Spurn at its Best

Chiffchaff

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Record only of Black Redstart in flight

Wheatear (male)

Wheatear (male)

Wheatear (female)

Wheatear (male)

Record only pic of Wheatear's rump

Linnet

Redwing

Brent Goose

Meadow Pipit

Peacock

Moorhen

Record only pic of Spotted Redshank

Record only pic of Spotted Redshank in flight

Teal

A gorgeous day at Spurn - is that an oxymoron? Great for passage migrants, especially passerines. Only the alleged Firecrests kept a low profile. It really felt like the first proper day of Spring.

Stone Creek - in early British Summer Time

Grey Partridge

Yellowhammer overload?

Hare

Barn Owl

The morning was sunnier than forecast, so breakfast was abandoned for a trip through Cherry Cobb Sands, Keyingham Marsh, Stone Creek & Sunk Island using the car as a hide. I got fairly close to Grey Partridge, Yellowhammers, and a Hare. There were 3 Barn Owls, but only one was near enough for pictures, and again they're disappointing. There were 2 different groups of c.20 Fieldfare: one near Cherry Cobb, and the next at Sunk Island, but they were wary & took flight before I could get close. The Roe Deer were nearer the road at this time in the morning, but pictures taken last week were better. Lots of activity among the Skylarks, which tend to go quiet after lunch, but again not close enough for pictures!

Kiplingcotes Station

Yellowhammer

Showing the rusty rump

Earlier this morning at Thorngumbald

Long-tailed Tit

LTT - contortionist!

Dunnock - collecting animal hairs

Goldcrest

Goldcrest - shame about the twigs in the way!

It was a bad forecast for today, so I went to Stone Creek before breakfast & then Kiplingcotes Station straight after breakfast. It was a morning of Yellowhammers. They occasionally allowed close views, but the males were mainly making their alarm calls, with only the odd burst of "Little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese"! There was a Chiffchaff singing from the large trees near the station when I arrived, but is was using the railway line as a migration corridor, so wasn't around for long. The Long-tailed Tits were also very close to the Station, whilst there were a couple of male Goldcrests either side of the station. It's a bit depressing when the clearest photo turns out to be a Dunnock collecting nesting material! Also present were Bullfinches, Red-legged Partridges and a very pale Pheasant. This venue will really improve when all the summer visitors arrive in the next few weeks.

Far Ings & Waters' Edge

Coltsfoot - standing in for a Chiffchaff!

Ruddy Duck aggression
Ruddy Duck Display

Ruddy Duck - blowing bubbles from breast feathers!

Tree Sparrow

Tree Sparrows

Blue Tit (male)

Bullfinch (male)

Greenfinch (male)

Magpie

Magpie

Reed Bunting (male)

Reed Bunting (female)

Little Grebe

Moorhen

A return visit to Far Ings in overcast conditions with a little light drizzle at times. The first real sign of Spring today – a singing Chiffchaff. I didn’t see it, so no photo, but the pic of the Coltsfoot helps to symbolise Spring’s arrival! It was very quiet, so I had most of the hides to myself, and many of the birds were similar to those of last week, but some of the photos are better including the belligerent male Ruddy Ducks. The passerines were taken around the feeding station, apart from the Reed Buntings which were directly under the Main Hide, and the Bullfinches feeding next to Reedy Hide. The Bittern didn’t boom or appear whilst I was there. I went on to Waters’ Edge in the afternoon, but there was no sign of the Redpolls or Siskins we saw in February. The Kingfisher was very vocal but elusive. The Coltsfoot photo was taken at this site, but represents only a small percentage of this species in flower there.