Another lovely early spring session at Filey. With the morning off, I opted to skip vismig (on account of a brisk, due westerly), snooze a little longer, and take a leisurely wander around the Northern Coastal Area - specifically Carr Naze, North Cliff and the Top Fields.
As soon as I got out of the car, I heard a familiar buzzzy call, and looked up to see two
Sand Martins (above and below) - my first of the year - playing in the updrafts around the bay corner; a perfect start, and more than enough avian joy to keep me fuelled up. Within a minute, as well as the Sand Martins, I'd both
Black Redstart and
Snow Bunting (below) on the sunny side of the cliffs.
By now there was clearly also lots of incoming vismig underway, in the shape of
Meadow Pipits and
Linnets - after a couple of hours, the totals were 210 and 86 respecticvely - with a few other
finches and
Reed Buntings on the move too.
Up in the Field of Dreams (aka the stubbles along North Cliff), and despite the wind making it hard work, there was plenty to enjoy (as ever over recent months - see e.g. here and here). Today's treats among the throngs of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks included a
White Wagtail, three flighty
Lapland Buntings, and two
Twite (above and below), which dropped in right in front of me to feed before heading off north-east.
Out on the sea, a fine opposite direction procession of small gulls was underway - a constant flow of
Black-headed Gulls heading due east and out to sea towards European breeding grounds, and over a thousand
Kittiwakes flowing inbound and joining various rafting flocks on the surface. A joy of a morning!
