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| From Nighthawks over the NY cabin to a Nightjar in a tiny suburban Filey garden.... |
After such a relaxing time in the picturesque outback of upstate New York, swimming in forest lakes, watching flocks of Nighthawks swirling over the treetops during dusk cook-outs on the porch, bumping into bears and porcupines and basking in warm sunshine, we grudgingly returned home in early September; it was at least a return timed just as activity was due to kick in back on the Yorkshire coast, however, and it turned out to be a highly enjoyable and productive migration season back home.
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| Purple Sandpipers were back in numbers, as usual, by mid-autumn on the Brigg... |
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| ... along with a variety of other waders, some of which were just passing through, like this Curlew Sandpiper |
September was dominated by low pressure systems and a south-westerly airflow - in short, crappy for grounded drift migrants, crappy for sea-watching, and pretty much crappy for everything else - except visible migration, that is, and so that's what recieved the most attention. I've experimented with several vismig watchpoints locally in previous years, all with different strengths and weaknesses, but have pretty much settled on Reighton Sands (at the very southern point of the Filey recording area, on the border with Flamborough's).
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| A smart male Bullfinch migrating south at Reighton Sands. It was a strong season for visible migration, with much of the action peaking in September... |
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| ..... but continuing in fits and starts throughout October (southbound coasting Yellowhammer pictured) |
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| A southbound Greenfinch sneaking through in a Siskin flock shortly after dawn at Reighton Sands |
Activity peaked during the beginning of the third week of the month, and after a plea for help from Keith a little further north at Hunmanby Gap on the early morning of the 20th, I abandoned my spot (with waves of passerines heading over) and joined him for fantastically busy morning:
Vismig continued to be productive, but even in generally discouraging conditions, there are always signs of activity elsewhere in October, and the sea always delivers - the afternoon of the 5th, for instance, providing all four skuas, good Manxie passage, Little Gulls and a Balearic Shearwater off the Brigg. The latter species was represented well during the month, with terns (including Roseate), waders and other seabirds all on the move to varying degrees.
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| Balearic Shearwater heading north with Manxies off the Brigg |
As the month found its feet, conditions (at least intermittently) began to favour incoming continental migration, and with an increased workload at the Living Seas Centre, Flamborough - particularly South landing, and often the (actual) doorstep of my workplace - happily played an increasingly major part in my local birding once again.
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| One of many Siberian Chiffchaffs at Flamborough in a particularly good autumn for them here |
Flurries of winter thrushes and finches were a feature of many a day there, with (somewhat belated) Yellow-browed Warblers cheerfully tsooeting among Bramblings, Siskins, Chiffys and Redwings in the canopy; a minimum of six Yellow-brows scattered around the office at South Landing on 8th on a brisk south-westerly bode well for the following week, when the wind was due to swing south-easterly...
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| Yellow-brow outside the office window at the LSC - this bird even burst into song for a while.... |
... and the 11th was a particular joy, spent on the tip of the head in the lighthouse and bay area, lapping up a constant stream of fresh arrivals in off the North Sea - hundreds of Song Thrushes, Bramblings and Skylarks, plus plenty of other thrushes, finches and passerines streamed in, with plenty of grounded migrants to enjoy across the headland too; a taste of things to come later in the month.
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| Same branch, different (sub)species - collybita and tristis pretending not to notice each other in Old Fall, Flamborough |
After lots of preparation, the 13th saw the beginning of the Filey and Flamborough Ringing and Migration Week, or Migweek. The full story can be found here, but it was undoubtedly the best and most inspiring Migweek yet.
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| Lots of media attention helped attract a much wider audience to this year's Migweek, which translates into a higher profile for and a better understanding of local wildlife and conservation efforts - as well as more interest, memberships and merchandise sales for both observatories |
With such a fantastic team helping to deliver a packed schedule of talks, walks, vismig and reserve drop-ins, workshops, ringing demos and plenty of other events and activities, it was always going to be a blast, but with dramatic arrivals of birds descending from the continent (and plenty of scarcities and rarities) to keep everyone more than entertained, it could barely have gone any better.
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| Waxwing, fresh in at the lighthouse |
It really is a pleasure to organise, and particularly gratifying to receive so much positive feedback and appreciation - and we're very proud to keep everything about Migweek completely free and open to everyone. Long may it continue to inspire and connect a broad range of visitors and locals alike with the incredible phenomenom of bird migration and wildlife in general...
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| A Red-necked Phalarope was a bonus in Bridlington harbour just before Bob Flood's excellent talk for FBO |
But migration itself was far from over. In fact, the best was yet to come, and the last week of October further strengthened its position as my favourite week of the year by providing a rich, varied, across-the-spectrum migration experience to savour.
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| Dark-bellied Brent by the Brigg |
The start of the week began innocously enough, with mild westerlies and a few decent but expected returns (Red-necked Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Little Gull, a few Brents on the move through Filey), but the 26th ushered in a blustery north-westerly, and with it a fine afternoon's seawatching from the Brigg (Leach's Storm-petrel close in over the breakers and 23 Pomarine Skuas being the pick).
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| Seawatching from South Landing on 27th... |
The following day saw the conditions take a sharp turn for the worse (i.e. better) with a strong, bone-chilling northerly and squally, wintry showers... but I was at work again, for my final weekend at the Living Seas Centre; however, it just so happened to be CoCoast Bioblitz Day, and what better way to contribute than to seawatch South Landing from the car?
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| ... and the seawatching hide |
Which provided plenty of quality (Little Auk, Scaup, Pom Skua, Red-necked Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Sooty, Manx, lots of wildfowl and incoming passerines), but the following day - my last at work - was to be even better. Before that, however, came what was (and remains) an almost surreal birding experience, as I locked up the LSC in the last of the twilight - no fewer then ten inbound Hooded Crows heading inland!
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| Madness! |
Come the 28th and the centre was mercifully dead (understandable given the conditions), and so I maximised my birding time by seawatching - again from the bottom of the slope - for almost three hours before opening up, then again for an early (long) lunch hour, and for much of the rest of the time I was on the balcony vismigging from the deck.
A full account of a 'working' weekend to remember can be found here, but suffice to say 117 Little Auks, 252 Common Scoters, a Black Guillemot, two Long-tailed Ducks, a Velvet Scoter, a Scaup, a Black-throated Diver, four Great Northern Divers, 15 Goldeneye, eight Pomarine Skuas, a Sooty and a few Manxies, a Goosander and few Mergansers, plus Hawfinch, Little Auk, Hooded Crow and lots more struggling in and past the LSC made for a very enjoyable day.
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| Long-tailed Ducks heading south off the Brigg kiked off the action on 29th... |
I'd fought hard to keep the next few days free, and so with the northerly airflow continuing (with tantalising hints of east included), I birded pretty much dawn to dusk. I began the 29th at Filey, clocking Red-necked Grebe, Little Auk and Long-tailed Ducks from Carr Naze, but with passerines streaming in overhead, I opted to check the cover in the Country Park - and while going through a flock of redpolls in Arndale, got a call from Dan, ringing in the Top Scrub just a couple of hundred metres north...
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| Coues's a pretty boy then? |
An account of the day can be found here, but a great day's birding (with great company) included not one but two Arctic Redpolls - one at Filey (above) and the other, perhaps the most ridiculously tame rarity I've ever seen, by the path at Bempton at dusk (below). The east coast at its best.
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| phwoar |
The 30th was hard work in very strong north-easterlies, but South Landing again provided (including three Sibe Chiffs, two Hooded Crows, three Yellow-brows, a Great Grey Shrike (nice one Ana!), more Mealy Redpolls etc), but most frustrating were several flight views of what had to have been a beefy male Northern Bullfinch in the Bay Brambles; conditions beat me, and I put it out as a probable and hoped for the best tomorrow....
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| beep beep |
... when it did the very decent thing by re-appearing, giving good views and crucially tooting like only a true northerner could.
(November and December to follow soon)
