With a still partially eclipsed full moon settling in the West and daylight forming over the sea, I arrived at Spurn to catch up with some of the latest migrants on the light easterly winds. Slightly disappointed at not seeing the Arctic Warbler from yesterday, but one of my favourites at this time of year is the Yellow-browed Warbler and there were 10+ in the area. They are highly mobile birds, never still for more than a second and out of 120 or so images, there are just a few without leaves in the way!! A Jack Snipe showed well for me at Canal Scrape this morning and the Red-breasted Flycatcher showed occasionally in Little Hedge.
A Barred Warbler was found by the Observatory gate but was very elusive in dense bushes. I had some good views of it from time to time. More thrushes were visible today - having 6 Redwing, 2 Song Thrush and 2 Mistle Thrush. An excellent day out in bright, warm sunshine. If you followed my August blog, you would see Bullfinch's had bred locally and we now had a very young Bullfinch visiting our feeders.
Just for interest, I have added some more images showing the changes in plumage over a period of time. Our youngster appears to be a male as his black cap and deep pink breast begin to show nicely. It didn't look like a classic autumn day for migrants but I went to Spurn to see the Bewick's Swan, which has been there for a few days now. It's not often you get the opportunity to see this species at close range, my usual sightings are odd Bewick's amongst Whoopers on the Derwent valley in mid-winter. It's certainly unusual to see Bewick's Swan and Swallows in the same location, but that's the wonder of Spurn! The Bewick's was first watched on Kilnsea Wetlands at 7-00a.m. where it woke up shortly after and later, on the Borrow Pit near Bluebell car park. A juvenile Mediterranean Gull appeared on the Wetlands also. On the Canal Scrape, a group of 14 Wigeon were feeding along with 2 Little Grebe and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew from the canal bushes. Along the canal area were plenty of Meadow Pipits, Tree Sparrows and Goldfinches in small feeding flocks. There seemed to be a few more Goldcrests about, with the odd Chiffchaff too.
A visit to Sammy's Point gave a brief sighting of a Long-eared Owl, 2 Siskins and Redpolls flying over. Later, a Yellow-browed Warbler was reported in Church Field but was not refound in the Kilnsea area. Whilst scanning Tufted Ducks for a possible Scaup, I noticed a small wader splashing about on the surface behind a female Tufted. From Kirkholme Point, it was practically against the opposite reedbed and certainly looked like a phalarope through the bins.
I was now sharing the find with another guy and, with the aid of his field guide to confirm, we were both happy with juvenile Red-necked Phalarope. An excellent record for Hornsea Mere and a very good record for myself too. My visit today started at Sammy's Point, Easington after overnight rain and a light Northerly wind starting to blow. This morning's tide was extremely high and as it lapped up the rocks on the estuary, I noticed a number of Wheatears feeding on the rocks. In Spring, the Wheatears are usually found in the paddocks, stunning males sometimes Greenland race and accompanying females. In the Autumn, the returning adults and 1st winter birds are often found on these rocks, being sheltered from North winds as this morning. I counted 6 altogether. As the tide receded, the first wader on the shore was this Common Sandpiper. I decided not to spend time on waders this morning as I was keen to see the reported Icterine Warbler in Kilnsea. Joining a small party of eager birders, the Icterine showed after ten minutes or so, in its favourite tree which was a little distant for detailed viewing. The area where the Icterine showed was quite busy with Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, 2 Garden Warblers and 2 Pied Flycatchers. I was unable to locate the red-backed shrike which had been around for the last few days, but had an enjoyable day watching Autumn migrants on their passage through Spurn.
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