Yesterday I made what will probably be my last visit to Spurn this year, as I'm shortly away to my other home in Southern Portugal for the Winter. Kilnsea Wetlands was still the focus for wader activity and we had no sooner begun scanning the birds, when a distant Dotterel was picked up in a flock of Redshank. A good addition to my year list and a bird which is scarce at Spurn, but does occur on passage. The Dotterel disappeared under a bank and wasn't seen again despite watching for a long time. The resting waders were frequently disturbed by one of the juvenile Peregrines which have been hunting the Wetlands regularly. It passed through three or four times on my visit, making a landing for a brief moment. I noticed the Knots had an interesting way of avoiding the aggressive Peregrine as it hurtled through. From the mud bank, the Knots took to the water and huddled in a tight formation, as if to present a solid mass of birds. Many of the previously reported waders were still present, including Common Sandpiper and this, one of two Wood Sandpipers. After enjoying the wader spectacle over the high tide time, I checked out the canal scrape where I found a Green Sandpiper. This was the only wader on the scrape at this time. On leaving the scrape, a Great Spotted Woodpecker called from a nearby power pole. Always an unusual bird to see here, in this low-lying habitat, but does occur regularly. A call on my radio left me in no doubt that I had should have stayed at the Wetlands a little longer. A White-rumped Sandpiper had dropped in front of the hide briefly. It then flew across the Wetland where it was flushed by a Merlin and vanished out onto the estuary. I returned to Kilnsea on the off-chance of its return and was pleased to see one of my favourite waders of Autumn - a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper. A really distinct and smart plumage with down-curved bill. As the tide receded on the estuary, another report of a Dotterel came in. I'm not convinced that this wasn't a different bird and clearly a pale juvenile. The Dotterel on the Wetland had dark reddish underparts as in a moulting adult, but this was not the case with this individual.
Over the next few weeks, thousands of Little Gulls make their way down the North Sea from their breeding grounds in Scandinavia and the Baltic. We are lucky here in East Yorkshire in that Hornsea Mere is a favourite stop-over point for these beautiful small gulls. They come in from the North Sea on an evening, sometimes the number can be over a thousand. Early this morning with the Mere calm and beautiful. On arrival, an estimated 650 Little Gulls were on the Mere, feeding on the many skimming insects, preening or just resting. Their plumages vary considerably with juvenile, 1st Winter, adult Winter and moulting adult Summer birds all moving through. My visit began around 0700hrs and close to 0900hrs, most of the Little Gulls were lifting off and gaining a reasonable height, before heading East and out to sea. With a bit of luck, a few Little Gulls can often be found on the boat jetty and, although looking into the sunlight, it was possible to have a close look at four birds, including a moulting adult. A small part of the flock assembled off 1st Field. Whilst at the Mere, I took the opportunity to find the Bearded Tits which are relatively new to this site. The walk through 1st Field led me along a hedgerow and trees which were bristling with small birds. Many fresh looking Willow Warblers were feeding along with Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat and a large Long-tailed Tit flock. I found the Bearded Tits on the 'shadowy' side of the reedbed which gave me a few problems with the light. A rather worn female Beardie showed first. After a short wait, a cracking male joined the female, working their way through the lower reeds. A wonderful annual experience was had with the Little Gulls and a pleasant couple of hours at Hornsea Mere.
I'd been looking forward to a day at Spurn for a while and with a morning high tide, an 0530 a.m. start was needed to catch the waders at their best on the Kilnsea Wetlands. The Wetlands appeared fairly quiet on arrival but as the tide flooded the estuary mud, waders began dropping in at regular intervals. I had seen a small flock of Redshanks with Black-tailed Godwits and a single Greenshank. Two Avocets also remained from the summer months. A Green Sandpiper called overhead and quickly dropped close to the hide. The water level is very low and I was surprised to see both Swallows and Sand Martins resting on the mud. There were juvenile Yellow Wagtails present too, at least five just near the hide. More waders were arriving including a single juvenile Ruff which fed in front of the hide for a while. Juvenile Little Ringed Plovers indicated a breeding success with four birds in the near vicinity. A large female Sparrowhawk flew low through the Wetland, disturbing the waders for a short time and separating off one of the Black-tailed Godwits which landed near the hide. Before leaving the hide, a flock of Red Knot circled the pools seemingly unable to settle but making quite a spectacle as they twisted and turned. I left the hide and walked up to Beacon Ponds where the true wader spectacle can be found. Numbers of Grey Plover are increasing and huge flocks were in the air, albeit at the far side and over the beach. Loafing around the edges were Little Egrets and a Grey Heron. Some noisy Sandwich Terns were flying about, both adults and juveniles. I didn't walk the length of the pond but did see the Little Terns in the distance and took this shot, 'for the record'. They have had a good breeding year with I believe, 22 chicks fledged. Before leaving the ponds I encountered the female Sparrowhawk again as it flew so close to my left ear, I could hear the whoosh of its wingbeats!! A female Reed Bunting was sitting in the hedgerow as I walked away. My next visit was to hopefully see the Marsh Warblers in Corner Field and, leaving the car in Bluebell car park I was surprised to find my first Wheatear of the Autumn - a very confiding bird. In the Corner Field, Willow Warblers were passing through the willow trees quite regularly and around the small pond, Reed Warblers were flitting about. I latched on to this candidate for a juvenile Marsh Warbler. A quiet sub-song was coming from a small willow and unlike the other Reed Warblers I had seen busily flying about, this bird remained in the same place for a considerable time. I was lucky to watch it for some time and although I am far from able to distinguish the finer differences in two very close species, it appears to have longer primaries than Reed Warbler. Perhaps some of my viewers will give their opinion? Another highlight today were the Whinchats which I found in Walker Butts field. At one time, I counted nine on the fencing and there were possibly more on the ground. In the first heat hazy image, five are close together. It was an interesting day for raptors too. I met the Sparrowhawk for the third time, a Peregrine flew over while in Corner Field (together with a Tree Pipit heard). I missed a Merlin and Red Kite but had two Common Buzzards, two Kestrel and a Marsh Harrier.
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