A
good turnout of 46 members and friends set off from Stockport for the annual
pilgrimage to Spurn in East Yorkshire. The journey was largely uneventful, with
only a flock of circa 40 Golden Plover flying over the M62 in the Goole area
being of note.
Various
bird services were reporting the Rosy Starling at Dimlington Bungalows in
Easington so Glenn agreed to pull up by the properties. The bird was identified
and viewed from the coach! The majority of passengers alighted the coach and
had good views of the bird in one of the bungalow gardens.
A
walk around Vicars Lane produced little of note, a couple of Goldcrest and
Chiffchaff with House Martin overhead. It felt slightly surreal walking past
last year’s location of the Siberian Accentor. We had a quick look, just in
case!
A
walk down to Sammy’s Point via Easington cemetery produced excellent views of a
handful of Brambling and Redwing. A Yellow-browed Warbler was picked up on
call, but only one member succeeded in seeing the bird. Buzzard, Tree Sparrow and
Yellowhammer were picked up as well as many of the commoner species.
It
was quiet at Sammy’s Point with only a family of Stonechat being of note. The
tide was in, close to the footpath along the shoreline. A single Scaup was
found on the sea. A large flock of Golden Plover with smaller numbers of Curlew
were present in the adjacent fields.
A
wander down to Kilnsea Wetlands produced good views of a winter plumage
Slavonian Grebe, Sanderling and Little Stint. There were good numbers of duck
with Mallard, Wigeon and Teal being well represented. Shelduck, Gadwall,
Shoveler and Pintail were also noted. There was a sizable flock of Dunlin with
Little Egret and Lapwing also in attendance. The commoner gull species were
also seen.
In
the Crown and Anchor carpark an Arctic Warbler had taken up residence over the
past couple of days. Most of our party connected with the bird, views ranging
from excellent to frustrating! There was also a Yellow-browed Warbler present
and, although frequently calling, only the briefest of views was had.
A
walk down the canal produced little of note land-side (it was quite windy and
the reported Bearded Tits did not reveal themselves) but on the shoreline a
large flock of Knot jostled with other waders including, Oystercatcher, Golden
Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit and
Bar-tailed Godwit. A single Greenshank was found and in the rocky areas Turnstone
scuttled around. Two Swallow overhead moved south.
A
very smart Whinchat was present on Spurn Road adjacent to the construction site
for the contentious new Yorkshire Wildlife Trust visitor centre.
Sea-watching
from the Blue Bell car park was generally quiet with a couple of Gannet and
Red-throated Diver passing. Closer in a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls kept
a close eye on a Common Seal bobbing in the waves. A small flock of Linnet were
adjacent to the car park and Little Grebe on the pool.
In
5 hours, walking circa 7 miles, we had recorded a very impressive 95 species. The
day ended with a skein of Pink-footed Geese over the M62 on our return journey.
Humber Estuary (Holly Page)
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