Over the last week there has been a steady flow of migrants arriving in, or passing through this wonderful migration hotspot. Birds passing through the U.K. to go on to Scandinavia or further North, can be seen in the Humber estuary flying over Spurn's peninsula and out into the North Sea. Typical sightings for me were - Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlews and Arctic Terns. Many arrivals spend a short while resting and feeding in the diverse habitat found here. It wasn't long before I saw my first Northern Wheatear, a very welcome sight. This smart adult male was one of three at Sammy's Point, I later found five in Well field and a further seven in the Sheep field. In both the afore-mentioned places, I was quite surprised to find Fieldfares still here in late April. The Sheep field was the best place for Yellow Wagtails with none there in the morning but, arriving birds made up four in the early afternoon. On my recent walks along the Humber, I hadn't found any Whitethroats when Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers were already in fair numbers. Sammy's Point is an excellent place to see these warblers, singing atop the hawthorn bushes. Lesser Whitethroats have also arrived and quite a few were seen albeit a little more skulking. They were singing particularly well throughout the area. Over at the Warren, a lovely male Common Redstart was found in the morning. I located it later, near the heligoland trap. I found another two, later in the afternoon in the paddocks at Sammy's. Mid-afternoon was a little quiet, some time was spent looking for a reported Firecrest without success. Everything turned out to be a Goldcrest for me! There was some brief excitement when a male Pied Flycatcher was seen, unusually, sitting on a power line before flying off West. A very worthwhile day out to enjoy the arrival of our Summer visitors. A handful of Swallows and three Sand Martins stayed around most of the day and finally, one of several Yellowhammers doing well around Sammy's Point.
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