Spurn Again

A trip I had been looking forward to for a long time, although late August isn't the 'classic' time to visit. I went here at the same time last year as well, and it was successful, so I was hoping it would be similar, or better, this year.

However, I had a few things planned before I arrived at Spurn. The first was a pelagic trip off the Norfolk coast, but this was unfortunately cancelled due to strong winds. So, instead, we headed up to Frampton for the day.

Frampton was a reserve I had heard about a lot, as it has a huge variety of waders, as well as the bonus of the Stilt Sandpiper being present.

I arrived to large numbers of Sand Martins and Yellow Wagtails in the car park, and quickly headed up the path to view the marsh.

Birds here included Ruff, Redshank, Dunlin, Black-Tailed Godwit, Snipe, Gadwall and others, but the Stilt Sandpiper was apparently hidden amongst the Godwits. After a short while, someone noticed it in the flock and put me on to it briefly, but I could hardly make out any of the features.

A few more minutes and no sign of it, so I was beginning to think it had moved somewhere else. Just then, though, someone came with the news that it was showing well with a couple of Godwits on another marsh.

I rushed over there to see it, and found it was on the side of the marsh nearest to me! I got excellent views as it fed out in the open and occasionally hid behind vegetation.

I tried looking around the other marshes, where there was a flock of Spotted Redshanks and a few other waders, but there wasn't much of a variety. Snipe showed very well and I had brief views of a Water Rail from the 360 hide.

I headed up a path with thick hedges on either side where there was a lot of birds, but most refused to show themselves. I saw a Willow Warbler and heard what sounded like a Garden Warbler alarm calling, although I didn't confirm this.

I was staying in a hotel in Titchwell, where I found out there was a path to the RSPB reserve at the back. I took this path in the evening and managed to see Spoonbill on the fresh marsh, although I hadn't brought the scope.

On the way back, I witnessed an interesting sight of about half a dozen Chiffchaffs all feeding in a small clump of bushes. Within this group there was a flock of Long-Tailed Tits, a few Blackcaps and one Lesser Whitethroat.

Lesser Whitethroat

The next day, originally planned for Frampton, was spent at Gibraltar Point where a rain storm unfortunately started before I could look for any migrants.

So I took shelter in the Mere hide, where a Spotted Crake had been reported to be showing. Someone else in the hide told me where it was last seen, so I waited and scanned that area, and was surprised to see it walk right in front of the hide!

Over the next hour it appeared and disappeared, never showing very well or for very long. But, I got lucky as it decided to walk in front of the hide as it had done on the first view, but this time stayed out in the open long enough to get a proper view!

Spotted Crake

It was still raining hard, however, so there wasn't much chance of finding any migrant birds. I had lunch in the cafe then headed up to Spurn for the afternoon.

I arrived at the seawatching hut, where I hoped to see the evening tern roost. However, the hide was packed, and I had trouble viewing any of the terns, as well as the fact I had to leave early because I needed to make time to eat in the nearby pub.

It was quite a quiet day for migrants in the morning, with a few Common Whitethroats and Willow Warblers around.

The sea-watching hut gave good views of 5 Whinchats sitting on the fence posts, which was the most I had seen in one area.

Whinchat

However, later in the day I headed up to Sammy's Point where the bushes were a good shelter from the strong winds. Once again, there were few birds until I accidentally flushed a Long-Eared Owl from one of the bushes.

This had been seen a couple days previously but I had forgotten it was around. It settled in a dense clump of vegetation where there was no hope of re-finding it.

A brief visit to Kilnsea Wetlands produced a Pintail and an adult Yellow-Legged Gull.
There were a few Greenshanks calling from the Humber, including a couple which showed well as they flew past.

Later that day I headed to the Kew Villa viewing area, which is often good for migrants. A Pied Flycatcher had been seen here recently and it didn't take long to see it perched out in the open, although it didn't stay where it was and flew away without returning. 

Later in the day I visited the churchyard and managed to see a Pied Flycatcher, presumably the same one that was at Kew. A different bird on a wire caught my eye, and this turned out to be a Spotted Flycatcher, showing very well. A Wall butterfly was also a new species for me.

Wall

At the Kew Villa viewing area, it was possible to see both the Spotted and Pied flycatchers in the same bush at the same time, which was exciting as I'd never even seen them on the same day before!

I arrived at the seawatching hut early and spent over 4 hours looking at the sea. It was quiet at first, although a Bonxie and a few Arctic Skuas flew through, as well as Kittiwakes, Fulmars and a Manx Shearwater.

The tern roost was the highlight, though, with thousands of Common Terns passing, and among them a few Sandwich Terns. It wasn't long before I began to see Roseate Terns and Black Terns, the latter being a lifer. There were Arctic Terns in the flocks too, although I was struggling to pick these out.

The light started to fail, so I headed back to the observatory.

The next day I watched birds flying over in the observatory garden, and saw many birds including Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, Green Sandpiper and a flock of Tree Pipits, picked up by one of the local birders. 

Later that day, I walked down to Spurn Point, quite a long walk, made harder carrying the scope, but it was worth it, even if there weren't many birds. Wheatear, Willow Warbler, 8+ Lesser Whitethroats, and other common migrants including Common Whitethoat were around the bushes at the point, but, other than that, it was quiet. 

I took my place in the seawatching hide that evening and saw fewer common terns, just over 4000, but also saw many more Black Terns and had better views of two Roseate Terns. 

On Wednesday, I got up early to watch birds in the Obs garden, seeing my earliest ever Fieldfare, but soon went to the triangle to search for migrant birds. I realised the day would be good when I arrived here, as there were a lot of migrants making their way through the bushes.

Fieldfare with berries - it looks like winter!

Whitethroats were in almost every bush, a Sedge and Reed Warbler sat in the same view, Lesser Whitethroats called from deep in the vegetation and Willow Warblers were common, with one Chiffchaff as well. Yellow Wagtails were constantly flying over and I saw the Fieldfare I had seen earlier again. 

The best bird here was a Pied flycatcher that I had brief views of, but it showed the main features. 

Pied Flycatcher 

Upon entering the area where the path joined the road, one of the volunteers passed me and gave me the news that a Woodchat Shrike had been found at the Warren!

I rushed over to hear it was sitting out of sight in a dense bush, so I waited for it to appear. After waiting and circling the bush a lot, it started to show out in the open, although it was still hard to find an angle where it could be viewed. 

After another short wait, it flew over to the other side of the path, where it remembered it was a Shrike, and started to perch on bushes out in the open! I was soon enjoying clear views through the scope of what was clearly the Woodchat Shrike, with a very prominent white patch on the primaries. 

Woodchat Shrike

There were also two more Pied Flycatchers showing at the Warren. 

I walked back along the Triangle, seeing 5+ Whinchat and a Wheatear, then travelled to Sammy's Point. There were three more Whinchats and another Wheatear near the car park, although the bushes held disappointingly few birds, but the quality improved hugely when I found a bush containing three Pied Flycatchers.

Each one would make a short flight to catch an insect, then return to their perch, which was usually out in the open.

As I was driving back from Sammy's Point, I received a message that an Icterine Warbler was present in the Obs garden, so I headed in that direction. 

The bird hadn't been seen for half an hour when I arrived, and there was no one searching anymore, so I began to look around the garden. After about 10 minutes of searching, I noticed a bird moving through the trees, and when checking it more closely, I realised it was the Icterine Warbler (or an Icterine Warbler - it could have been a different bird to the original)! 

It disappeared quickly, and it was only seen a couple more times until it wasn't observed again. But while hanging around, I got the news that one of the Icterine Warblers had been caught in a net and would be released shortly! 

After missing an Icterine Warbler in the hand last year at Spurn (on this exact date!) it was good to see one in the nets. I like to get in-field views as well, but it is always exciting to study a bird up close. 

Icterine Warbler

I spent the rest of the day checking the bushes and watching common migrants, including one more Pied Flycatcher. 

The next day was my last full day at Spurn, and a large clear-out had happened overnight so I could find hardly any migrants in the bushes.

A few Whinchats in the Triangle was the best at first, until I heard news of a Barred Warbler at the Warren, although it was behaving typically and never gave perched views, and after about an hour waiting all I had was a couple of flight views. 

Other migrants about included Yellow Wagtails, Sedge and Reed Warblers, Greenshank and a few Whimbrels on the Humber. A Wheatear and a Kingfisher were also seen on a brief walk.

Wheatear 

My final day at Spurn was slow-paced but eventually turned out to be very good. It started with chasing an Icterine Warbler around and failing to see it for a couple of hours. One of the local birders told me that there were probably more Icterine Warblers around, and the best way to see one would be to find my own. 

I immediately went to Kew Villa viewing area, where there were few birds. However, a large warbler caught my eye, and upon looking at it more closely I was amazed to see it was an Icterine Warbler! It was most likely the one that had been seen at Kew the previous day, but I was still happy to record the first sighting of it for the day.

Later that day, on another brief visit to Kew Villa, the warden walked up to me and gave me news that a Citrine Wagtail was on Canal Scrape. I rushed over there, and guessed the hide would be packed so I took a risk and tried to view from the canal path, but as I approached the scrape, I heard the call of the Citrine Wagtail, sounding like it was getting more distant. 

I reached the group of birders who told me it had flown away, but another Icterine Warbler was about to be ringed in  Church Field. Someone kindly gave me a lift here and for the second time in a week, I was watching an Icterine Warbler in the hand, most likely the bird I had seen in Kew Villa. 

Iccy 2, looking even better than the first

I was due to leave in half an hour so I gave up hope of re-finding the Citrine Wagtail. 

I was actually about to get in the car to head home when a flight call alerted me and I looked up to see that the Citrine Wagtail was flying over my head! If I had left just one minute earlier, I wouldn't have seen it, so the moment was definitely very well-timed. 

Very satisfied by my time at Spurn, with six lifers over the week, including the birds at Frampton and Gibraltar Point. I didn't have to wait long before my next visit, as next week was the Migfest, which I will be writing about soon.