After a years break from our annual trip to Spurn it was nice to have another get together and enjoy the birds. Bob K, Kev C and myself left a wet and windy Rochdale at 6am and Bob soon had us through all the regular bottlenecks on the M62. We arrived at our first call at Stone Creek, Sunk Island and met up with our old friend, John Ward who has been counting the birds that pass through this area for many years. Nice to have a good catch up with him about birding in general. We headed on towards Easington & Kilnsea calling at Sammy`s Point were a Merlin sat out for us, then a Great White Egret and Short Eared Owl where seen. We had a good look around for various Yellow Browed Warblers that had been reported without any luck. At Kilnsea wetlands a report of a Caspian Gull was next on our list, but upon arrival we were told that the bird had flown. At the Big Hedge Kev C finally caught up with his first Lapland Bunting, after finding it himself, well done! We headed for our accommodation in Easington at The Duke of Granby and met up with Billy J, followed by a good meal and a couple of beers.

   Saturday morning dawned and after a hearty breakfast we headed out to see what we could find. On Vicar`s Lane, Easington a Yellow Browed Warbler performed very well for us all and then news that a Barred Warbler had been located near the Spurn Observatory had us heading over to hopefully, see it. Quite a few birders were assembled looking over a gate into a fellow birders garden as we arrived. The owner allowed us into his garden and the usual views of a Barred Warbler were had (very brief as bird headed for cover) we headed away. Down Beacon lane an Eastern type Lesser Whitethroat was seen, then a great show was enjoyed when a Short Eared Owl was seen hunting. The owl seemed oblivious to our presence and passed low over our heads a couple of times, what a cracking bird! A Snow Bunting was being admired at the end of the lane on the sea cliffs and it showed really well as they usually do. A Jack Snipe was seen bobbing on the Canal Scrape and a few Redwings were seen passing through the area along with Song Thrush, Fieldfare and a few Swallows. At Kilnsea wetlands better news that the Caspian Gull was still present reached us, we met up with Martin Q and had a good look at the bird from firstly the hide and then from the upper gate. Lots of issues were raised but in the end everyone seemed happy with the gulls identification. We called in at the Sunny Beaches café for one of their famous sandwiches and a cup of tea and whilst we were there we saw: - Long Finned Pilot Whale, Great Skua, and Great Northern Diver (close inshore) Brent Geese. Afterwards another Yellow Browed Warbler was admired, then during a walk back towards the sea watching hide a beautiful Redstart was seen and a freshly arrived Redwing on the path in front of us. The bird did not have the energy to fly away from us after such a long journey, but after we gave it sometime it hopped into the grassy area to rest. Another nice meal and a few beers back at our accommodation followed, the news that Sunday`s weather would not be good dampened our hopes though.

     Sunday morning arrived and with it lots of rain, another nice breakfast then out birding. The Jack Snipe at Canal Scrape was really the only bird of note that we saw in the conditions. We headed for home at 11-30am having all enjoyed our time at Spurn!

Dave O.

Trans Pennine Birding Day (or Booby prize). Sunday 1^st September 2019

   Its never easy trying to get people to give up a nights sleep to drive overnight on the chance of seeing a Brown Booby (a flying one) near St Ives, Cornwall. After trying a few possible participants for the journey and not getting many positive answers it seemed that a rethink was necessary. Now as it turned out no positive sightings of the Booby on Sunday seemed to justify our decision. A trip to Spurn with Dave W and Rob from Huddersfield was planned with a meeting at 6-30am. First stop had to be the hide at Kilnsea Wetlands, high tide had been at 6-30am, so at 8-30am we still had lots of birds to see from the hide. After about an hour a small flock of waders flew in and one of them was the juvenile Dotterel, it didn`t stay long but close views were had. A few Curlew Sandpipers began moving towards the hide and showed really well, yes my camera was in the car because a telescope is more use really! After a little discomfort began to come over us all, we decided to have a walk to the car for some refreshment. Just as we began to eat our sandwiches news that the White-rumped Sandpiper had flown in and was showing really well almost in front of the hide, the shower of breadcrumbs soon had us all scurrying back to the hide. Now I have seen a few White-rumped Sandpiper`s but this was the best and closest yet. 15 quiet minutes soon past as the hide began to fill up when in walked Darren W and his team from the Leeds area, good to see you all again! We had a look at Beacon Ponds then returned to the car park to ponder our next move. At this point news of a possible Eastern Black-eared Wheatear or Pied Wheatear female at Fluke Hall, Pilling in Lancashire broke!

Dave O

Sykes Field, Kilnsea & Beacon Lane, Spurn area. 25/8/2019

    After the birding slumbers of June and July it was good to get all the members of our little team together again for a trip to the east coast. All five of us met in Newhey at 6am and loaded ourselves into Bob K`s latest car, the day promised to be warm and sunny and away we went. Our target bird was the Marsh Warbler`s that have spent a while in the latest acquisition by the Friends of Spurn in Sykes Field (formerly Blue Bell Ponds Caravan site) Upon arrival two Yellow Wagtails showed very nicely on the car park and lots of Swallows, House and Sand Martin with a single Swift reminded us that migration time was here. We were directed to the right area to hopefully see the Marsh Warblers by a helpful birder and waited for them to show. After about an hour and a half, we managed to see Lesser Whitethroat, Willow and Sedge Warbler but there was a strange call coming from the reed fringed pool, what was it? Then an all too brief flight view of a warbler that flew from the area of the strange noises. Another visiting birder then said, The Marsh Warbler is showing on the fence We all enjoyed about 30 seconds as the bird sat out and showed really rather well, a new bird for one of our team!

    We all hurried along to the Kilnsea Wetlands and managed to get seats in the hide over the high tide period, plenty of Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Little Gulls, Sandwich and Common Terns, a good selection of waders with Spotted Redshank, Knot, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Greenshank, Avocet, Black tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper and along with a heavily moulting Garganey it made it a very pleasant birdwatch. We all had a stroll down Beacon Lane and managed to locate about four Pied Flycatchers along with a decent number of Tree Sparrows. We also searched in vain for yesterday`s Clouded Yellow butterfly in Church Field but the amount of Painted Lady, Red Admiral we all saw was quite impressive as they fed up for their migration.

   All in all a very good days birding which was capped off with a pint at The Rams Head pub in Denshaw!

Dave O.

Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th January.

Arrived at 09.30 after an early start and popped into the new Spurn Discovery Centre. Spoke to the wardens about the Shore Larks and any other interesting sightings - the information was gratefully received. Off we set towards the Easington Lagoon and decided to tackle it from the Kilnsea Hide. We arrived at the hide just as a warden was leaving.  He duly informed us that there was nothing showing from the hide and that the walk to the Lagoon was a good walk away and that the Larks had been seen ten minutes ago and it would be easier to drive further round. 

Ten minutes later we are looking across the small Lagoon with several other birders scanning waters edge and other likely spots. Twenty minutes went by to no avail apart from being told " you should have been here earlier, they were showing well" - not heard that before!

We had lots of time as we were here for a night and we had only been at the Lagoon for an hour, then out of the blue I picked up two small birds flying in and land somewhere on the right hand side then after more scanning finally the two birds came into scope. What an absolute delight to see this little pair of jewels. We spent twenty minutes just delighting our success sharing the scope with another birder.

After this we went off to Sammys Point in search of Snow Bunting however this was to draw a blank.

Finally off back to the Centre where the warden said that around three in the afternoon the Short Eared Owls could normally be seen hunting. We searched,scanned and panned the area for nearly two hours to no avail. We set off to our "digs" to freshen up and feed.

Sunday mornings hearty breakfast set us up nicely for the day when we expected the 40+mph winds to gather up along with some showers.

Several hours later after biting winds we called it a day, very few birds were showing around the area, lots of dunlin, redshank, curlew and brent geese along the shoreline, in total thirty five species recorded with the Shore Lark pair being the stars of the show.

As a point of information for anyone planning a visit, the Centre is great, car park costs £5 but you get a "free" drink in the cafe on production of a tear off voucher on the parking ticket.  We stayed at the Marquis of Granby in Easington which served a good evening meal and breakfast at a reasonable cost.

Happy Birding 

Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th January.

Arrived at 09.30 after an early start and popped into the new Spurn Discovery Centre. Spoke to the wardens about the Shore Larks and any other interesting sightings - the information was gratefully received. Off we set towards the Easington Lagoon and decided to tackle it from the Kilnsea Hide. We arrived at the hide just as a warden was leaving.  He duly informed us that there was nothing showing from the hide and that the walk to the Lagoon was a good walk away and that the Larks had been seen ten minutes ago and it would be easier to drive further round. 

Ten minutes later we are looking across the small Lagoon with several other birders scanning waters edge and other likely spots. Twenty minutes went by to no avail apart from being told " you should have been here earlier, they were showing well" - not heard that before!

We had lots of time as we were here for a night and we had only been at the Lagoon for an hour, then out of the blue I picked up two small birds flying in and land somewhere on the right hand side then after more scanning finally the two birds came into scope. What an absolute delight to see this little pair of jewels. We spent twenty minutes just delighting our success sharing the scope with another birder.

After this we went off to Sammys Point in search of Snow Bunting however this was to draw a blank.

Finally off back to the Centre where the warden said that around three in the afternoon the Short Eared Owls could normally be seen hunting. We searched,scanned and panned the area for nearly two hours to no avail. We set off to our "digs" to freshen up and feed.

Sunday mornings hearty breakfast set us up nicely for the day when we expected the 40+mph winds to gather up along with some showers.

Several hours later after biting winds we called it a day, very few birds were showing around the area, lots of dunlin, redshank, curlew and brent geese along the shoreline, in total thirty five species recorded with the Shore Lark pair being the stars of the show.

As a point of information for anyone planning a visit, the Centre is great, car park costs £5 but you get a "free" drink in the cafe on production of a tear off voucher on the parking ticket.  We stayed at the Marquis of Granby in Easington which served a good evening meal and breakfast at a reasonable cost.

Happy Birding 

From 11-16.30 today Kilnsea pools and up to Seawatching hide

Highlights: Barn Owl, 1+ Short Eared Owl, White Fronted Goose, 500+ Dark Bellied Brent Geese, 10 Red Throated Diver, Gullemot, Gannet, Greenshank, Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 3 Goldeneye, Whooper Swan, 30 Lapwing, Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel, 2 Common Scoter, Red Breated Merganser. Missed the 2 reported Shorelark.

Mammals included 3+ Harbour Porpoise, 2 Grey Seals, 3 Roe Deer, 2 Hare