Incredible falls of migrant birds on the East Coast ... Pallas's Warbler, Isabelline Shrike, Dusky & Raddes Warbler, Firecrest and more!!

What a stroke of luck I had last week ..... I'd arranged a house sitting engagement a few months back in the village of Flamborough and only hit on the best week for falls of migrant birds the East Coast has seen for many a year. Rarities everywhere and me cosily placed in a lovely little cottage with 3 adorable cats to watch over .... thank god one of them didn't bring in Yellow Browed Warbler as a little gift!

Thank you Antoinette ... I had a super 5 days and was sad to leave.

Met tons of other birders from all over the country ... a few who even read my blog. Most gratifying and humbling to be read by some of these birders, nearly all I met taught me a thing or two so cheers guys!

On to the birdies then and where to start! Well I didn't see everything that was about and for sure dipped out on a few photo opportunities but how's this for starters ... a stunning Pallas's Warbler .....


Pallas's Leaf Warbler, Flamborough, Oct 2013

I stayed around from the 14th - 18th and this little beauty was flitting around in a secluded gully near South Landing for ages along with countless Goldcrests, Willow Warblers and Chiff Chaffs. A 'lifer' for me and although I was aware of it's general location, even better to seek it out and see it on my own in such lovely conditions. Not quite as good pics but here's another 2 of the same bird....

Pallas's Warbler, Flamborough, Oct 2013

Pallas's Warbler, Flamborough, Oct 2013



Redwing & Blackbird freshly in off the sea, Buckton, Oct 2013

The day before I'd tramped around Buckton, land of the Buckton Birder, just a bit to the North of Flamborough and got my eye in with some visible migration. Stacks of Redwings, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Skylarks and assorted finches all streaming in from Northern Europe and beyond after prolonged North & Easterly winds.















Here's a terrific and very confiding male Brambling, one of 20 or so buzzing about in the late afternoon sunshine .......asking to be snapped!

Brambling, Bucton, Oct 2013

Brambling, Buckton, Oct 2013



Chiff Chaff, Flamborough, Oct 2013

Same day and thanks to a fellow birder, I had the briefest of glimpses of a Raddes Warbler in the same location, a couple of Redstarts and a Black Redstart, several Blackcaps, many Goldcrests (at least 80) and smaller numbers of Willow / Chaffs. There were birds flying in off the sea almost constantly early in the week ...  bloody marvellous!!

 

Goldcrest (cheeky shot!), Flamborough, Oct 2013



Goldcrest, Flamborough, Oct 2013

Robin, Flamborough, Oct 2013

Even if you don't see a rarity at such times just the obvious increase in the number common birds like Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, Skylarks, Redpolls, Blackbirds and Chaffinches is always good to witness. They all come in about this time and to see them descending on our shores from further North never fails to engage me.






Lesser (Common) Redpoll, Flamborough, Oct 2013

 







Mealy Redpolls, Buckton, Oct 2013

In amongst there are always different races and subspecies that all birders love to differentiate between and debate. I'm pretty hopeless most of the time when it comes to splitting feathers (usually end up spitting feathers!) and happy to be corrected, but pretty sure these are Mealy Redpolls (the Northern race of our 'Lessers'



And so it went on.... 4 days of some of the best migrant birding the UK has to offer, ever looking skyward for stuff flying in and constantly checking bushes and hedgerows for warblers and other wee birds already in and 'skulking'. Hit and miss as far as the photographs went but I did ok. As well as the above I watched with others my 3rd ever Dusky Warbler at South Landing but failed to get a single shot at it. I stood for hours waiting for a Rustic Bunting to show but was disappointed along with the crowd .... turned up next morning and got all excited with this pic but on later inspection its just a Reed Bunting!

Not the Rustic Bunting!

 

This is the real thing (pic courtesy of AW Birder) ... see how how easy it is for a simple minded fool to get over-excited!

Rustic Bunting, Flamborough, Oct 2013

 

I gazed into someone's back garden (again I wasn't alone in this curious pursuit), and managed some ok pics given the appalling light of this star bird ... an Isabelline Shrike (Daurian race most reckon!)

Isabelline Shrike, Flamborough, Oct 2013

Isabelline Shrike, Flamborough, Oct 2013

 



Olive Backed Pipit? Surely not!!

 

I took a distant 'record' pic of a pipit that was in the general vicinity of a recently sighted Olive Backed Pipit and it is without doubt the worst picture I've ever posted ... it's probably just a Meadow Pipit but maybe, just maybe?


Closer, much more familiar and thankfully in focus was a Wheatear, one of just 2 seen all week, in the same field.

Northern Wheatear, Flamborough, Oct 2013

One day I forgot to eat till tea time and found myself salivating whilst I was taking a picture of a squirrel eating an apple!

Grey Squirrel ... very scary eyes but very tasty looking apple!

On my last day but one and with sandwiches in tow, I finally got to grips with a Firecrest that was harbouring in Old Fall Wood but alas too flitty and too dark to snap, and away from the throngs of birding enthusiasts and general hubbub there was always the North Sea itself, and being not a stone's throw from Bempton cliffs Gannets always loom large around here and I guess they've seen it all before!

Gannet, Buckton, Oct 2013

Gannet, Buckton, Oct 2013

As have the Peregrines around here ..... this one was very interested in the Thrushes at Buckton ....

Peregrine Falcon, Buckton, Oct 2013

Somewhat disappointedly I didn't see a single Yellow Browed Warbler and dipped out on a Bluethroat but you can't have it all ... I saw close on 80 bird species including what surely must be my last Swallows and House Martins and even saw a fair few butterflies that also seemed to be coing in off the sea, mainly Red Admirals and Tortoiseshells but at least a couple of Commas too.

 

It wasn't all birds, birds and more birds ..... I ate, slept and fed cats too, entertained my best mate for a day or so and strummed my guitar regularly; my only regret was that my kids couldn't make it up for a few hours  ... I guess for the young, in reality, the bright lights of Driffield are in fact more appealing than this! The weather was great for mid October and if I get another chance I'll be back on the east coast for more migrant hunting before the Winter sets in .... you simply can't beat this neck of the woods at this time of year for birdin!

Autumn sunshine at South Landing, Flamborough, East Yorks.



Migrant strollings around Gibralter Point... first Redwings and last Swallows

With strengthening winds from the East all week the signs looked good for some visible bird migration but where to go? Had to be the East coast of coast but having done Spurn and Flamborough recently I fancied a bit of a change of county and headed off down to Gibralter Point on the NE coast of Lincolnshire.


















Walkway across the dunes





 

Gibralter Point is 4.5 square kilometres of coastal saltmarsh and buckthorn covered sand dunes. Long famed as a migration hotspot and bird ringing activity, it's quite rightly the jewel in the crown for the Lincs Wildlife Trust gang, a few of whom I met during my brief 2 day trip over the 1st & 2nd of Oct.

Its a cracking spot to just wander about in, a lot more open and accessible than Spurn, less birders too and with its many paths through the dunes it has a very laid back 'get away from it all' feel.

The first day of October, like much of the UK Summer before it, brought warmth and plenty of sunshine - great for warming my bones but sadly not always good for watching migrating birds. Yes the wind was fresh and blowing in from contintental Europe but with clear skies and nothing to 'down' passage migrants, most will simply fly right over and onwards.

 

Up with the larks bright n early at 6.00am I had many Meadow Pipits and finches, mainly Chaffinch Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Linnets in the sky. Then my first good bird, a male Redstart sheltering from the wind in one of 'dune valleys'. If I'd known that it was to be my only one I'd have tried harder to get a pic but he was skulking and I was sure I'd have more.

 

Not a migrant but certainly passing by was this rare old bird... at 7.00am with I thought the whole of the point to myself, the last thing I expected was to pass an old lady with a walking aid!

 Completely random!










I was quite chuffed with myself for picking out a single Brambling in amongst a small flock of passing Chaffinches... yey! In fact, up until midday, although nothing rare, there was a pleasing numbers of common migrants making their way down the coast and in off the sea... scores of Meadow Pipits, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Skylarks, about 50 or so Song Thrushes on the point were good to see but best of all was my first Redwings of the Autumn. 12 in total, they stayed only briefly, alighting at the top of a conifer tree for a minute or so before flying off.

1st Redwings of the Autumn, Gibralter Point

I saw 3 Swallows beating South just minutes before and it would be kind of neat to get my first Redwings of the season on the same day as my last Swallows!

 

 

 

 

 



There was a Red Breasted Flycatcher and 3 Yellow Browed Warblers on the reserve whilst I was there but a little frustratingly I dipped out on both. I did manage a male Blackcap and several Goldcrests but that early Redstart that promised so much was more of a 'red herring'!

 

No worries though ... it was pleasure enough to be out walking this landscape on a bright & breezy day. There were even a few butterflies on the wing, mainly Whites and Tortoiseshells but a few nice Red Admirals too. 

Red Admiral, Gibralter Point

 

 The light was good and I managed some pretty decent shots of some of the waders present in and around the scrapes.

 

Avocet, Gibralter Point

Black Tailed Godwits, Gibralter Point

There were 85 Black Tailed Godwits in all, one of my favourite waders to catch in flight ... those white underwings are simply stunning!

The Avocets (16 of them) were hanging around in front of one of the hides and doing that funny feeding frenzy thing .. so rapidly were they swishing their bills in the water most of my shots came a bit blurred but this one was ok and caught the moment well enough

Feeding Avocets, Gibralter Point.

I managed 15 wader species in all. Not bad going. Apart from the 2 above I also had Green Sandpiper, Curlew, Knot, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Lapwing, Sanderling, Oystercatcher, Snipe, Redshank, Ruff and heard a Spotted Redshank.

The Greenshank picture is one of only a few pics took on the next day. As you can tell by the picture it was dull, and spitting with rain too. Apart from a few more Blackbirds and Robins  hanging about, good and different birds were thin on the ground and the only thing that looked any good through my lens was the Sea Buckthorne!

I'd like to have stayed on here for a couple more days, I'm still waiting for my first good Yellow Browed shot and sure I would have got it, still ... there's always Flamborough and I'm up there for a few days soon so that's this month's photo target sorted!
 

Overnighter at Flamborough Head ... Kestrel cameo, close up little waders and a night on the cliffs!

Quick overnight trip up to Flamborough Head to sort out a house sit this week was pleasing enough though it did rain a lot and there wasn't much doing bird wise ... plenty of Gannets moving North & South off the Head itself plus a few Common Scoter, Meadow Pipits in off the sea and a single Arctic Skua and Red Throated Diver was all I could manage. Clearing skies and a burst of evening sunshine made a brief visit to South Landing, the site of Yorkshire Wildlife's splendid Living Seas Centre, made the trip worthwhile though.

I went a bit snap happy with a female Kestrel that was hunting along the cliff top .... not all as sharp as I wanted but considering that the majority of my images are hand held shots, not bad. So here's my hunting Kestrel cameo .....

Kestrel series1, South Landing, Flamborough

Kestrel series2, South Landing, Flamborough

 

Kestrel series3, South Landing, Flamborough

Kestrel series4, South Landing, Flamborough

Kestrel series5, South Landing, Flamborough

Kestrel series6, South Landing, Flamborough

Kestrel series7, South Landing, Flamborough

Kestrels are one of our most masterful of birds, sadly on a bit of a decline at the moment, they're synonymous with the British countryside and we've all seen them hovering by the roadside. Its those funny 'sticky out' feathers on their forewings (called alula or bastard wings and easy to see on the above pics) that enable them to hover in the sky as they scan the ground for prey... anything from small voles to earthworms.



















Back on the shoreline, the tide was well up and the amongst the small selection of waders probing around I was intrigued by one that was noticeably bigger than the half dozen or so Dunlins ... frustratingly it didn't hang about but when it flew off I saw no white rump which would have made it a Curlew Sandpiper ... damn it could have been a Pectoral Sandpiper. No time for a pic either ... damn... another one gets away!

Got some nice close ups of Dunlin and Turnstone though .... all turning into Winter plumage but all looking good in the evening light

Turnstone, South Landing, Flamborough

Dunlin, South Landing, Flamborough

Dunlin2, South Landing, Flamborough

Juv Eider Duck, South Landing, Flamborough

Out to sea there was a single Eider Duck, looked like a young one to me ... not the best of pics but at least the sea looks good!

















The Van.... Thornwick Bay, Flamborough





 

And so, after a meal and a couple of pints in Flamborough village, time for bed ... and ok it rained all night but what a place to wake up in the morning.....













Looks like I'll be doing a house sit in a lovely little cottage looking after 3 lovely cats mid October .... peak time for winter birds coming in...should be good!

1st Annual Bird Migration Festival, AKA Mig Fest attracts vagrants from all over the UK!

You simply cannot beat Spurn Point for visible bird migration and I got my latest dose just this w/e where I was helping out with 1st Annual Migration Festival held there. Judging by the success of the event it will certainly run again next year and well worth making a note to watch their web page for details of next year's event.

Over 250 punters from all over the UK were treated to a hatful of migrants as well as enjoying the many guided nature & history walks, bird ringing & moth trapping sessions, photography classes and much more. The guided tours around the old Victorian lighthouse were especially popular and not without incident (one of our staff somehow managed to get herself locked in for half an hour!) and the evening talks on bird migration were as good on the old brain cells as the hog roast was on the taste buds!

Me, I was recruiting again both days ... so not much chance to get involved in the activities, but it was good fun, I met loads of interesting people, picked up some really good tips for future destinations and of course signed plenty up to the YWT!

Ok birders, this is the complete species list for the w/e

• Mute Swan
• Shelduck
• Wigeon
• Gadwall
• Teal
• Mallard
• Pintail
• Garganey
• Shoveler
• Tufted Duck
• Scaup
• Eider
• Common Scoter
• Pheasant
• Red-throated Diver
• Little Grebe
• Great Crested Grebe
• Red-necked Grebe
• Fulmar
• Sooty Shearwater
• Manx Shearwater
• Balearic Shearwater
• Leach’s Petrel
• Gannet
• Cormorant
• Shag
• Little Egret
• Grey Heron
• Marsh Harrier
• Sparrowhawk
• Common Buzzard
• Kestrel
• Hobby
• Peregrine
• Water Rail
• Moorhen
• Coot
• Oystercatcher
• Little Ringed Plover
• Ringed Plover
• Golden Plover
• Grey Plover
• Lapwing
• Knot
• Sanderling
• Little Stint
• Curlew Sandpiper
• Purple Sandpiper
• Dunlin
• Ruff
• Snipe
• Black-tailed Godwit
• Bar-tailed Godwit
• Whimbrel
• Curlew
• Spotted Redshank
• Redshank
• Greenshank
• Green Sandpiper
• Common Sandpiper
• Turnstone
• Pomarine Skua
• Arctic Skua
• Bonxie
• Mediterranean Gull
• Little Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Common Gull
• Lesser B.B.Gull
• Yellow-legged Gull
• Caspian Gull
• Herring Gull
• Great B.B.Gull
• Kittiwake
• Sandwich Tern
• Roseate Tern
• Common Tern
• Arctic Tern
• Black Tern
• Guillemot
• Razorbill
• Puffin
• Feral Pigeon
• Stock Dove
• Woodpigeon
• Collared Dove
• Cuckoo
• Swift
• Kingfisher
• Wryneck
• Skylark
• Sand Martin
• Swallow
• House Martin
• Tree Pipit
• Meadow Pipit
• Rock Pipit
• Yellow Wagtail
• Grey Wagtail
• Pied Wagtail
• Wren
• Dunnock
• Robin
• Redstart
• Whinchat
• Wheatear
• Blackbird
• Song Thrush
• Grasshopper Warbler
• Sedge Warbler
• Reed Warbler
• Lesser Whitethroat
• Whitethroat
• Garden Warbler
• Blackcap
• Chiffchaff
• Willow Warbler
• Spotted Flycatcher
• Pied Flycatcher
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Red-backed Shrike
• Magpie
• Rook
• Carrion Crow
• Starling
• House Sparrow
• Tree Sparrow
• Chaffinch
• Greenfinch
• Goldfinch
• Linnet
• Common Rosefinch
• Reed Bunting

Juv Red Backed Shrike, Spurn, Sept 2013

134 species in 2 days, with some notable highlights to Spurn (in bold) and with weather not particularly conducive to migration (it was warm and still for the most part) represents a cracking haul. Many visitors left with several 'lifers' and although, like many before me, I missed out on some of the good birds, I did get to see this juv Red Backed Shrike quite a lot while I was working Wells Field.








I so wanted to glimpse the Wryneck, such an enigmatic and curious bird and one I see all too rarely these days. Its one of the woodpeckers but you wouldn't necessarily know that if you're lucky enough to see one on migration. The person who took this one at Spurn over the w/e deserves a medal, its a cracking shot (looking so 'lizard like!) lifted from the Spurn Facebook page along with plenty of other great pics from the festival.

Wryneck, Spurn, Sept 2013

I stayed on at Spurn after the festival for a few days and although the weather took a real turn for the worst with cloudy skies, rain and gale force winds (sounds lovely doesn't it but this actually better for visible migration), there were plenty of bright spots and I was not unrewarded.



Willow Warbler, Spurn, Sept 2013

Up bright & early Monday morning and I was in the company of several Willow Warblers that had probably plopped in during the night plus a very confiding young Wheatear that had maybe done the same ... love the early morning light on these.







Lots of Willow Warblers and the closely related Chiff Chaffs moving through the UK at the moment ... look out for them in your garden, I've just had one in mine this morning.

Wheatear, Spurn, Sept 2013

 

Wheatear2, Spurn, Sept 2013

Young Swallows, Spurn, Sept 2013

Swallows, House Martins and the occasional Swift and Sand Martin were passing through all the time and some were obviously pleased to make landfall and a bit of Spurn rest n recuperation like these young Swallows huddled together for warmth.







This time of the year is great for seeing 'grounded' hirundines, they're often resting on the long journey South or just plain knackered!

Resting Swallow, Spurn, Sept 2013



Resting Swallow2, Spurn, Sept 2013



Whinchat (Imm), Spurn, Sept 2013

 

This was one of several Whinchats, a common migratory bird at Spurn but always nice to see on passage.















Roe Deer, Spurn, Sept 2013

Away from my feathered friends, lets not forget that Spurn is renowned for more than just birds. Both Fallow and Roe Deer are common on the reserve ... I did see a fine Fallow Deer whilst I was taking a break from recruiting, but sadly no camera to hand, but here's a couple of Roe Deer eyeing me up early one morning.




Spurn Point is good for butterflies & moths too of course, some of which are migrant, and there's a healthy recording set up here capturing close on 800 species of the old 'lepidoptra' over the years .. see here at Spurn Butterflies & Moths for more info.

Of those 800 or so I did see a Dark Green Fritillary (pic from a previous post here) cross over at the Warren on Sunday, a Small Heath, lots of 'Whites' and Tortoiseshells and a blue butterfly that at first looked liked a washed out Common Blue but on closer inspection turned out to be a Small Blue.

Small Heath, Spurn, Sept 2013

Tortoiseshell on Fleabane Blue, Spurn, Sept 2013

Small Blue

You can't bird watch long at Spurn before casting your eyes upon the 1000s of wader species that seem to be ever present here, especially in Autumn when this is one of the premier stop over places for these long distance travellers on their way down to Africa. 2 days here in Autumn is enough to grab almost all of the commonly seen waders in the UK.

One of the commonest here is also one of the most iconic... I'm talking Knots! They come in droves from their Arctic breeding grounds to rest up in the Wash and a fair proportion of those are very visible at Spurn. Often flocking together at high water tides in restless waves of grey, they move as one when flushed and form huge formations in the sky as they search for exposed mud to feed upon.

Here's one such flock, along with an interloping and very obvious Curlew, at Chalk Bank... the best place to see them at Spurn.

Knot flock at high tide plus a Curlew! Spurn, Sept 2013

........ and here's a classic wave of Knot, probably flushed by a passing raptor. This was only a part of the flock so lord knows how many there were, count em if you want but I reckoned close on 2000!

Knot flock, Spurn, Sept 2013

Knot downpour, Spurn, Sept 2013

A bit later in the afternoon and in some fairly dramatic weather conditions the whole flock of Knot plus many other waders were put up by a passing Merlin. Not sure if these pics do the scene much justice after the event because it all happened at some distance, but with thunder grey skies on one side of the peninsular and sunshine breaking through on the other the light was just awesome, and as the Knot descended in mass ranks from way up high they looked like giant snowflakes as they floated back down onto the sands ..... very poetically put Timbo!

Knot downpour2, Spurn, Sept 2013

Little Egrets, Spurn, Sept 2013

Pretty pleased with how those Knot pics came out and caught the moment but all a bit distant.

Here's a few 'closer' shots of common waders starting with these wind blown Little Egrets at dusk, relative and very welcome newcomers to our shores as breeding birds, there were 30+  present at Spurn over the w/e



Sanderlings are always fun to photograph and I find they produce a good picture, maybe because of the colourful shingle they inhabit!

Sanderling, Spurn, Sept 2013

 

Here's a couple of familiar fellahs for you, the ever reliable and vocal Curlew ... fairly ubiquitous around the Humber of course but when you get them in the right pose and the right light they rarely fail to please.

Curlews on the tideline, Spurn, Sept 2013

Even better when they're joined by wader friends! At the risk of being 'nerdy' this next shot is almost a field guide type picture of the different sizes of common waders. Here we have the same Curlews, plus 2 others, a Bar Tailed Godwit (next smallest) and a Knot (smallest).

Wader selection, Spurn, Sept 2013 - Curlew, Knot & Bar Tailed Godwit



Whimbrel with crab at dusk, Spurn, Sept 2013

 

Rubbish pic I admit, but it was my only Whimbrel shot. Low light and messed around with maybe a bit too much but hey this close relative of the Curlew was devouring a small crab right in front of me so its included here.

 Another evening picture to finish with and considering the rather inclement weather we had to bear midweek this was a rare sunset over the Humber and towards the oil refineries at Immingham .... industrial yes but pleasing enough as a parting shot.

Sunset over the Humber

 

Huge thank you's to all involved in this event .. well done to one of YWT's finest Adam Coyle and all the guys at Spurn Observatory for putting this together, it was megatastic, same again and more next year guys!