Spurn, late autumn '22

Pallas's Warbler on the beach!

Another quick dive into this autumn's memory cards, this time to pull out a few shots from Spurn in late October and early November.

Male Bearded Tit at the Warren

We were there guiding for the third autumn running, and happy to say that once again our tours were a great success, with lots of lovely clients and amazing experiences. As is now our pattern, we're there for two five-day weeks - roughly speaking the third week of October and the first week of November - and I guide a small team of different guests every day, while Rich leads the residential group.

Male Black Redstart

Barn Owl in the late afternoon sun at Kilnsea Wetlands

The scheduling of the tours is of course intended to coincide with the best of late autumn migration - personally my favourite time of the year for birding on the coast - and while it's impossible to predict the extent to which migration (visibly) prevails, it always does, without fail; and this time round, we hit it bang on the nail, just as famine turned to feast.

Sparrowhawk (above) and Common Buzzard (below)

Weeks of painfully stifling south-westerlies became bird-filled, fall-inducing easterlies (with rain!) as our first week hit its stride, and then another wave arrived just as week two commenced - we couldn't have planned it any better....

Redwing (above) and Goldcrest (below) - both stars of the show, both in their multitudes

Highlights included such treats as Pallas's Warbler, Scaup, Long-eared and Short-eared Owls, Hawfinches, masses of Redwings and Blackbirds, Ring Ouzels, hundreds of Bramblings, Goldcrests and Robins, Jack Snipe, Little Gulls, Great Egrets, Siberian Lesser Whitethroats, Yellow-browed Warblers....

Black Redstart outside my bedroom window at the Obs

... Siberian Chiffchaffs, Firecrests, hundreds of Siskins and Twite, Snow Buntings, Tundra Bean Geese, Red-rumped Swallows (including our group found adult on 3rd Nov, below), Woodcocks, double figures of Black Redstarts, Black Brant, Bearded Tits, Merlins...

Snow Bunting at the breach

... and that's before you mention the vast array of expected commoner species in their multitudes across the wetlands, mudflats, estuary and farmland. We're already excited about next year, and the places are now available on the website - why not join us in autumn '23? CLICK HERE for details!

Spot the Hen Harrier over Sandy Beaches

Whoopers - resting on the Humber (above).....

Thanks to the lovely locals, particularly the obs team, including Rob, Paul, Kate, Matt, Duerden, and the resident birders for making as feel more welcome than ever - see you on the other side!

... and incoming over the North Sea

Grey Plover in almost full breeding garb

because you can never have enough Barn Owls

Shetland, August '22 - the locals

Bonxies against blooming heather at Wester Quarff

Arctic Skua at the end of our road in Lerwick

Shetland Wren

Breeding Fulmars

Breeding Red-throated Divers

Twite - common and approachable

The only white-winger of the trip - a leucistic Starling at Wester Quarff

Shetland, August '22 - migrants

Hobby at Wester Quarff - a Shetland rarity, no less! 

Skimming through this year's memory cards has reminded me (finally) to address a couple of trips I didn't get chance to post about at the time, first up being a wonderful couple of weeks on a road trip north of the border in late August - most of which was spent on Shetland.

One of a scattering of freshly-arrived Pied Flycatchers in iconic Shetland habitat 

Thanks to our dear friends Eike, Andrew and Artus, we (Amity and I) had a place to stay in Lerwick and an extended team to enjoy the islands with, and it was a memorably great trip in every respect. Not primarily a birding trip of course - and all the better for it, believe me - but I had plenty of opportunity to nip out for pre-breakfast sessions and naturally also enjoy what we came across while wandering far and wide.

A male Common Redstart, which dropped in by the car during a shower on Fetlar

It was a little early for the main migration period, but I still stumbled on a few decent birds on morning circuits, including Hobby, Barred and Icterine Warblers, but the highlights from a migratory perspective were often commoners, and it was all about the context; for example, warblers and flycatchers materialising in the quarries on Sumburgh Head, or a very early Fieldfare dropping out a heavy rainstorm there, were more than enough.

A Garden Warbler in Sumburgh quarry

And to be honest, whether it was hikes, landscapes, journeys, Otters, time with friends, exploring islands, Orcas, local culture or whatever, the myriad highlights were (whisper it) mostly non-avian; it was a really great trip and we were very lucky to have the opportunity to do it when we did.

Pied Flys, ditto

Two very different Willow Warblers, above at Sumburgh, below at Quendale

Fieldfare fresh-in at Sumburgh, 23rd August

A Basking Shark and a cairn at the north-east tip on Unst - none more Shetland

Freezing fog in Filey

Temperatures are well below zero here in Filey recently, and with a sweeping blanket of freezing frog gently rolling in and out, everything is covered in thick, glittery ice. Beautiful. 

(Pics: Redwing, Goldfinches, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackcap)

Guiding at Filey and Bempton, 10th December '22

Yesterday was the first of a series of my Winter Birding Days here on the Yorkshire coast through December and January, and it was fine way to begin. With temperatures having plunged of late, but conditions otherwise on our side, I met my lovely team of clients (all welcome returnees) here at Filey, where we spent the first and main part of the day.

The beach, the bay and the bay corner were our first ports of call, and produced a close-in Great Northern Diver, Great Crested Grebe, auks and Red-throated Divers on the sea, Sanderlings, Purple Sandpipers, Turnstones and Redshanks close-up on the shore, and Stonechats, Rock Pipits and other passerines in the shelter of the bay corner.

It was while watching the latter that we enjoyed one of the stand-out highlights of the day - a Woodcock straight in off the sea, along the flank of Carr Naze, straight past us and up into the Country Park; perfect views of an incoming migrant that happened to arrive at the perfect time, from Scandinavia or perhaps Russia. Magical.

Our next session was up on Carr Naze, looking down into the bay, along the Brigg and up along the North Cliff. Lots on offer with a bit of patience, including a minimum of three Great Northern Divers, a male Goldeneye, Common Scoters, more Purple Sandpipers, Curlew, Shags, Teal, Wigeon, more Red-throated Divers and, happily, three Little Auks feeding off the Brigg end - a lifer for two of our party and a fine reward for sticking it out in the cold.

After lunch, we finished the day at a wonderfully quiet Bempton Cliffs, where (as a bonus) there happened to be lots of seabirds on and off the ledges - multitudes of Guillemots, Razorbills and Fulmars, wirth plenty of Gannets and gulls kicking around, more Teal, a female Goosander, and the star of the session - a super-tame Snow Bunting on the path just beyond Staple Newk.

As the light faded and the temperatures dipped further, a last wander round the reserve produced lots of hardy passerines dropping it to roost, including lots of finches and buntings, with half a dozen tame Corn Buntings showing off nicely and book-ending a lovely day with lovely folk.

December's trips are booked up, but there's still places left in January - see *here*.