And....... breathe. After an incredible weekend in the field, I am now faced with the tricky task of writing about it in a way that can truly capture all the excitement. This could be a long one so buckle in...
Day 1 - 09/09/22
6AM. My alarm goes off and I uncharacteristically jump out of bed before loading the car and setting off swiftly - my aim being to maximise the amount of time that I spend at the birdwatching Mecca that is Spurn.
After 5 hours of driving I was finally greeted by the sight of Kilnsea Wetlands on the approach road to Spurn in addition to the myriad of birders that was only going to multiply over the weekend. After parking up and setting up my tent with relative ease, I set off on my first walk with the hope of connecting with my first rarity of the weekend - a juvenile Citrine Wagtail that had been lingering around the Riverside Hotel.
A Tree Sparrow feeding in the Observatory garden on the walk there was a good sign. And It appeared that my good run of seeing rarities was to continue as after 10 minutes or so of scanning through the multiple Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits, the group of birders was finally able to pick out the Citrine Wagtail with it's clean breast and strong supercillium feeding in the grass nearby. This allowed for a couple of dodgy record shots and provided me with some relief that I had my first lifer of the weekend in the bag and the knowledge that I didn't have to chase the bird around all weekend (like I had to with a certain Rosefinch last year).
After enjoying the bird for half an hour or so, I decided it was time to try and find some birds of my own. Due to its close proximity to the Riverside Hotel, I decided that the bushes at Sammy's point would be worth a look for migrants. So I headed up there embarking on the mile or so walk towards the paddocks. On the way up there a Wheatear posed obligingly whilst another birder informed me that there was a good number of migrants present - a promising sign of things to come. Just as I'd finished talking to him, I noticed a flicker in Chalky Point ditch. I could have sworn that I saw a bit of black and white - this notion was confirmed when I got on my first Pied Flycatcher of the weekend which was skulking in the reeds and behaving like a Reed Warbler! A remarkable sight mainly for its unlikely setting but a top year tick nonetheless.
Now my mind turned to my next target migrant - Redstart - which was another bird high on my list of things that I wanted to see over the weekend. As I got closer to the first Paddock, it became clear that the bushes were full of birds. And my next target was to be fulfilled as I noticed a distant bird flitting on a post before seeing its red tail as it flew back into the bushes - a Redstart and yet another year tick!
The next 2 or 3 hours was to be some of the best birding I've done in my life as migrants really were everywhere. More Pied Flycatchers showed down to just a couple of metres and Redstarts were quite literally the most common bird around! In fact one particular part of a fence held 2 Redstart and a Pied Flycatcher in the same scope view. The paddocks continued to reveal more birds, with 2 Spotted Flycatchers showing nicely as well as a Lesser Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler which both revealed themselves. A couple of Mediterranean Gulls also flew over my head revealing their Snow White underwing.
Needless to say it took me a long time to get to the last couple of paddocks due to the amount of birds that there were to look at. However, the grassy paddocks held 3 Whinchat (a new addition to my day's list) as well as a couple of obliging Wheatear. After finally arriving at the final paddock, I racked up another couple of Redstart and another Pied Flycatcher which showed nicely. I was truly in awe at the sheer number of migrants that I was witnessing. The walk back towards North Field was a very slow one as I enjoyed more of the same birds that I had witnessed on my walk up to Sammy's . A walk through the back of the paddocks was not as fruitful but Reed Bunting was added to the day's list. However, I wasn't done just yet on the migrant front. Yet another Redstart was noted in the bushes at Chalky Point. Whilst another brief look for the Citrine Wagtail at the Riverside Hotel (which had flown to Beacon Ponds) instead revealed yet another Redstart in the bushes behind the hotel!
Satisfied with the gluttony of migrants that I had seen, I decided to call it a day and headed back to North Field with a total of 7+ Pied Flycatcher, 9+ Redstart, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler and multiple Wheatears. What a spectacular start to Migfest and the leftovers from the previous week of easterly winds had provided. The day was rounded off nicely by a talk from Martin Collinson on DNA and birding. A thoroughly enjoyable end to the evening.
Day 2 - 10/09/22
I awoke at 5:50 AM - determined to make the most out of my only full day at Spurn. After dressing and brushing my teeth I headed down towards the sea-watching hide to try and get some more seabirds on my year list. Upon arrival there was a fairly steady movement of birds in the Northerly winds. Red-throated Divers were flying past regularly with other common seabirds such as Kittiwake, Common Scoter and Fulmar being added to the trip list. 2 Arctic Skuas were also noted - a welcome year tick for me. But things really hotted up with a call of Sooty Shearwater from one of the other seawatchers. But... well I missed it! I was really disappointed in not being able to pick up the apparently very distant bird. But my blushes were spared at around half 7 when a much closer Sooty Shearwater was called which I managed to pick up in my scope - second time lucky. This was a quality bird to add to my year list and was the first time I had seen this species since my trip to Cornwall in 2020. But the spoils didn't end there as I managed to pick up another Sooty Shearwater that was called at around 5 past 8. A Redstart was also ringed. Just before 9 I decided to call it a day for seawtaching as I had quite frankly had enough. I began to scan the Humber and witnessed thousands of waders on the mud distantly - including Little Ringed and Golden Plovers.
But my attention was diverted when I saw a bit of commotion by the steps to the seawtaching hide. I briskly walked towards the scene and was informed that a Great Skua was heading out over the Humber. I managed to get my scope on it and thus another solid year tick was had. A nice unexpected moment. As my stomach started rumbling I decided to head back to base at North Field for a butty of the Spurn Ladies - but not before popping into the Canal Scrape hide. There were 2 Siskin perched amongst the Goldfinches outside (an unexpected bonus year tick) but even better was to come from the hide where there were 2 more Redstarts and a Pied Flycatcher perched distantly in the bushes. After enjoying these birds for a while, I finally headed back to North Field and got my (by-now) late breakfast.
The next mission of the day was to visit both Beacon Ponds and Kilnsea Wetlands which had apparently been on fire lately. I decided to head there via Beacon Lane which was relatively quiet. After briefly getting lost, I eventually made it to Beacon Ponds where a Curlew Sandpiper was showing very close by on the nearby wetlands. 3 Spoonbills also stood asleep on the island before one of the individuals eventually woke up and had a preen. I then turned my attention to Beacon Ponds which held some close Knot, as well as another Wheatear amongst the Meadow Pipits.
After being informed of the whereabouts of a Caspian Gull, I decided to head towards the hide at Kilnsea Wetlands but not before stopping at the viewing screen to see some close views of Ruff and Dunlin. Finally, I arrived at the hide and was immediately pointed in the direction of a Wood Sandpiper which was walking on the island closest to the hide - superb views of another species which I don't get to see too regularly. I was then pointed in the direction of my second ever Caspian Gull which was sat covertly behind a patch of grass nearby to the Spoonbills. It's white head was the only visible feature but nonetheless I was delighted with yet another year tick! Spending a considerable amount of time in the hide, I watched many Black-tailed Godwit's in addition to a Kittiwake which sat on the water fairly distantly. A Yellow Wagtail also flew past the hide calling - providing another tidy addition to the trip's list
With news of the Citrine Wagtail's return to the Riverside Hotel, I headed there for seconds of the bird which yet again showed well in the grass amongst the Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails. When I was satisfied I headed back to North Field for lunch.
At this point I could relax a bit - having seen a huge number of species including most of the target birds. This meant that a ride on the Unimog to the point was a welcome change of scenery and provided a chance of finding something decent in a less watched area. The 20 minute ride to the point provided some class views of Grey Seals on the beach as well as a Sparrowhawk over the vehicle.
However, the point proved to be fairly birdless but a solitary Wheatear kindly greeted us on arrival, barely moving whatsoever. Further down the loop to the point there proved to be some obliging Linnet in addition to the odd Meadow Pipit moving over (an occurrence that happened all weekend). But the best moment on the point occurred when I picked out a bird which perched up distantly on a bush. After swiftly getting my scope on it, it proved to be a Common Redstart. However, views were extremely brief and the group went in search of more views of the bird. This eventually proved fruitful as our guide managed to relocate the bird in a nearby bush. It was fairly flighty and elusive but most of the group managed to see it. Sadly we had no luck with the Black Redstart at Parade Ground and as a result we headed back to the Warren.
Upon arrival at the Warren, I decided to head back slowly to North Field slowly for the barbecue with a nice bloke that I met on the trip to the point. On the way we got more views of the same Redstarts and Pied Flycatcher that I had seen earlier in the day from the canal hide. Further down the Canal path we then watched another Pied Flycatcher and a Spotted Flycatcher fly-catching from the apple trees in Cliff Farm with the waft of the Barbecue drifting towards us in the northerly wind - a fantastic end to a great full day which featured a remarkable variety of species.
The evening was wonderful with the infamous Spurn barbecue being enjoyed by all - a flock of 47 Little Gulls flying over the field whilst eating my burger was quite literally mouth-wateringly good. A truly magical moment. I then participated in a bird-orientated quiz was had which featured both a bird identifying picture round and Spurn knowledge round. Me and my newfound mate got a fairly respectable 24 out of 42 overall! The day was then rounded off with a talk by Alex Lees on vagrancy which was incredibly interesting. Learning about mirror image migration and the different internal and external factors involved in vagrancy was eye-opening.
Day 3 - 11/09/22
The 11th September 2022 will be a day of birding that lives in my memory for a long time. However, it started fairly unremarkably. My alarm clock went off at 5:50AM yet again and I managed to drag myself out of bed to head down to the seawtaching hide yet again. This time, seawtaching proved to be much more difficult as visibility was so poor that it was hard to even make out the wind turbines which are used as markers by the birders. Movement on the sea was also slower than the day previous. However a steady trickle of Red-throated Divers and a couple of Fulmar kept me entertained. A pair of Arctic Skua were certainly the highlight of the morning's seawatch whilst another Arctic Skua sat on the sea briefly. A few more Little Gulls fed distantly whilst at least 31 Common Scoter passed. A Grey Wagtail flew over the seawtaching hide calling and thus completed my quadruple of Wagtail species over the weekend! In between bits of seawatching, I also walked down the stairs to watch the odd bit of ringing take place. Both a Sparrowhawk and yet another Redstart were ringed just metres from me!
I must admit that by around quarter to 9 I had lost the will to do any more seawatching due to the lack of visibility and the damp. As a result I headed down the steps to the warren passing a Common Whitethroat being ringed which I paused to watch. I then went to the Humber viewpoint where I watched two close Golden Plover and 2 Greenshank which were new to the trip's list.
At around 9, I was stood at the Humber viewing screen when I noticed some excitement at the top of the stairs to the seawatching hide. There's the ocassional moment like this in birdwatching when you can just sense the excitement in the air. Naturally, I had to find out what was going on and it transpired that a probably Pallid Harrier had just flown over North Field. I ran up the stairs to the high ground next to the seawtaching hide and pointed my scope north at the ready. There was an extremely tense wait whilst the bird was tracked by various viewers over the walky talky before finally somebody picked the bird up distantly and heading our way. I was panicking at this point as I was unable to see the bugger as it got closer and headed up the Humber. Eventually the hundreds of waders over the humber went up and it was at this point that I managed to see the Pallid Harrier in my binoculars fairly distantly - but close enough to make out the ringtail. I rushed back towards the viewpoint to try and get a better view as the bird was heading that way. However, before it got there it did a U-turn and headed back north to Easington straight after which it was never seen again.
Phew... what a moment of excitement and magic that I don't think anybody was expecting. But this typifies the main of Spurn - truly anything can happen at any time. Despite only seeing the bird for about 10-15 seconds I felt extremely fortunate to connect with it and it was certainly a case of right place right time. What a bird - by far the best I have ever seen at Migfest and that really is saying something!
After half an hour of waiting for the bird's return to no avail, I finally headed back to North Field via a brief visit to Canal Scrape in which I again saw the male Redstart. Luckily I was just in time for the last egg bap with a dirty great big grin on my face - all in a morning's work!!!
Finally, I got around to packing up the tent and my belongings in the car in record time. But before I went I couldn't resist a last trip to Sammy's Point for another look for migrants. However, I was in a rush so didn't spend as much time as I'd like looking at the bushes - the best I could muster up was another Whinchat at chalky point. Eventually I headed back to North Field to say my goodbyes and then embarked on the 5 hour drive home.
What a weekend and this was by far my favourite migfest with the Pallid Harrier being the standout bird. The sheer number of migrants was also outstanding - personal migrant totals of 15 Redstart, 9 Pied Flycatcher, 4 Whinchat, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler and multiple Wheatears ensured the festival certainly lived up to its name. A total of 2 lifers and a whopping 17 year ticks seriously bolstered my lists. Over the last 3 migfests (all of which are documented in previous blogs) I have seen: Pallid harrier, Citrine Wagtail, Sooty Shearwater, Rosefinch, Long-tailed Skua, Barred Warbler, Marsh Warbler and White-rumped Sandpiper. What a top list of birds!
Finally, I would like to thank Rob Adams and everyone who ran the event - including the brilliant Spurn Ladies. But more importantly thank you to the birds...
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