Spurn sunshine

The wind went easterly in the week and a deluge of migrants poured over the North Sea and birders along the East Coast were apparently knee-deep in Yellow-browed Warblers. The Northern Isles had scored massively, so it was with much anticipation that I headed east to Spurn.

Half a dozen Redwings over Easington Village whetted the appetite for what was to come and I headed first to Sammy's Point. A good trawl round the bushes here surprisingly revealed very little, with only c20 Song Thrushes and a couple of Whitethoats of note, plus a couple of Greenshanks on the Humber.

On to Easington Churchyard which should have been crawling with stripy phylloscs. Not today, with two Redstarts scant compensation.

News was coming through from Spurn and Kilnsea so a short drive later and I was soon heading round the triangle having picked up a spare radio (thanks Andy!). A Wheatear was present on the fence in the middle of Well Field and from Canal Scrape Hide, a smart juvenile Little Stint sporting snazzy bling was showing very well along with a bouncing Jack Snipe feeding on the cut area. Little else of note around the triangle. On the way back to the car a visit to the Kilnsea Churchyard revealed first a Pied Flycatcher and then a fine Yellow-browed Warbler flicking around in a Sycamore. The bird was mostly silent but did a brief bout of calling.

Crazy bouncing Jack.

Lunch at the Warren and then on to Chalk Bank for fine views of a Red-breasted Flycatcher, before some serious bush grilling. This was hard work in the glorious sunshine though Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, a Whinchat-Wheatear-Whinchat superspecies (don't ask!), a Redpoll x Linnet hybrid (the sun was getting to me by this point) and a Goldcrest were the noted migrants. Presumably the clear skies were allowing all incoming migrants to fly straight over at height. 30 Brents on the Humber were a fine sight and plenty of Gannets seemed to be investigating the outskirts of Hull, but most seemed to return.

RBFly...A lovely and confiding little bird.

Last stop was the point where a Wheatear fed on the lawn and a Redstart 'hoo-eet'ed around the lock-up. The bushes were dead on the whole, though more Song Thrushes were in evidence. Another Redstart on the other side of the Parade Ground could have been a second bird. It was a joy to explore the network of newly cut paths - nice one Adam, Phil and Vicky.

A quick look for a Firecrest at the Warren on the return journey, revealed a briefly calling Yellow-brow next to Warren Cottage and a flitting flight view of said Firecrest. All in all a lovely day, though very few new birds in.

Double Snipe

So I tried to do the right thing. Big westerlies and rain and the thought that surely yesterday's Great Snipe wouldn't still be at Spurn made my decision to go looking for wind blown skuas at Hes East the birding destination of choice. Not much doing, though 12 Snipe were seemingly taunting me, reminding me of their large Polish cousin out east. Plenty of ducks, with one Wigeon, 3 Pochard and c25 Tufted Ducks on the lake, though numbers of Teal were down on the west lagoons. Plenty of Linnets around and the semi-resident Greenshank. Then the news started to arrive of the Great Snipe giving crippling views...

An hour and a quarter of frenetic driving later, I pulled up at Kilnsea and jogged round on to Beacon Lane. Steve Exley immediately got me into the viewing position by a wall looking behind a gate on to a bit of rough land by a building. At first I couldn't see anything as I peered into the gloom under some scrub. But then I realised the green stripes I was looking at were the legs of the snipe, literally ten feet away, sitting on the grass right out in the open. Unbelievable!

For the next hour or so, those present had incredible views of this stunningly beautiful wader as it performed superbly, feeding actively on the grass and under the bushes, interspersed with a few naps. At times, it went for a wander, sometimes coming rediculously close. What a bird! I never thought I would see this species this well ever, with plenty of time to scrutinize every feather. The bird was in immaculate plumage and presumably a first calendar year, but I am not sure about the ageing of Snipes.

Great Snipes used to be known as Double Snipes, presumably because they were twice the bulk of a Common Snipe and therefore had more meat on them! Records are much scarcer these days than they used to be, so this bird was a welcome addition to many Yorkshire lists, including mine!

Birders staring under the gate to see the bird

Great White

A fine Great White Egret has been present at Wheldrake Ings for a week now, having strode out of thin air the morning after the evening I visited looking for waders.

Now I reckon even I would have noticed this giant white heron...I spent a few days at Birdfair adding Two-barred Crossbill to my Yorkshire list on the way down, at Broomhead Reservoir near Sheffield but in the back on my mind was this big Wheldrake bird that I was convinced would clear off before I got chance to look for it.

Anyway, the bird settled into a routine of showing on the Pool first thing before heading off elsewhere. First day back and despite being shattered I got up early and headed out before work. I headed down to the Pool Hide with trepidation and as I entered along the recently restored foot bridge, I immediately saw a giant white apparation standing in the middle of the pool. Fab! The egret showed nicely on 19th August and was still there when I left at 8am.

I went back on 22nd to see if more waders had come in. It was a beautiful misty morning that cleared to be a beautiful sunny, still day. The egret seems to favour the Pool area between 7am and 8am before heading off into an unseen part of the valley. It occasionally hangs out for longer however. A few waders present; several Green Sands, Greenshank (here and Hes East), a few Ruff and Snipe. A Marsh Harrier flew past today and a couple of Willow Tits are wheezing about in the riverside willows. No sign of any Two-barred or Common Crossbills in Allerthorpe Common, but the butterflies including c20 Small Coppers were awesome. A great show of c100 Common Blues at the west end of Hes East earlier too.

Moths and Hairstreaks

So we have discovered White-letter Hairstreaks on the big elm in the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust office garden. I guess they've always been there but nobody noticed, which is quite funny! Anyway, well done Kev for spotting them the other day. Fine views today! Also, had my first go with Claire's moth trap last night and succeeded in a small haul of moths that I couldn't identify! Oh well, it is fun to learn. Did manage to pick out a Ruby Tiger, 3 Dot Moths, Riband Wave, Hebrew Character, Dark Arches and a couple of Common Footman (Footmen perhaps?!). I will try again tonight. After an Elephant Hawkmoth really to wow Adelaide....

Among the elm leaves.

Butterflies at Fen Bog

A lovely visit to Fen Bog revealed lots of Large Heaths and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries plus a surprise in the form of a Keeled Skimmer. Also seen, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Whinchats and lots of cool plants including Arctic Starflower, Heath Spotted Orchid and flowering Cranberry. More on my other blog

Yesterday, went up to Saltholme to look for the wandering Northumberland Bridled Tern, but sadly it went back north before I got there. Having Sol with me, I was in proper birding Dad mode, and we had ice creams a play in the playground and checked out the alpacas (!). I did manage to pick out a rather cracking Roseate Tern flying over the playground which was then picked up on the islands out the front of the centre. Probably the best bird I have had over a playground! The Bridled Tern rocked up back in N'land a few hours later. Git!

Love Birding

Don't you just love birding? So in the last week I have tramped around farm fields surveying breeding birds, stood in a wood in the dark straining my ears for the squeak and grunt of a Woodcock (without success!) and dashed into a car park near York station to look for a tiny migrant singing from the top of a city building. Oh, and driven out to a tranquil Filey early in the morning to see a lost but content Nearctic duck. Surely there is no hobby better than this!

Adam Hutt, Jack Ashton-Booth and Andy Walker watching a Black Redstart, with the York Eye, Station and Bar Walls in the background. 2nd July. Bottom photo - how the bird looked in June - thanks to Jack for the photo.

Surfer

Headed east to Filey early doors and was soon watching a smart drake Surf Scoter with a gang of Common Scoters just off the Brigg. The tide was in, so I watched from the cliff top. The bird frequently stretched it's head up skywards as if showing off the white nape patch to the female Common Scoters it was with. When asleep, it was easy to overlook, especially if the white nape patch was not obvious. It has been a while since I have seen a drake Surfer in the UK and to add the species to my tiny Yorkshire list in this way was top drawer. I had half an hour's seawatch before Dad duties called me back west. The Cory's Shear had gone back south past Spurn and a few Manx were the only birds of note besides the usual hordes of auks, Gannets and Kitts.

Tiln Tick

And so fell my biggest British
bogey bird - Melodious Warbler. Having assumed I would eventually nail a Malodorous Warbler on the south coast it was a bit of a surprise to be heading down the A1 to Retford to twitch a singing bird, a first for Nottinghamshire that somebody had pulled out of the bag in the Idle Valley.

I heard the bird as I approached a very Acro-like rapid twittering and churring with Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat tones, plus a section of rapidly-repeated Blackbird alarm calls. Quite different from the singing Icterines I have heard over here and if anything, a bit like Marsh Warbler. The bird was keeping down in a small pine plantation and was out of sight most of the time. After a while, it popped out in the open where I got good views of the bird's upper half. I didn't want to go until I had seen the wings and legs, so hung on for a while. Changing position the bird suddenly appeared on a bare pine branch and allowed good views for a few minutes as it sang incessantly. A smart bird and most unexpected British tick.

Some birds from Andalucia...

Marbled Duck, Salinas Viejas

Red-crested Pochard family, Salinas Viejas

Audouin's Gulls, Salinas Viejas

Black-winged Stilt, Salinas Viejas

Cattle Egret, Las Norias

Purple Gallinule (and White-headed Ducks), Salinas Viejas

Gull-billed Tern, Salinas Viejas

Kentish Plover, Salinas Viejas

Lesser Short-toed Lark, Salinas Viejas

Little Egret, Las Norias

Roller, somewhere or other!

Little Bittern, Salinas Viejas

Slender-billed Gulls, Salinas Viejas

Night Heron, Las Norias

Short-toed Lark, Salinas Viejas

Thekla Lark, Las Almoderas

Squacco Heron, Las Norias

Iberiae Yellow Wagtail, Salinas Viejas

White-headed Ducks (and Black-necked Grebes), Salinas Viejas

Woodchat Shrike, Salinas Viejas

Zitting Cisticola, Salinas Viejas