18th October
I had to be at Great Ryburgh at 1130 to pick up the van and
the first of the Yorkshire tour party but this did give me half hour down at
Ness Point first. It was absolutely
howling and there is so little shelter there that it was difficult to stand up
let alone hold a scope still but in my short session I still managed at least
30 Gannet and a Sooty Shearwater north while close in I counted 18 male and a
single female Eider steaming by with the odd Teal and Brent in tow. A single 1cy Kittiwake was also seen and
interestingly I watching a group of 11 1cy Black-head-headed Gulls heading
straight in from way out before stalling and circling about a mile out and once
again battling towards the coast. Great
Black-backs and Common Gulls were heading north too but I don’t ever recall
actually seeing actively migrating Black-headed Gulls before. Scoter totalled
13 north while the four Red-throated Divers I saw all went high and south. A
Dunnock flipped over the sea wall having only just about made landfall and landed
in the first clump of Orache in front of me where it started peeping earnestly.
My time was up and I began my journey north which began well
with a male Merlin chasing Skylarks over the fields just before the Captain
Manby roundabout and then seeing a mass of waders and Wigeon on a low tide
Breydon before arriving in Great Ryburgh.
The crew (Margaret and the two Daves) was soon on board and underway but
rather bizarrely we ran into some serious traffic in the village with somewhat
approaching 200 Land Rovers and their relatives going in the opposite direction
which made progress somewhat static at times but eventually I had a big enough
gap to make it out of the houses and onto the wider road back towards Fakenham
where the first Red Kites of the day greeted us. Many more were seen between there and Kings
Lynn where we picked up Ray and headed across the Fens and up to Frampton
(passing more Kites and some small Pink-foot skeins on the way) where crew
member number five – Helen, was waiting.
A quick spot of lunch and then we were off for a somewhat windy walk
around the inner trail and the seawall was closed for EA work and anyway the
re-sculpted scrapes at that end were still dry.
Those near the centre though was wet and covered in a mass
of dabbling ducks; mostly Wigeon but with a good scattering of Mallard, Teal
and snaky necked Pintail. There were a
few Shoveler but no Gadwall. A flock of
Dark-bellied Brents flighted in to have a freshwater wash and brush up and
amongst them were a few family groups.
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| three juvenile Dark-bellied Brents & Wigeon |
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| Dark-bellied Brents |
There were plenty of Greylags and Canadas and a solitary
Barnacle Goose too but very few waders with just four Snipe, 12 Lapwing, four
Dunlin and three Ruff found. One of the Reeves fed just under our noses.
A 1cy male Marsh Harrier was inexpertly trying to catch duck
which all flew far too soon but the low level assault by the professional adult
female Peregrine had the opposite effect and not one duck budged, knowing full
well that they were safer on the water.
I think that she would have fared better by following the Harrier
around.
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| Boston 'Stump' un the distance |
It was blowing hard and the only small birds were the odd
Meadow Pipit and Reed Bunting. A Clouded Yellow was the only hardy Butterfly
and there were a couple of Episyrphus balteatus on the Bristly Oxtongue
but although I did open a Teasel or two to find Endothenia gentianaeana larva
within – I balked at discussing its lack of identifying anal cones – it was the
first afternoon of the tour after all! This did then allow me to show them a couple
of common moth mines on Field Maple and Cherry without scaring or scarring them
too much as I am sure they would be other leaf mine opportunities in the coming
days!
I was just trying to explain about the joys of Common Gull
identification when I picked up two 1cy Gannets going over us. I dropped it into the gull chat and suddenly
the glazed look disappeared as they all raised bins to this two re-orientating
seabirds. A third was then seen as we
got close to the visitors centre. I
imagine that they headed too far into the wash with the wind behind them and
had to do a big arc to try to realign themselves with the coast.
A quick cuppa and then it was time to head off but not
before both male and female Peregrines and an adult male Marsh Harrier had
caused complete havoc out on the scrapes while a last scan of the fields
opposite gave us seven distant slopy headed Whooper Swans and a super fast
female Merlin which eluded the crew.
From here up the journey was traffic free but grim weather
wise but we still managed to see Raven, Buzzards, Kestrels, Roe and Fallow
Deer, Brown Hares, Green Woodpecker and Red-legged Partridges from the van as
well as another female Merlin that zipped over Beverley not long before we
arrived at Burnton Lodge, our base in Brandesburton for the week.
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| A new Caddis in my room! Halesus radiatus PSLü |
The last of the light went quickly and a Tawny Owl started
up outside my room. I just need one of
the others to hear it now so that it can go on the all-important tour list!
19th October
We were up and out in reasonable time after breakfast but
the drive south to Spurn always takes longer than you think and the weather was
grim with fast squally showers interspersed with driving drizzle but as we
pulled up in the Bluebell car park it was clearing and the calls of Redwings,
Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Robins were all around us.
A quick squint at the sea quickly gave us a Red-breasted
Merganser, Common Scoter, Gannets, Red-throated Divers and some black W Little
Gulls before we headed the other way down the lanes. There were more thrushes and it was good to
notice the different flight profile of the immigrant Blackbirds with their
longer wings. The odd Chiffchaff was
seen and a the first couple of Blackcap while above us a few Chaffinch, Meadow
Pipit and Skylark headed south and a small party of Tree Sparrows dropped in.
Robins were in almost every bush and two male Stonechats were seen post hopping around a field with the Hebridean Sheep where a big flock of silvery Starlings and three Curlews probed. A Brown Hare looked on casually and continued with his morning groom.
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| Robin |
Three Jays were circling and trying to orientate
themselves. I am sure someone put bins
up on high Jays before too long and discover they are Nutcrackers. On the inland side the tide was out and
waders were strewn across the mud with a good selection on offer and we vert
swiftly found Ringed, Grey and Golden Plovers, Oystercatchers, Curlew,
Bar-tailed Godwits, Redshank, Dunlin, Sanderling and a huge Knot flock that
looked like a dark patch of mud at first glance. A selection of gulls along with Brent Geese
and Shelduck found their way onto the list and two Little Egrets were feeding
in the upper saltmarsh margins.
It was good to bump into the infamous beard of Mark Pearson
and his own group and we shared a Snow Bunting that circled around us before
going our own ways.
Down at the ringing area they were extracting Blackbirds
from the nets and whilst standing there two Woodcock barrelled past us
affording excellent views. They always
look far bigger when you see them at close range in daylight. Another look at the sea added groups of Eider
but the swell was high and following bobbing divers was tricky. At this point news of a Black-faced Bunting
reached us and I enquired with the ringing group where it was exactly. The news must have been out for some time and
would have explained the cars jammed at the end of the road but no one we had
seen heading that way had said anything to us.
A team conflab saw the majority wishing to try for us while Eve and
Margaret opted to wander back towards the van.
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| Eider |
It was a slog along the beach and up onto the Chalk Bank but even then the group of birders were could see seemed another half mile onwards. A fine male Brambling feeding on the path just a few feet away gave us the chance of a breather with a fine bird to watch. It had obviously just arrived. A birder coming the other way relayed the news that the Bunting had not been seen since the initial report but many were looking. Oh well, if you don’t go and look you definitely will not see it!
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| Brambling |
Not far beyond that I heard a metallic bunting call and
looked up and there was the Black-faced Bunting flying low over our heads. I shouted to the group to follow it and
managed to get another birder onto it as it dropped into the dunes. It is a call that I hear in Japan from it
close congener, Masked Bunting so I was confident of my shout.
We slowly went back to the seaward side and over the next
half hour had some excellent close flight views as it came out of the Marram
grass and the darkish rather plain looking head with pale throat and sub-moustachials,
Dunnocky back and prominent white tail sides were seen well on this small slim
bunting. I saw the first one at
Pennington Flash 32 years ago in Marsh 1994 after a three hour queue to the
viewing area so it was good to re-find this bird for the mass of birders up the
point further. I eventually got a signal
and rung Mark who put the news out for me and once others arrived we pointed to
the spot it had gone into and smiling, started to make our way back for a
rather late lunch seeing another Woodcock and a group of Eider as we slogged it
back along the beach.
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| Stonechat |
News at Spurn seems to have trouble leaking out at times and it felt
like many of the birds being seen were popping up in front of a couple of
people and disappearing again. We were told of a Bluethroat but could not
quite work out where it was but had directions to a Red-flanked Bluetail in
Easington and so headed that way, parking at the spot where the Siberian
Accentor was ten years almost to the day.
There was no one there and the spot suggested was in the middle of some
huge horse paddocks with no cover and a lot of Pied Wagtails. There was also no one there. A couple more people turned up and we checked
the hedge line where Robins and thrushes popped out but if a Bluetail was in
that hedge it would have been pure chance to pop out on the fence. A Brambling was with the Chaffinches and
Goldfinches and spotty Starlings came and joined the Wagtails.
We checked the adjacent wooded footpath where Pallas’s and
Yellow-browed Warblers had been seen and ended up at the sea in the sunshine
before retracing our steps. On the way
back I picked up a male Ring Ouzel in the paddock but it was a little mobile
and it took an age before it stayed put long enough to get the group onto which
was a fine way to end the day.
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| Dunnock |
Rather frustratingly we only got news on the way home in the
gloom that there had been an Isabelline Wheatear at Sammy’s Point (and I have
just seen that there were actually two) and that the Bluetail had mysteriously
been seen again while we were still there.
Oh well. We had still had a good
day.
Rather bizarrely as we came through Withernsea I noticed a
large Fig Tree with hundreds familiar Choreutis nemorana mines on it and
stopped to take a pic. It seems to be
only the third Yorkshire site!
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| Choreutis nemorana grazing |
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| Choreutis nemorana tent before pupating |
20th October
Northbound today and Thornwick Bay was our first stop. It felt cooler and were certainly breezy but
at least it was not raining. Nine Russian White-fronted Geese flew over the van
before I had even managed to stop in the car park which was a grand start. We got ourselves sorted and walked up through
the fields to the small woodland area by the caravan park where two Radde’s
Warblers had been seen the evening before.
It did not really feel like the right sought of habitat with no ground
cover at all but we gave it go with a few other birders and found Chiffchaffs,
Goldcrests and the inevitable Robins along with a calling Yellow-browed Warbler
that stayed hidden.
A circuit of the surrounding fields and their small island
plantations gave us a fly over Snow Bunting and more Robins and Stonechats but
no warblers at all. The odd thrush was
seen and Skylarks and the first Linnets of the trip were recorded.
The sea was very quiet with just a few Gannet, a party of Eider and a close in Great Northern Diver going south while our second group of White-fronts came in too.
News that the Radde’s had made it first
appearance of the day saw us back in the copse and after about half an hour it
appeared magically in the canopy and gave incredible views for this normally
über skulking warbler. It was completely
silent and never left the sycamore canopy – both things I had not experienced
before with the species.
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| Radde’s Warbler Given the sort of interesting dinner discussions on a tour we have, I looked up how to say Gustav Radde's surname. Was it Radd's or Raddey's? Apparently not as it suggested that the Prussian name should be pronounced Radduh not that I can see anyone taking that up! |
The Yellow-browed called a few times but was seen off by a
Chiffchaff and only gave the briefest view.
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| Helen could not resist |
Onwards and up to the headland to look at the sea which was
indeed still there… some Kittiwakes,
auks, Gannets and micro Little Gulls were all we saw but the view north to
Bempton and Filey was spectacular.
North Landing next for lunch and short walk down into the completely sheltered geo which should have been full of tired migrants happy to be out of the wind but no, there were a couple of Robins and Blackbirds and a Woodcock wiffled in off the sea over our heads so fast and low that its wings whooshed and we thought it was a raptor stooping! The slog back up the steps revealed an invisible chacking Ring Ouzel. It was all a bit underwhelming given the good birds apparently scattered across the headland.
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| Another party of Russian White-fronts came in |
Lunch with a view and Shag in
the Bay below and then a scurry to South Landing where a Rufous-tailed Robin
had been glimpsed an hour before. I had
planned to head there anyway and had no expectations of seeing it in all the
undergrowth.
We had a pleasant walk and found some Goldcrests and a
Blackcap along with Bullfinches and Yellowhammers in the hedges. News came through that the Robin had been
seen briefly again so we looped round and joined the small crowd. It was a frustrating hour with two brief sightings
from our side, originally found by those with thermal images but with patience
wearing thin we left and made our way to Thornwick Pool but we could not find
the Red-breasted Flycatcher and Jack Snipe but did see some Coots, Teal and Snipe and opted to call it a night.
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| Parornix anglicella |
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| Avid bramble starers... |
21st October
It was a blustery and grey start with light rain and the
noisy Tawny Owls only shut up at about 6am.
I tried to find one before we headed out after breakfast but no joy was
had but there was the opportunity for some accidently leaf mine hunting.
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| Phyllonorycter corylifoliella on Swedish Whitebeam |
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| Bluethroat |
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| Bluethroat |
Speaking of which Migrant Hawkers and Common Darters were
floating and were aerially after insects just like the flycatching
Chiffchaffs. We were shown a Siberian
Chiffchaff in the hand but it was likely not tristis on plumage tone but the
65mm wing put it a lot further east in origin than the olive birds we could
see.
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| Fieldfares |
A Great Grey Shrike had been seeing flying our way and but
was soon heading towards the Point. It
had landed near Clubbley’s so se walked that way but of course it had already
moved on again but it was not a wasted walk as we encountered more migrating
finches and Skylarks and just off shore six Russian White-fronted Geese were
being led south by a chunky Tundra Bean Goose.
The inner riverwall path was rejoined for the walk back to
Kilnsea with the mud once again strewn with the same fine selection of waders
although we did add Turnstone and Black-tailed Godwits to the trip list.
There were far fewer small birds this time with jus the odd
Robin and Reed Bunting and only back near the Crown & Anchor did we find a
Long-tailed Tit flock that held a few Goldcrest, Chiffchaffs and another
Siberian candidate.
There was some pre-lunchtime flagging so the van was fetched
and I opted to take us up the road to try for the Isabelline Shrike in some
roadside hedges. We arrived and there
was no one there but as we waked back to the corner the group was waved up by
two recent arrivals that the Shrike was between us on the hedge where it gave
superb views before car oved it to a safer hedge line.
Excellent views were had from here as it caught beetles and
we watched it try to impale one on a rose thorn which left a stray leg attached
under its chin! Always a delight to see
and slightly softened the fact that one was three miles from my house at the
time. I had got lucky with the van
parking but it was a dodgy corner and we got away before there was an accident
and headed back to Spurn again.
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| Isabelline Shrike |
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| Isabelline Shrike - old school name but quite likely Daurian. Just enjoy it for being a shrike! |
It had begun to rain so we sat opposite the path to the
Hume’s Warbler for a few minutes before ambling down. Our timing was good and over the next half
hour most of the crew got a good view or two of this grey and silver, wing
barred sprite as it bounded around the Willows with several olive Chiffchaffs
and an equally fine looking acredula Willow Warbler. A Dusky Warbler was called while we were
there but it was most definitely a Wren…
Alongside us the tide had pushed all the lovely waders close
and few Brent Geese were grumbling before the rain set in and we scurried back
to the van. Last toilet stop of the day
and then one final twitch on the way home to the village Paull on the
industrial banks of the Humber. The
weather was grim but let up as we arrived.
An Isabelline Wheatear had been seen there over two hours previously but
with no further news and there were no birders present either but just a few
minutes into our walk along the mown river wall, there it was in all its
bounding buffy glory.
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| A distant Humber Bridge |
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| Isabelline Wheatear |
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| Isabelline Wheatear |
It was moved on my a dog walker but after a while looped
back round to our bit of path which meant we could get closer on the walk back
to the van especially as the rain had gotten heavy once again. I am not sure when I last saw one in the
UK? In fact it may only be my third and
the first since Minsmere possibly as far back at 2000?
We were all a bit damp but somehow we had eked out a grand
day out of next to nothing.
22nd October
Our day began at a chilly Bempton Cliffs where we were
greeted by my friend Graham leaping into his car with the news ‘male Sibe
Rubythroat at Spurn Wire Dump!’. I have to admit that I felt a little sick at
that point. It was out of reach for us
but I was content to watch the two Firecrests and a tiny brown and grey Siberian
Lesser Whitethroat that had appeared in the willows around where I had
parked. A real delight. Tree Sparrows were vocal all around us as we
walked over to the check in and after looking at some Brown Rats, Moorhens and bouncing
Goldcrests, we ambled up to the top of the patch by the ponds were within a few
minutes we had seen the Pallas’s Warbler.
Switching to the other side was a good call with the light behind us and
the next time it appeared we were all in the right place to get fantastic views
of this compact ball of stripiness and it showed well for about a minute in
the open before moving off once again. There
were several olive Chiffchaffs and one milky Siberian Chiffchaff in there too
which looked like the real deal tristis.
There were lots of Goldfinches and few Siskins and Mealy
Redpoll and Brambling were also heard before a Peregrine caused the local
Jackdaws to start making a racket. Down along the double hedge we found another
dapper Firecrest and there were quite a few Redwing, Blackbirds and cold
greyish Song Thrushes feeding in the secluded field and they were joined by a
male Ring Ouzel with silvery wings and a fine gorget like the Easington bird.
Two Russian White-fronts headed inland and were followed by
two skeins of winking Pinkfeet totalling about 45 birds. Walking down to the silent cliffs added a pair
of Stonechat and as usual visiting the seabird colonies without the birds is a
strange assault on the nose and ears that scream out that something is fundamentally
missing.
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| Pinkfeet |
A few Gannets and Auks were seen over the quiet sea and
clouds of Rockish Doves were terrorised by a pair of hunting Peregrines that
somehow did not visibly make a kill.
Time for a cuppa with added Firecrest and Tree Sparrows for the outside folks before we checked out the Dell which held no errant warblers and just many Tree Sparrows and a few finches.
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| Tree Sparrow - always just a little obscured |
Lunch overlooking the no entry gate gave us a male Yellowhammer and Stonechat before we all reconvened and made our way north to Filey for a stroll down to the end to overlook the Brigg. The waves were covering part of it but we still found a single Purple Sandpiper, Sanderlings, Turnstones and Oystercatchers and when the flocks got moved on by a Peregrine ten extra Purps mysteriously appeared and disappeared around the corner with the silvery Sanderlings never to be seen again.
Three Red-throated Divers were seen and Black-throated Diver was a bonus and was watched catching crabs. It is amazing how long these Divers stay under for and the amount of distance covered. A male Eider was also keen on the crabs.
A Kestrel hovered at eye level and several Linnets but no
Twite were seen and our subsequent walk down the ravine was incredibly quiet
with just a couple of Goldcrests, Robins and Tits.
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| Metznaria lappella in Burdock seedhead |
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| The magic of a Kestrel |
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| Kestrel with Bempton behind |
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| What is it about my groups and play equipment? |
Our final stop of the day was back at Thornwick Bay where we
walked up on Dave Aitken watching a female type Bearded Tit giving magnificent views
in a little patch of reeds. This is a
super rare bird on the Flamborough Headland.
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| Bearded Tit |
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| Linnets |
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| Barn Owl |
23rd October
Time to head for home and with Storm Austen working its way east
I decided to get across the Humber Bridge first thing and by 9.45 we were approaching
Far Ings just to the west.
The approach road gave us 12 Whooper Swans with a load a of Greylags but
I could not stop and look through them.
We parked up in the Chowder car park on the banks of the river and
marvelled at the calm still water and not a breath of wind. Even the late autumn midges were out and
dancing in the relative warmth.
Tame groups of Wigeon were grazing on the green algae on the
concrete river bank and only moved a little way off to the safety of the water
when we approached while out on the distant mudflats there were many gulls, and
Lapwings and a few Pinkfeet while two female and a male Scoter flew down river
beyond the dinky red lightship.
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| Wigeon |
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| Wigeon |
The first hide overlooked a recent cut area of reeds that
looked great for Bitterns. Water Rails
called out of sight and a Marsh Harrier slowly hunted. I was not actually expecting a Bittern to
appear over the back lake and perform a circuit before dropping out of
view! I had a sneaky feeling that they
were here. Bearded Tits called from the
reeds but did not show despite the calm conditions.
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| Winter Heliotrope - Petasites fragrans |
The even smaller hide opposite quickly added Tufted Duck and Gadwall to the trip list along with other dabblers and a few Little Grebes but oddly just the one Coot. In fact it was the only one we saw here. A pale blob on the edge of the phragmites suddenly became a stupidly obvious Bittern and we watched it for fifteen minutes sunning itself and preening which was a real treat. Walk away views… More Water Rails called and a party of Long-tailed Tits bimbled through the Hawthorns and Willows where I may have been slightly distracted by leafmines.
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| Bittern - Helen Prandy |
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| Bittern |
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| Shoveler |
.JPG) |
| Caloptilia falconipennella on Alder |
.JPG) |
| Parornix devoniella (fold) and Phyllonorycter nicellii (blotch). Gaps are the devoniella feeding patches. On Hazel |
.JPG) |
| Phyllonorycter cerasicolella on Cherry |
.JPG) |
| Phyllonorycter corylifoliella on Hawthorn |
.JPG) |
| Stigmella glutinosae on Alder. tricky but I think the lavae identifies it as such |
Onto the next hide where a Kingfisher was found after
calling because of the bouncing stem it was sitting on. Ten minutes of electric blue and then several
minutes of orange glow. Perfect. The lake itself only had two Mute Swans, a
Cormorant and Grey Heron and no wildfowl whatsoever. Beardies pinged again but eluded us.
The trail took us through a wonderful Hawthorn tunnel before popping out at the old cement works and back along the Humber.
.JPG)
.JPG) |
| Phytomyza ilicis - the old favourite! |
.JPG) |
| Holly |
.JPG) |
| Harts Tongue Fern |
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| Lewinskya affinis |
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| Punctelia jeckeri |
%20Far%20Ings%2023-10-26%20HTV%20(47).JPG) |
| I was surprised to see Spurge-laurel - Daphne laureola |
A skein of 40 Pinkfeet and three Tundra Beans
headed towards Blacktoft. You could even
hear the almost Greylagish honking of the Beans.
.JPG) |
| Pinkfeet |
.JPG)
.JPG) |
| Privet |
.JPG) |
| Viper's Bugloss |
.JPG) |
| Kidney Spot Ladybird |
A lazy lunch back at the van sitting on the river wall with
Avocets and Redshank calling for company and then back on the road for one
final time but with a stop to look at the Whooper Swans (and some Mutes) and
Greylag flock on the way out. I counted
29 Russian White-fronts and three Pinkfeet amongst them and it was an excellent
way to round up proceedings before the nearly three and a half hours back to
Great Ryburgh with the darkening skies trying to catch us up.
With an early return there was enough time to zoom down to
Cley beach and trot along the shingle in search of the male Desert Wheatear. It took a few nervous minutes but suddenly
there he was hopping around on the shingle before coming straight towards
myself and Dave where he posed nicely before bounding away once again. A glance behind showed a roiling wall of
black cloud heading our way so it was a speedy return to the cars for a final
farewell before I began the drive back to Lowestoft in increasingly tempestuous
conditions. It was not a pleasant drive
but it had been a grand week with a catalogue of top notch eastern vagrants to
whet the appetite.
.JPG) |
| Desert Wheatear - perfectly at home |
.JPG) |
| Desert Wheatear |
.JPG) |
| Desert Wheatear |
.JPG) |
| Desert Wheatear |
Time to unpack and repack for South Africa on Tuesday!
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