FRIDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER
Stunning Wryneck
I traveled up to Yorkshire early on Friday the 5th September for the Spurn Migration Festival weekend , i arrived at approx 10am and met a couple of birders who informed me what was around and it was quite an impressive list , the first bird i tried for was a Barred Warbler which after a while i saw but only glimpses but enough to get a positive id , i then tried my luck with looking for a Wryneck which are one of my fav birds , it had been seen early in the morning but not for a couple of hours , well i couldn't believe my luck when as i walked along side the beach when the Wryneck flew down onto a dead tree right next to me , fantastic closest and best views i have had of this species.
Wryneck.
After getting over the shock of seeing this stunning bird i decided to start walking towards the Warren when i noticed a Spotted Flycatcher on a small bush.
Spotted Flycatcher.
Spotted Flycatcher on the gate.
This was a welcome year tick for me , as I was watching the Spotted Flycatcher i also saw a Pied Flycatcher in the same bush , wow .
Pied Flycatcher.
Pied Flycatcher.
I then headed towards Canal scrape , there was not much from the hide other than 4 Common Snipe and a single Redshank , i then headed towards the Warren and as i was walking through the bushes a small bird flew up in front of me and i was treated to my 2nd Wryneck of the day.
There were birds all over the place with a constant sound of Meadow Pipit , Yellow Wagtail and Swallows calling overhead as they migrated , every bush seemed to hold Willow Warbler & Chiffchaff , there was a small pond near the road and the surrounding bushes held Reed & Willow Warblers plus Chiffchaff .
Another Spotted Flycatcher near the mist nets plus Meadow Pipits were everywhere , it was great to be present at this mass movement of birds.
Wryneck near Cliff Farm.
After awhile i headed back to Cliff farm and had another close view of the stunning Wryneck this time it was on the rocks very close indeed.
What a bird .
SATURDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER.
Today my first point of call was Sammy's point , as i walked along the sea front you could see why this site is so great for migrants as there was plenty of paddocks and bushes for hungry and tired migrants to feed and rest in , i saw plenty of Willow Warblers , Chiffchaffs and Swallows , i also saw a really smart dark phase Arctic Skua fly along the Humber.
Moulting adult Curlew Sandpiper .
After a good bit of searching for migrants at Sammy's point i then decided to head to Kilnsea wetland center to have a look for the adult moulting Curlew Sandpiper and the Little Stints which i saw yesterday and sure enough i was straight onto them.
Juv Little Stint.
Cracking Juv Little Stint.
I was really lucky with these birds as they were very close and seem to follow me around the reserve , i checked out another pool further around where i added 12 Wigeon , 2 Pintail and a Wheatear quite close in and a late Common Swift flew over head towards Westmere Farm.
Smart looking Wheatear.
I also saw plenty of Yellow Wagtails , 4 Little Egrets and a small flock of Golden Plover which flew over.
Barred Warbler.
I then set off to Cliff farm as i wanted to get better views of the Barred Warbler and i was not disappointed as the Barred Warbler at times showed really well .
Barred Warbler.
I called into the nearby ringing area and was lucky to see them ring a Spotted Flycatcher .
Spotted Flycatcher.
There were once again migrants all over the place with Common Redstart , Pied Flycatcher , Spotted Flycatcher and Whinchat being the pick of them .
Whinchat.
As the day went on i had a walk towards Spurn point but i only got as far as the Narrows as time was getting on and i didn't want to miss the Hog Roast at West mere farm , but i did have time to check out the wader roost and saw 2 Little Stints among hundreds of Dunlin , i also added a 3rd bird shortly after , other highlights were Peregrine , Wheatear , Whinchat , Gannet and Fulmar.
The Hog roast was really great and the talk by Mike Dilger from the BBC ONE show was very good , i also added at least 2 Tawny Owls calling back at the B&B.
SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER
Today i had a quick look out at sea but it was fairly quite with only a handful of Sandwich Terns , Gannets and 6 Common Scoter moving , there were plenty of Meadow Pipits coming in off the sea and i was treated to seeing a Tree Sparrow & Chiffchaff being rung.
Juv. Tree Sparrow.
I then had a walk along the coast towards Cliff farm which proved to be a good choice as it was alive with birds , once again every bush seemed to hold a warbler of some form and Whinchats were also in good number along this path , a Common Redstart flew low over a field then out of sight , and i had some decent views of at least 2 Lesser Whitethroats.
Lesser Whitethroat.
And in flight .
Whinchat.
The tide was a long way out but there were a few smaller waders close in and i picked out a juv Curlew Sandpiper which was quickly followed by a 2nd bird .
Juv Curlew Sandpiper.
I added a further 3 birds all juv's a bit further towards Cliff farm , as i went past the car park i noticed a small gathering of birders so i joined them and had a brief view of a possible Siberian Lesser Whiotethroat , then news broke of a Wryneck at Sandy Beaches so i headed off there but i was out of luck this time i did see a female Blackcap which was new for the weekend , time was catching up with me so after a cold drink and bun in the Blue Bell cafe i headed back to the car via a quick look in Well Field display tent .
