After visiting Spurn for Migfest 2019, I fell in love with the place. Seeing a Barred Warbler in the hand, as well as Marsh Warbler, White-rumped Sandpiper and my first ever Skuas provided a magical weekend - one that has been documented in the archives of this blog.
Fast forward 2 years; a global pandemic has prevented me from returning to this wonderful place. The understandable cancellation of the festival in 2020 was heartbreaking to me and meant that I had to wait yet another year to return to the place. But after seeing another years worth of mouth-watering sightings coming from Spurn, the time eventually came around for my second ever Migfest.
Having managed to buy my weekend ticket prior to them selling out, I made the decision to do the long drive myself. So after a 5 hour drive in which I saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Red Kite and even managed to year tick a Grey Partridge, I arrived at Spurn and began setting up my tent...
Day 1 - 10/09/2021
After setting up the tent, I was left with a good 4 or 5 hours left of daylight. Firstly, I headed out to the Canal to prioritise looking for the elusive Rosefinch which had been reported for the previous week or so. As I got there it was evident that a few other birders had had the same idea, with a lucky few having even seen the bird on the feeders amongst the Sparrows. After standing around looking for the Rosefinch for a good while, and even being joined by a Hobby at one point, I decided to continue on down the canal path. 2 Whinchats were seen hanging around nearby, making for the first good sighting of the weekend.
However, migrants were to be thin on the ground throughout the weekend (due to the unfavourable winds). Having said this though, a Wheatear and 2 Willow Warblers were also added to the weekends list - making for a fairly decent start to the trip.
Having discovered this lack of migrants, I decided to head to the seawatching hide to try my luck. This proved to be a good decision as it resulted in 2 Arctic Skuas (including a self found bird) which was a most welcome year tick. Many Auk species flashed past as well as Gannets and a single Fulmar - making for a rather satisfactory seawatch. The seawatch may have even been outstanding if one of us had managed to identify a Skua species which flew past (looking suspiciously like a Pomarine Skua). But with the movement of seabirds beginning to slow down and the onset of cold, I decided to retire from birding for the day. Gladly, I headed to the Crown and Anchor for an evening meal of Hunters chicken and a pint!
Day 2 - 11/09/2021
This was to be the only full day at Spurn that I would get - so I was going to make the most of it. Therefore, I uncharacteristically awoke at 5:50AM in preparation for the mornings seawatch and to maximise my day of birding. On the walk up to the hide, a Wheatear made for a good photo opportunity in the discovery zone car park!
When I arrived at the seawatching hide at 6:45AM, I had no idea about the eventful morning that was to be in store for me. The seawatch started fairly well with large numbers of Terns as well as Red-throated Divers and Auk species flying past. Just 15 minutes in (at around 07:00) the first Skua species of the day was called. But this was no ordinary Arctic, to my delight it was quickly identified to be a juvenile Long-tailed Skua by one of the Spurn locals! A bird which had been hanging around the area for a little while. Needless to say, this was a lifer for me and a top, top bird that I really wasn't expecting to see over the weekend! The early start had certainly payed off. After the excitement of this sighting had worn off slightly, a group of half a dozen Little Gulls feeding off 'The sub-station' kept me entertained in addition to more Red-throated Divers, a close in Guillemot, 4 Common Scoters and another Wheatear. The ringing of Tree Sparrows was also a pleasant spectacle. At 07:50 a Skua was yet again picked up by the keen seawatchers; it was the Long-tailed Skua again spoiling us with more good views!
Proceedings continued to hotten up with my first Great Skua of the year and a juvenile Arctic Skua flying past within 3 minutes of each other - providing more entertainment for the crowd of birders. The only pale phased Skua I saw all weekend (in the form of another Arctic Skua) then followed suit at 08:35. 2 Snipe also came in off the sea. Things really began to get spicy when one of the nearby vismiggers managed to briefly glimpse the elusive Rosefinch distantly in his scope. At almost the same time, one of the ringers announced that they'd caught a Pied Flycatcher! Torn between which sighting to pursue, I decided to enjoy watching the Pied Flycatcher being ringed from a matter of metres away (nearly as good as seeing the Barred Warbler being ringed 2 years ago!)
Although I'd be hesitant to call watching a Pied Flycatcher being ringed a mistake, well... ...it was a mistake! As when I finally rocked up to the Warren to look for the Rosefinch, I discovered that I had missed it again; this time only by a couple of minutes! Feeling a mixture of emotions, I decided to head back to North Field to cure my hunger with a bacon butty (courtesy of the wonderful Spurn ladies). After devouring my breakfast, I gladly headed back out to the Canal for another look for the Rosefinch - to no avail. However, a Turnstone on the Humber was a bit of compensation. After heading back to base for a Jacket Potato, I decided to have a rest by the tent, even opting for a little lie down. Needless to say, I missed an Osprey flying south over the Humber... After being rested, watered and fed, I decided to head to the talk by Juliet Vickery about the decline of the Wood Warbler - an interesting listen. After this finished, I had around 40 minutes to kill before the young birders walk to Kilnsea Wetlands. So I opted for a walk down Beacon lane and back. Again, the lack of migrants was evident, with a solitary Willow Warbler being the best I could muster up.
Eventually, it was time for the young birders walk - meeting at the rendezvous of the Spurn Bird Observatory car park. After realising that there were a few familiar faces on the walk, I headed out with the others towards Kilnsea Wetlands. As we arrived at the first view point before the hide, we immediately came across the 3 Little Stints which had been reported earlier in the day - a good year tick and only the second time I'd ever seen the species. After the Stints were disturbed and flew onto the spit in front of the hide, we decided to amble towards the hide. Here, the Little Stints showed brilliantly whilst some of us had some banter about the 3PM football matches which were on that day! A Sanderling also provided a support cast for the Stints.
After exhausting the hide and the following viewpoint for its birds, we headed up along the path towards Beacon Lane, where I spotted 2 Wheatears keeping us company on the mounds of soil. The following walk to Beacon ponds provided little of note - just a solitary Kestrel which hovered in the distance. We then decided to head back towards North Field, via Beacon Lane. This decision proved to be fruitful however, with a Pied Flycatcher showing well - a good-looking individual with strong markings and my second of the day.
Once we made it back to the campsite on North field, there was an hour to kill prior to the barbecue. As I had made an intrinsic vow to make the most of the weekend, I chose to head back out to the seawatching hide with a couple of the guys from the walk to have thirds(!) of the Long-tailed Skua, which had been aparrantly blogging around the Seawatching hide yet again. Gladly, we once again managed to connect with the bird - getting nice views which really emphasised its daintiness. It looked a lot lighter and elegant in the field than the Great or Arctic Skuas which I have only seen prior to this sighting. After we were completely satisfied by our views of the bird, our stomachs began to rumble and we elected to go to the barbecue.
Needless to say, the barbecue was phenomenal and there was a lovely evening atmosphere around North Field - a free beer was a welcome bonus!
After eating my food and chatting to a nice man whom I had met earlier in the day, the light began to fade. Instead of heading to the Crown and Anchor and retiring for the evening, I decided to head out to Sammy's point in the hope of seeing at least 1 of the reported 11 Short-eared Owls (yes 11!) which were flushed earlier in the day.
So, I headed out to Sammy's point with scope and tripod in one hand and beer in the other - birding done properly. Unsure of the way there, I eventually found the path to the point as I bumped into a fellow birder who reported negative news on the Owls. Nevertheless, I continued on as the sun began to set to the back drop of the Humber and the distant lights. Eventually, I reached the paddock in which the Owls had been seen previously. Here, there were two other birders who were looking for the birds to no avail. After a good scan of the fields, one of the birders (who only had binoculars on them) stated that they could see a bird moving in the field. After directing me to the bird, I got it in my scope and confirmed that there were indeed 2 Short-eared Owls sat in the field! No sooner had I said this than - to my delight - 5 Short-eared Owls began flying at the same time! A spectacular sight and by far the most of this species I have seen at once. What a great way to end a top day at Spurn. Eventually, it got too dark to have good views of the Owls so I headed back towards North Field. Whilst I enjoyed the sunset on the walk back, I felt truly, truly happy. It's mad how much joy birds and nature in general is able to bring me. Admittedly my happiness was supplemented by my realisation that Chelsea had won 3-0 earlier that day (as I managed to get a slight Internet connection)!
Day 3 - 12/09/2021
I was certainly delighted by the success of the previous day, however there was still no time for lie-ins as I awoke once again at 05:50. Again, I headed out towards the seawatching hide determined to see more goodies. With the change to northerly winds overnight, the prospect of looking for seabirds seemed more attractive. This was certainly the case when it came to Red-throated Divers - as I managed to personally see 43 of the birds over 1 and a half hours (giving me a total of 58 over the weekend)! Auk species were also moving fairly constantly, providing me a good lesson on how to identify the differences between Guillemots and Razorbills. The latter of these species was a long overdue lifer for me, but a lifer nevertheless! A flock of Grey Plover flew past close in and a Kittiwake could be seen blogging about fairly distantly. The occasional Skua was seen too, with 2 Arctic Skuas being seen early on by the onlooking seawatchers (the second of which I found). The third Skua sighted provided more excitement in all of us as some of the more expert seawatchers confirmed that this was yet again the Long-tailed Skua - my fourth sighting of the bird over the weekend. Not bad considering I had never seen one prior to the weekend! A close in Red-throated Diver also provided some entertainment whilst another Arctic Skua flew past; making for an entertaining seawatch.
I had originally planned on leaving the seawatching hide at 9ish. However, a call over the radio which stated that the Rosefinch had been seen at the Warren caused me to rush off. I wasn't going to hang around and miss it like I did the previous day. Luckily, I made the correct decision, as another birder spotted it flying into a bush next to the heligoland trap. A nervous wait followed before the bird once again flew out and into a bush on the opposite site of the Warren (the same bush I saw a Barred Warbler almost two years to the day) and showed briefly. By this time, a good 40 or so birders had began to arrive at the Warren, all eagerly hoping to see the bird. Luckily, the Rosefinch once again flew back into the previous bush by the heligoland trap. I positioned myself at an angle which I believed would give me the best possible chance of seeing the bird again. A kind birder next to me then announced that he had the bird in his scope and offered others to have a look through it. I gladly obliged and gained tickable views of the bird. Finally I had managed to see the elusive Rosefinch that had avoided me all weekend! A very nice lifer indeed.
With the adrenaline kicking in, I decided to end my trip on a high and headed back to North field to pack up my tent and belongings. A Whimbrel on the Humber next to the Canal provided me with some company for the journey back. After a brief wrestling match with my pop up tent, I packed everything into the car and picked up a copy of the Spurn Wildlife 2021 book. A flock of Golden Plover flew over my head before I headed towards Kilnsea Wetlands for one last look before heading home.
After arriving at the hide, I was treated to fantastic views of 2 Curlew Sandpipers which were right in front of the hide - yet another good year tick.
I also managed to pick out a few Greenshank in amongst the vast flock of Redshank. 3 Bar-tailed Godwits were also pointed out to me by a kind birder. Finally, a Mediterranean Gull was seen outside of the hide and a Green Sandpiper was showing well at the second viewpoint. Satisfied with my totals, I decided to call it a weekend and head home.
My second ever trip to Spurn did not disappoint - featuring 3 lifers and 21 year ticks! I have now seen Barred Warbler, White-rumped Sandpiper, Marsh Warbler, Rosefinch and Long-tailed Skua in just two trips to Spurn! Pretty outrageous if you ask me...
A big thanks must go to everyone who put the event on - including all the helpful volunteers and the Spurn ladies who were great as usual.
Spurn might just be my favourite place on Earth!
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