A Warm Finale

Yesterday the final Thursday session until September went ahead even though Yorkshire was ringed around with heavy showers.  Some on the pm session were wondering if it was worth leaving Church Fenton, Wressle or Goole where it was hammering down with rain, but it was actually nice weather at Spurn.   We set off along Beacon Lane, where we immediately encountered House Martins and a few finch species: Goldfinches, Greenfinches & then flyover Linnets. The best early bird during the pm session was a singing Wren perched above the hedge belting out its 10-second- 100+ note trills.   Normally there are plenty of Linnets along here, but there are definitely fewer of these this year.

Immature Kestrel

 Goldfinch

 Large Skipper

 Ringlet

 Meadow Brown

 Common Blue [male] above
Burnet-Moth

 ditto

It was the sunniest day we have visited this location this year, and there was a corresponding increase in insect activity.  There were a couple of Red Admirals & Large Skippers, some Small Heaths, a single Small Tortoiseshell, and a few Ringlets and Meadow Browns.  There was also a single large dragonfly hawking along the lane.  Over the fields the activity of the Meadow Pipits and Skylarks was more subdued than last week, and the Sedge Warblers seemed less willing to sing in the open.  Many more Burnet-Moths had emerged since last week, and were making the most of the sunshine.  There seemed to have been a noticeable influx of Silver-Y Moths in the afternoon, which wasn’t apparent in the morning.  A young Kestrel spent the whole day among the sand dunes & caught something small on the sand, which it proceeded to eat & then it walked up the dune looking for more of the same.

 Kestrel

 Kestrel

 Sandwich Terns

 Little Gull (flying past a Common Tern)

 Reed Bunting

From the hide it was evident that the loss of many of the Little Tern chicks since our last visit had caused the netting to be rearranged in front of the hide to protect 2 or 3 nests there.  Sandwich Terns were more in evidence, perched on a couple of concrete slabs with a few of their youngsters.  A couple of Common Terns were perched nearby, and an immaculate Little Gull flew through.   The pm crowd watched a Cormorant catch an enormous fish, whilst I was trying to determine if a tern in awkward light could possibly be a Roseate – unfortunately, it turned out to be a Common.  There were also Ringed Plovers, Oystercatchers, and after we left the hide in the morning 3 Knots with remnants of breeding plumage headed south.  Liz did very well to spot a distant soaring Sparrowhawk, which everyone managed to pick up before it was lost to sight.  

 Cormorant

 Wood Sandpipers

 Wood Sandpipers

 Wood Sandpipers

At lunch-time I went to Canal Scrape, but was disappointed that there were no Lizards on the posts outside – perhaps the sun was too strong?  The prospects from the hide didn’t look too good either.  The water was dominated by squealing baby Coots, whilst the grass was overwhelmed by moulting Mallards.  I had a quick span, but couldn’t see anything of interest, so I cracked open my sandwiches.  I was tucking in when there was an unusual wader call.  I looked out of the window and spotted a pair of tiny waders on the shore.  At first glance without bins they looked like Dunlin, but the sound was different.  The bins revealed them to be Wood Sandpipers with their pale vague eyebrow, speckled back, delicate bill & yellowish legs.  They remained there 15 minutes until they were attacked by a stinking Coot & they flew West over the Humber.  Meanwhile a Little Egret flew in & was preening among the Mallard.  It only stayed a couple of minutes before flying off North-West.  Four Cygnets emerged from the reeds and swam right across the pond, but there was no sign of either of their parents.  There was no one to say 'awwww' at their appearance this time.  A Small Tortoiseshell was outside the hide on a thistle, whilst when I joined the main road a Sedge Warbler was perched with its bill stuffed with insects.

Little Egret

 Little Egret

Small Tortoiseshell

 Mute Swan Cygnets

 Sedge Warbler

 Sedge Warbler

 4-Spotted Chaser

 Caterpillar

It was great to bring this term to an end in decent weather conditions when we have had to endure all sorts of unseasonal showers, winds, mists and generally appalling weather over the last few weeks.  We deserve a peaceful, Indian summer after this unsettled so-called Spring & Summer, but will we get it?

Somewhere Old, Somewhere New

This morning we met at Kilnsea and walked north along beacon lane.  Almost immediately after passing the House Martin colony we heard a Lesser Whitethroat singing.   The remainder of the sightings were almost identical to the last visit on 20^th June.  There were more butterflies this time with a Painted Lady, at least 4 Small Heaths and a few Common Blues.  When we reached the reedbed there was another Small Heath, a Cinnabar Moth & several Burnet moths emerging from their chrysalises.  

Cuckoo (c) 2012 David Tasker

 Painted Lady

 Small Heath

 Common Blue

 Burnet-Moth (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves

 Little Tern (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves

The best non-bird sighting from the hide was a female Emperor Dragonfly.  We saw the same birds from the hide as last week, and then we joined by Paul Collins and the Little Tern Warden and another helper. We heard that at present there are about 30 Little Tern chicks, so barring accidents of weather and the intervention of the usual suspects of Fox, Merlin, Kestrel, and crows it could be a successful year for these scarce breeders

 Swallow

 Meadow Pipit (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves

 Sandwich Terns

 Curlew

 Little Egrets

In the afternoon we risked going somewhere new: Kilnsea Wetlands. A flock of 30 Sandwich Terns were seen from the car park.  There was an Avocet on eg~Greenshank had flown into Beacon Ponds since our morning visit and there were more Sandwich terns, but there were few other differences.  The new area had potential, so will probably host a lot more species in subsequent year

Record Shot of Cuckoo (c) 2012 David Tasker

 Tadpoles

 Water Plant

 Whitethroat

 Juvenile Pied Wagtail (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves

 Cattle (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves

A Nice Day Beside the Sea

Wednesday was the second day running I'd spent on the coast, but this time I was some 30 miles or so south of yesterday’s venue, so not many species overlapped.  From the car park some of the class thought they saw a Snipe fly into the Borrow Pits, but it didn’t stay long.  Leaving the car park we saw a Greenfinch performing its slow-motion ‘butterfly courtship’ flight, and then we soon encountered a House Martin colony with a couple of House Sparrows also in residence.  Not long after going through the gate we found our first Common Blue butterfly, but we didn’t add many more.  This area is normally very good butterflies, but apart from a few whites and a pair of Small Heaths fighting and a Speckled Wood in the afternoon, numbers of butterflies were definitely down.  Once it had warmed up by the afternoon a large hawker Dragonfly was also patrolling this area.  Blackbirds and a Song Thrush were singing, but there were very few Linnets, and a few singing Goldfinches.  Near a marshy area we usually see a Sedge Warbler, but this was absent this time, although we did see a whole family of Whitethroats.  At the end of the hedgerow Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were singing and flying above a meadow.   

Cuckoo (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

 Speckled Wood

 Small Heath

 Small Heath (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

 Blackbird - with damaged plumage & beak full of worms

 There had been changes in the area, as new conservation areas had been excavated since last Autumn.  This meant that we had to take a slightly different path from this point.  Here, we did have good views of a Sedge Warbler and a Large Skipper, and a more distant sighting of a Reed Bunting.  A male Wall Brown basked at the entrance, but a few hundred yards further we stumbled upon a very worn female Wall.  2 Little Egrets flew over as we neared the lagoons.  On the first stagnant pool we discovered a pair of Shelduck, a Redshank and 3 more Little Egrets.  Then we saw our first hunting Little Tern, while 5 Sandwich Terns headed out to sea.  

 Large Skipper

 Wall Brown (male)

 Wall Brown (worn female)

 Little Tern

 Little Tern

 Sandwich Tern

 Ringed Plover

 Ringed Plover (Chick) - had the awww factor

 Ringed Plover - adult in flight

Ringed Plover seeing off a Dunlin

Right next to the hide in the morning was a Curlew, while in the afternoon this had been replaced by a Little Egret.  From the hide we saw a couple of Ringed Plovers and 3 tiny chicks, and a Little Tern also seemed to be on eggs.  A distant Cuckoo we seen heading north being mobbed by small birds before it left them trailing in its wake.  Meanwhile on the lagoon a Dunlin in breeding fettle flew in, but it was soon seen off by one of the Ringed Plovers.  On the return journey a Cuckoo (possibly female) was flushed from the hedgerow, she flew over the fields, but then started to return before perching on the top of a hedge in full view.  We even had time to set up the telescope for everyone to get a decent view.  Exclamations ranged from “Golly gosh”, through “Crikey”, to “it was good, that”, but Brian’s “brilliant” provided the final consensus.  Suddenly the temperature rose to unimaginable heights and the humidity was an amazing contrast to recent weather.  The afternoon started with these temperatures, but by the end a cool easterly wind had started to hit us from the sea. 

Dunlin

 Little Egret

 ditto

 Little Egret under attack by Ringed Plover

 Cuckoo (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

Mute Swan Cygnets (above) - again provided an aww factor

The morning group shared cars to the hide on the edge of the Nature Reserve.  There wasn’t a great deal to see, although the 5 cygnets in front of the hide elicited some appreciative, but embarrassing cooing!  Also seen here were a pair of Pied Wagtails, some moulting Mallards, and a few Linnets & meadow Pipits came down for a drink.  In the bushes opposite we observed a family of very colourful Greenfiches and the odd Whitethroat were also spotted.   

Pied Wagtail (female) with Mayfly?

 ditto

 Apprentice Scumbag

 Three of the morning group went on to Sammy's Point where they saw at least 4 different Cuckoos.  However, the afternoon also scored as the morning female had returned to her position in the hedgerows she had patrolled in the morning.  They were all able to enjoy a long look at her as she flew north over an Oilseed Rape field.

 Cuckoo (c) 2012 Tony Robinson