Wormwood Scrubs

I was not planning to do anything in the morning, but I soon saw news of a Red-backed Shrike at Wormwood Scrubs, which was a very short train journey from me. I arrived very soon and a couple of people pointed it out to me in a bush. I had never seen one before, so was glad to see it. I moved around to try and get better views, but after realising there were too many bushes blocking the view, I went back to where I originally was. This turned out to be a good idea because the Shrike had flown from the bush and perched on a dead bush in front of me, and it was very close. It stayed there for a short time, then flew from bush to bush until it went out of sight. Unfortunately, I did not have a good camera to get a picture of it.

Portland and Lodmoor

After seeing the recent sightings at Lodmoor, I decided to head down there with my Dad. I don't normally twitch birds that aren't local, but the fact that Stilt Sandpiper is probably one of my favourite birds, and the fact that there were other birds on my target list there made me decide to go.

Unfortunately, about halfway through the journey, I found that the Stilt Sandpiper had not been seen since the previous day, but the Least Sandpiper was still around.

When I arrived at the train station, I immediately walked to Lodmoor. As soon as I arrived, I saw the Least Sandpiper, walking through the mud quite close in. First lifer! I watched it for a while longer, as it sometimes disappeared behind clumps of grass. The views were mostly good, though my scope wasn't very powerful. A Great White Egret also gave good views compared with the Little Egrets around it.

After this I had fish and chips, where I sat inside because it was raining. My Dad and I then got the bus to Portland.

View From the Observatory Front Garden

Our first stop was the quarry near the Observatory, where a Wryneck had stayed for quite a while. Almost immediately, my Dad spotted some movement in the grass that turned out to be the Wryneck. This was probably the bird I most wanted to see in Britain, and the views it gave weren't bad. Then, after a bit of waiting, the views changed from not bad to amazing! It sat out in the open very close by, and I could see all the details because the light was in the right direction. This was the second new bird for me, and probably one of my favourite I had ever seen.

The rest of the day was quiet, and in the evening my Dad and I went to where we would be staying: the Portland Bunk House. We would have stayed in the bird observatory, but it was full, and this place was the closest to it. It looked a bit better on the inside than it did on the outside, though I don't think I would ever stay for more than one or two days there.

Early the next morning, we headed down to the observatory to watch the bird ringing. A female Sparrowhawk was first, then a Goldcrest. 

Sparrowhawk Being Ringed

After reading the observatory books for a while I decided to go for a walk in the fields to look for a reported Ortalon Bunting. After some searching, I could not find it, so I decided to go to look at Ferrybridge then leave for home. On the way to the bus though, I saw a group of people looking in a field. I asked them if they knew where the Hoopoe was that had been in the area, and they said it had been reported in the nearby field, so I decided to wait here for a while. After a while, someone spotted the Hoopoe sitting in the bare tree next to the field! It was quite distant, but through the scope I could see it quite well. The 3rd lifer of the holiday, and another bird that might have been my favourite I had seen.

I then went to Ferrybridge, where there was only a Bar-tailed Godwit, some Ringed Plover and some Dunlin. I decided that it was then time to head home (after getting some more chips). 

3 Days in Spurn Bird Observatory

I had been wanting to go to Spurn Bird Observatory for a long time, and from the end of August to the start of September, I managed to get there and I was not disappointed!

The journey from London wasn't too bad, and as I left early, I got there in time to see a lot of birds.

The first stop was the observatory building, where my dad and I would be staying. We unloaded all our luggage in to the room, and looked around the observatory. It was surprisingly comfortable, and there were many books to read. I didn't stay long though as I was told there were two Pied Flycatchers in the churchyard near the observatory, so I headed over there, and after a bit of waiting, one showed itself quite well, and the second gave a very brief view. A great bird to start of the trip!

I then went to Kilnsea Wetlands, where there wasn't much, but it was good to have a brief view of a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper. The Humber Estuary had a lot of birds but, as I didn't have a scope, I couldn't identify many of them. The birds close enough were Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin and a Greenshank.

I was tired at this point from being in a train all morning then being out in the open for a long time, so I went back to the observatory and rested, which turned out to be a very bad idea, as when I woke up and arrived at the Seawatching Hut in the evening, everyone told me that they had just caught and ringed an Icterine Warbler (a bird I have never seen) near the observatory! They had looked for us to tell us about it, but they couldn't find us as we were in our room.

The rest of the evening wasn't bad though, with hundreds of terns passing, mostly Common Terns but there were some Sandwich Terns too. Someone lent me their scope for a bit and I managed to see two Arctic Skuas, a flock of Teal and a couple of Common Scoter.

The Seawatching Hut

I woke up early the next day to walk through the Triangle Area to the Warren, where there would be bird ringing. There wasn't much though, as only a Sedge Warbler and a Robin were ringed early in the morning.

I searched the Triangle Area for birds, but didn't find much until a few people, including me, got flight views of a Lesser Whitethroat. 

Someone also lent me their scope to look through the waders on the Humber Estuary. I saw Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, a huge flock of Golden Plover, Sanderling, Curlew, Whimbrel and Oystercatcher, as well as the hundreds of Redshank and Dunlin. This day was unfortunately quiet for birds though, so I didn't see much else.

I woke up early again the next day to go and watch the bird ringing at the Warren, and this time I watched a Redstart being ringed, as well as a lot of Tree Sparrows and a Willow Warbler. As I walked back I saw a Wheatear on the path.

Redstart Being Ringed

Later though, when I was sitting in the observatory after a few hours of birding, a message came over someone's radio that a Citrine Wagtail had just flew over the Warren. I  walked quickly over in case it had dropped down on the mud. but I was told that it had just passed straight through. About 3 minutes later though another message from the radio said that there was a Pectoral Sandpiper on Kilnsea Wetlands! 

The birders gave me and and my dad a lift so we would get there faster, and hopefully see the bird. 

When we got there, the hide had just enough room for a few more people, which was lucky. The bird wasn't there when we got there though, but it was exciting when a Curlew Sandpiper flew out of a Dunlin flock and landed right in front of the hide and at times, you couldn't see it because it was so close. This was definitely the best view of one I've had of one of these birds. Soon after this though, a bird flew on to the wetlands and in to full view. It was the Pectoral Sandpiper! I got great views through a scope, as did everyone else, and I could see all it's features very clearly. This was the first lifer of the trip.

There was a radio call from some other people looking at Kilnsea Wetlands from a different angle, who said they had also seen a Pectoral Sandpiper, but in a different place to the one from the hide, which meant that there were two in the area. After a while though, they flew off together in the direction of Easington. 

As I walked back out the hide, I saw at least 3 Yellow Wagtails in the fields with some Meadow Pipits.

I then looked for birds a bush by the road, and saw a Common Whitethroat and eventually the second lifer of the trip for me - a Garden Warbler. I also saw a Peregrine flying over the Humber. 

Roe Deer in a Field

Later I talked to a birder who was regular at Spurn, and I mentioned that I was looking for Whinchats. The birder said that he knew exactly where to see one, and he took me to a spot where, almost immediately, a Whinchat appeared! I got great views of it as it sat on the fence posts near one of the fields. I also saw a Merlin fly very quickly by. This about ended what was probably the best of my few days at Spurn. 

Next morning I woke up early as I had to leave in the afternoon. I spent almost the whole day in the Kilnsea hide, where the highlights were a Pintail, a  Brent Goose, the Curlew Sandpiper, at least 2 Greenshanks, a few teal and some  Wigeon. Just outside the hide I got views of a Merlin hunting in a Starling flock. It was great to see it try to pick out a starling from the huge flock. I watched it for a bit, until it gave up and flew away. 

Soon after I had to catch the taxi back to Hull, then begin the journey back to London after a another great trip!