Spurn calling!

Sunday 28th October

First of all, let me take you back to 10th September at Seaton Snook, Cleveland. My photo of a Baird's sandpiper is featured in the November issue of BirdWatching magazine. Always a thrill to open a magazine and see one of your photos. Here's a reminder!

Baird's Sandpiper

I decided this would be a day for Spurn. Anything was possible: waxwing or warbler! I did see a chiffchaff but let's start from where I started, at the cemetery in Easington. A good row of scopes were trained on the field adjacent to the cemetery. I knew from the pager they were watching a great grey shrike and I soon had it in the scope.

I drove back into Easington and by the church among rather derelict farm buildings were a number of birders. They were watching bramblings and, they said, redstarts. Turned out they were blackstarts! Female black redstarts - more than one was present. Someone claimed up to six! And one male later turned up - the only one to drop down to the ground while I was there.

Black Redstart Black Redstart Black Redstart I guess this smart fellow is the male!

Black Redstart

Next we all rushed down Vicarage Lane for a little bunting but it had disappeared among houses and was not relocated.  After that excitement I went to the Canal Scrape hide for a coffee. Redwings and Fieldfares were present as was a ring ouzel. A woodcock flew in too - a nice tick. I chatted to a birder from Boroughbridge. Then I went to the seawatch hide as I knew there were a lot of little auks going north. I soon saw some, pretty close in. Also saw eider fly past close to the shore.

The weather deteriorated after a fine start and I decided to head home via North Cave as two jack snipe were 'showing well'. I saw one bobbing away quite easily but things are never photographically close at North Cave.

Yorkshire round-up

Tuesday 30th October

Barry and I set off at 8am - quite late for us - and we headed for Alkborough Flats LWT, over the Humber Bridge into Lincolnshire to catch up with a lesser yellowlegs that was in the area. The views from the hide were impressive, with lots of golden plover plus lapwings, ruff, a number of dunlin. Lots of teal plus shoveler, heron and marsh harrier. A sparrowhawk flew past us on the path but we failed to find the yellowlegs, just a few red legged redshank!

Next we called in very briefly at Far Ings LWT to see if the ferruginous duck was about. Again no sign, just a few tufties. The whole place was very quiet. On now to North Cave, back over the suspension bridge. Here we were more fortunate: good variety of birds including a tick for Barry in the form of a very well concealed jack snipe. Bobbing only rarely it was a challenge to pick out but that's what jack snipes are like!

Fourth and final destination was Blacktoft Sands. Although it was pretty quiet here too we did go home having seen 53 species of bird. Not a bad day at all. As I said to Barry, you could see a quarter of year total in one day by repeating our round trip!

There were no amazing things to photograph but here's the best of what I took that day, starting with male and female teal and a moorhen.

Teal Teal Moorhen It may sound silly but I don't find it easy to get a really good image of a moorhen.

The teasels are all dead and dry by now but Barry spotted one plant just at its best. Funny how nature organises these little insurance policies just in case...

Teasel On the same theme, the marsh sow thistle sonchus palustris are well and truly dead but I thought might make an interesting image.

Marsh Sow-thistle As the afternoon drew towards dusk now summer time has ended and the days grow short, the marsh harriers came reasonably close. Photographed at a high ISO they dominate the marsh.

Marsh Harrier Marsh Harrier The blue is the woodlands on the hillside on the far side of the Tiver Trent.

Marsh Harrier Marsh Harrier

No Bee-eater for me!

Wednesday 31st October

After a morning in the garden a bee-eater was reported near a cemetery in Seaburn, Sunderland. I set off in hope! By the time I reached Saltholme the trail had evidently gone cold. I bought peanuts [for the birds] and lingered a while in the Phil Stead hide.

A few more attempts at a decent moorhen shot...

Moorhen Moorhen Moorhen This drake mallard looked very proud and smart.

Mallard It's good to see the wigeon looking good too!

Wigeon Ready for home. It was cold, bleak and very windy. The waxwings and redpolls had vanished. Who can blame them? In the car park a female kestrel was hunting.

Kestrel As I packed everything away a noisy flock of canada geese flew overhead. I grabbed part of the group in the fading light.

Canada Geese