I had just walked into the front garden when I heard the unmistakable 'yaffle' of a Green Woodpecker. Looking in the road, I saw it perched low down in a cherry tree, no more than 20 metres away. I sprinted inside for my camera and managed one shot, before it flew off to a higher tree some distance away.
Closer inspection showed it to be a juvenile female Green Woodpecker. An excellent record in our cul-de-sac! A light South-Easterly wind and drizzle along the coast sounded quite promising for some new bird arrivals this morning. Drizzle there certainly was and quite murky early on. At Kilnsea Wetlands, good numbers of Dunlin were around the hide and I soon picked out a Little Stint among them. Yesterday's Red-necked Phalarope wasn't apparent at this time, 4 Greenshank were noted including this one close to the hide. No Little Gulls and few Terns about this morning however, there were Mediterranean Gulls in several locations. Along Easington Straight a juvenile Marsh Harrier hunted over the fields, 2 Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk and this Common Buzzard were in the same area. The skies brightened towards midday, but there was little evidence of fresh arrivals. Lesser Whitethroat and several Willow Warblers were seen, along with damp Reed and Sedge Warblers near the canal.
4 Whinchat were on the fencing in Walker Butts Field. I turned my attention to finding the juvenile Rose-coloured Starling which has been frequenting Kilnsea gardens in the last few days. The local Starling flock numbers many hundreds at the moment and I did see it early on, perched on power lines with 40 or so Starlings, in the drizzle at the Wetlands. I was more fortunate later on, to find the young Eastern vagrant, fly on to wires close to where I was searching. The short (compared to Starling) bill which is yellowy showed well at close range, along with the grey juvenile plumage. I had it in mind to catch up with two particular species this morning. Firstly, an opportunity to get close to Little Gulls as they roost annually during August, at Hornsea Mere. When I arrived, there were twenty two gulls, mostly adults moulting to winter plumage. A truly smart gull with its short black bill and red legs. The black spot behind the ear is typical of the change to winter plumage but the pinkish hue underneath is leftover from summer. On the banks of the Mere, two Common Sandpipers were found and the shoreline bushes still held a small number of warblers. Sedge Warbler. .... and a skulking Reed Warbler. My second target this morning was a Spotted Flycatcher, not a numerous bird in East Yorkshire by any means. It wasn't too long before I came across one, in nearby woodland. Careful searching gave me three different individuals and all were keeping high up in the trees. Also in the woodland were a Treecreeper, 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker and a flock of 6 Mistle Thrushes was unusual.
A short journey this morning to see the male Common Redstart which has been present for the last few days, feeding along the North Hedge. The hedgerow was lively with other feeding migrants, including Reed Warblers, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Whitethroat and Blackcaps. Also the juvenile Green Woodpecker flew in briefly.
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