Guiding at Spurn, 27th April - 1st May '26

I'm just back from guiding a lovely group for Yorkshire Coast Nature at the mighty Spurn Bird Observatory, which was an absolute joy in every sense.

Hawfinch at Kew Villa

I've had the pleasure of guiding at Spurn for many years now, but the usual routine is for me to lead five consecutive days with a different team every day, alongside our five-day residential group; this time, I took care of the latter, and therefore a more relaxed, laid-back approach was better suited.

Black Brant among Dark-bellied Brents on Kilnsea Wetlands

Brents and the lighthouse 

Weather-wise, we'd a brisk wind off the North Sea for much of it, but it wasn't oppressively strong and steadily decreased (and became milder) as the week wore on - and who's to complain at almost wall-to-wall sunshine throughout...? Big skies, almost cloudless by day and with killer sunsets at dusk, and the kind of conditions that inspire every freshly-arrived passerine to sing fervently and heartily.

Black Redstart

Highlights were numerous, but included: a point-blank Hawfinch (feeding practically at our feet), Black Brant and pale-bellied Brent among hundreds of dark-bellied Brents, Ring Ouzels, Wood Sandpiper, many stunning breeding plumage waders (including Grey Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits), cracking male Black and Common Redstarts, Hobby, Swift and hirundine passage, shedloads of warblers and Wheatears, Yellow Wagtails, Tree Pipit, Little Terns...

.... and in a frantic, serendipitous final session, churring Nightjar (above) and showy Wryneck (below) within twenty metres of each other. To have these too legendarily cryptic species practically alongside each other under crystal clear blue skies felt like a classically Spurn spring moment.

Another great trip to this always magical place, which was once again greatly augmented by the generosity and help of the Obs crew and all the local Spurn birders - our team left with nothing but praise for the birding community (and armfuls of merchandise from the hub, of course...). Thanks again, folks.

Ring Ouzel (above), saucy Avocets (below)

If you'd like to join me there in autumn, places are available HERE.

A couple of runs along Easington Straight, good early prep for something coming up soon....

Wheatears, Eyemouth, April '26

Catching up with trans-Saharan migrants on the east coast in spring is often easier said than done, and - unless you're lucky enough to be out there most days - they can often elude you well after the first waves have arrived. Wheatears are a classic case in point, and with few opportunities to bird on the coast thus far this spring, they've given me the body-swerve (meaning I've had Willow Warblers, Whitethroats, Yellow Wagtails etc. before them....).

So, weirdly, my first of the year were in the Scottish valleys, flitting along the tracks down Strathdearn and elsewhere; a reflection of my lifestyle and schedule these days (of which i've no complaints). But with a couple of hours free for birding at Eyemouth on the way back down from the Highlands - see last post - I was hopeful of catching up with one, or more, back on the coast.

Which turned out to be an absolute joy of a session on the very edge of the coast, where the tightly-mown golf course meets the jagged rocks and breaking waves. In warm sunshine, I found a handful of birds frequenting this small area, with one in particular proving to be outrageously tame.

I approached with caution, but when it ran towards me, I soon realised it was one of those birds that gave less than a flying one about my presence as it fed avidly on grubs dug up from just beneath the grass.

After a while I lay down on my front, and before long, the bird was feeding literally around my head; the photos here were taken while it was still in camera range, and before it got way too close, which is when I put the camera down and just relished the experience. So close I could hear its bill clacking gently between forays, it was a long time before I got up and reluctantly moved on, leaving it and the others to continue feeding up for their ongoing journeys.

Absolute magic.

Eyemouth - 19th & 20th April '26

Brown Hare and European Rabbit (click on photos to enlarge) 

As regular readers will know well, I've been stopping over at Eyemouth (on the coast of the Scottish borders) on my way to and from the Highlands for some years now, and with increasing frequency as my trips north of the border multiply year-on-year.

 

Overnighting this last week on my way back down from our latest School of Birding (see last post), I enjoyed a late evening session there, which was notable for good numbers of farmland species (as well as many Hares) in a large, untreated, fallow field, and a particularly accommodating Peregrine hunting the cliffs (see below), as well as Ravens, a fresh-in Willow Warbler on the clifftop and then inland, and plenty of seabirds breeding and passing by.

A longer session the following morning included a nice selection of summer visitors, lots of nesting seabirds (including Shags, Razorbills and Kittiwakes), and an arrival of Wheatears - which justify their own post (check back soon).

The clifftops were festooned with freshly blooming wildflowers, and their aromas (especially Scurvy-grass - arguably the greatest smell on the planet) filled the air. Absolutely love this place, and would love to spend more time birding here - lots of great habitat, and remarkably little disturbance along the coastline.

Cowslips (above) and Scurvy-grass (below)

Shag on the nest (above), Meadow Pipit (below)

Singing Yellowhammer (above), Linnet (below)

... and a couple more of the Peregrine for good measure

School of Birding, Module Two, Class Two - dismissed!

I'm just back in Yorkshire after our latest School of Birding in the Highlands - the second of our new Module Two (after the first in February), and the ninth Class overall (actually tenth if we include our School Trip to the Outer Hebrides last year); Christ, where does the time go....?

 

Unsurprisingly - with the majority of the team being return clients (and folk we're fond of), and with Module Two being suitably tweaked - it was a cracking week, in the classroom for our interactive learning sessions, in the field all day, every day for high quality birding, and generally for the craic, which was particularly strong with such a lovely bunch...

A very showy Mountain Hare... (thanks Sarah for the pics!)

The weather was generally kind, and with the forecast being substantially worse for pretty much every day, we really felt like we got away it; only on the final day did we need to seek the nearby sanctuary of the vehicles, but even then, there was so much going on, most of us stayed out anyway.

.. and a very showy Dipper 

Six days, five full days in the field, and learning sessions on subjects including Patch Birding, Songs and Calls, eBird / Birdtrack, Finding Rare Birds and much more, with those days in the field being suitably rich and varied, as it always is with so many contrasting and productive habitats within striking distance.

Male and female Bullfinch

Some of the highlights? On the coast, we enjoyed finding White-billed Divers on a four-diver day, breeding plumage Long-tailed Ducks displaying and Bottlenose Dolphins frolicking; on local lochs, breeding plumage Black-throated and Red-throated Divers and Slavonian Grebes, and various Ospreys (including a new active nest, close-up and previously undiscovered); in the skies, Golden Eagles, Goshawks, White-tailed Eagles, Peregrines, and various other raptors;

Osprey collecting nesting material 

In the woods, we'd very accommodating Crossbills, Crested Tits, lots of newly-arrived summer visitors, waders on the move on freshwater pools, plus close-up Mountain Hare and much more in the various habitats we covered during the week.

Sandwich Tern - a constant passage on the coast

The camera (barely functioning as it is) stayed firmly in the vehicle for pretty much all the time in the field, and so the few photos here are opportunistic (and far from representative of the magical experiences we had with many target species!)... back up in a few weeks for the next School, which we're very much looking forward to.

Osprey and Goshawk