Easterlies

There has been easterly winds over the last few days so me, Mark and Paz decided to do Spurn last Sunday, we arrived to news we had just missed a Honey Buzzard go through but at the Crown & Anchor car park we kicked off with brief views of an early Yellow Browed Warbler, there being no sign of the earlier Barred Warbler we carried on down to the Sandy Beaches Caravan Park where a Wryneck was showing, it was a bit flighty and moving round a bit but we eventually got several good views, there were also several large flocks of Waders passing by along the coast plus a small flock of Pale Bellied Brent Geese. After refreshments at the Blue Bell Cafe we headed to Southfield Farm where a Red Breasted Flycatcher flitted about in a Sycamore then further along the road an early Great Grey Shrike was hunting the fields, after missing another Barred Warbler by the Canal we headed back to the Crown & Anchor car park and whilst having lunch got more views of the Yellow Browed plus Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher. We headed for Kilnsea Wetlands next where two Little Stints pottered around but there was little else of note so we carried on to Sammy’s Point, a good few Whinchats, Wheatears and Redstarts were around, Little Egrets on the foreshore and a Med Gull with the Black Headed on a ploughed field then at the main bushes after a bit of hide and seek a Red Breasted Flycatcher eventually showed well in the late afternoon sunshine.

Sandy Beaches Wryneck

a posing Snipe on Canal Scrape

 

 

GG Shrike

plus Wheatears

Redstarts

and Pied Flys

 

two Little Stints on Kilnsea Wetlands

RB Fly at Sammy's

Day off today, as had Mark and along with Pete Watson we thought we'd see what Flamborough had to offer, we drove into the fog at the top of Garrowby Hill and that was it for the rest of the day, even though visibility was poor we hoped the murk might drop something in but it remained fairly quiet all day, a few Garden Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats, Redstarts and Whinchats were about the best of it, Mark also had a few Bramblings, a mid-afternoon sojourn to Bempton produced the best bird of the day, a showy Red Breasted Flycatcher along the Nature Trail, a shame the light wasn't better, also a Spotted Flycatcher in the Dell, we ended up back at Flamborough where a Yellow Browed Warbler had been found in gardens along Lighthouse Road but it proved rather elusive, Mark got a brief view and we heard it call but eventually gave it up as a bad job.

RB Fly in the murk at Bempton

 

plus Spotted

 

Flamborough

I headed off to Flamborough again this morning but even though the wind was in the right direction it was a bit too light resulting in a fairly quiet day, there were quite a few common migrants about, particularly Whinchats and a couple of Barred Warblers that I managed to miss but nothing to get the pulses racing, nothing much moving at sea neither, a Hobby was a nice bonus over Old Fall Plantation while watching Flycatchers.

a few Gulls and Fulmars past the Head but the sea was quiet

Lesser Whitethroat

Pied Fly's

Yellowhammer down Old Fall but the Whinchats kept their distance

Black Tailed Godwit at Thornwick Pools

and two Greenshanks this week, still posing

Heron dropped in front of the hide

Spot Fly's at Old Fall plantation

plus Willow Warbler

Dunnock popped out, Garden Warbler remained hidden

still quite a few Migrant Hawkers about

 

 

Autumn begins

I went out after work last Thursday the 28th Aug to Blacktoft Sands hoping the previous days Temminck's Stint would still be present, it wasn't, in fact there weren't many Waders at all, a Spotted Redshank, a couple of Black Tailed Godwits and a handful of Ruff were about it, probably the only bird of note, for the reserve at least, was a female Pintail on Singleton lagoon.

the female Pintail, remained distant

even the Marsh Harriers weren't very active

 

Sunday the 31st Aug I was out with Mark and the original plan had been to start at Scarborough but after negative news on the Greenish Warbler the night before we changed it to Flamborough where Barred Warbler and Wryneck had been seen on the Saturday, both birds were still present in the Bay Brambles area when we got there but weren’t very co-operative to say the least and in fact Mark missed the Wryneck, we went on to Old Fall to look at the temporary Flashes, no Gulls but there was a smart juv Little Stint accompanying some Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A quick look at the sea a bit later proved rather quiet but a couple of summer plumaged Black Throated Divers flying North were nice then we went round to Thornwick Pools where a Greenshank and Dunlin posed nicely and a very pale Barn Owl flew past. The Greenish Warbler on Castle Hill at Scarborough had been found again that morning and been showing on and off so mid-afternoon we headed off there, we got to the area it had been frequenting to be told it had been there half an hour ago but despite hanging around another two hours it never came back and we failed to see it.

 

Willow Warbler entertained while searching for the Barred

 

the Wryneck eventually popped up but was very flighty

 

and then the Barred Warbler revealed itself

confiding Greenshank

and Dunlin at Thornwick Pools

and a Meadow Pipit dropped in