August 2009

Some light passage and the odd new arrival but on the whole rather quiet in fine hot sunny weather albeit in a force 3+ SSW wind.

Of note were 25 Teal S plus 4 on Clubley’s, a Goosander S, a Marsh Harrier, a Osprey and a Hobby S, a Water Rail (Canal), 9 Snipe (6 Clubley’s, 3 S), 12 Arctic Skua S, 3 Med Gull all 1sy year birds, 2 Little Gull S, 3800 Common Tern S, 3 Roseate Tern S, 2 Swift S, 25 Sand Martin, 50 Swallow S, a Tree Pipit (Potato Fields), 20 Meadow Pipit S, a Redstart (Pallas’s Pond), 26 Whinchat (14 Clubley’s), 2 Wheatear, 2 Sedge Warbler,1 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 9 Willow Warbler, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 40 Tree Sparrow S.

Migration/sea-watches 07.00 – 11.00, 16.50 – 20.00, a sunny morning with a light SW wind, clouding over in the afternoon and the wind picking up to a force 3.

There was a marked increase in common migrants: 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Tree Pipit, 7 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Redstart, 30 Whinchat, 23 Wheatear, 3 Garden Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 19 Lesser Whitethroat, 48 Willow Warbler, and 17 Spotted Flycatcher. There was just a light trickle of birds moving south the best of which included 3 Pintail, 2 Tree Pipit and 6 flava Wagtail.

Over the sea there were 7 Red-throated Diver, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 9 Manx Shearwater, 12 Arctic Skua, 5 Mediterrnean Gull, 2 Little Gull, while the tern roost movement was very light this evening with just 1 Black, 115 Sandwich, 2200 Common, 4 Roseate and 10 Arctic Terns.

Other birds of interest included 1 Hobby, 1 Avocet, 1 Curlew Sandpiper and 2 Greenshank. North of the area there were at least 12 Mediterranean Gull in fields between Kilnsea and Easington and a good spread of common migrants along Beacon Lane and at Sammy's Point.

An all day migration/sea-watch from 06.00 – 20.00. A cool start in a fresh W-WNW wind, but warming up with long sunny periods.

Not as exciting as yesterday but still a reasonable amount of passage. During the day 2 Osprey flew south at sea at 11.40 and 17.07, also flying south were 4 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hen Harrier, 4 Kestrel, 2 Merlin, 4 Teal, 88 Oystercatcher, 77 Ringed Plover, 9 Golden Plover, 93 Knot, 129 Dunlin, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 9 Whimbrel, 181 Redshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 37 Swift, 288 Sand Martin, 146 Swallow, 79 House Martin, 2 Tree Pipit, 53 Meadow Pipit, 44 flava Wagtail, 21 Goldfinch and 40 Tree Sparrow.

Grounded birds had increased although difficult to see in the windy conditions, 1 Long-eared Owl, 5 Tree Pipit, 6 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Redstart, 16 Whinchat, 6 Wheatear, 37 Willow Warbler, 13 Spotted Flycatcher and a Corn Bunting.

Seabirds moving included 1 Red-throated Diver, 88 Fulmar, 1 Cory's Shearwater south, 4 Sooty Shearwater, 42 Manx Shearwater, 1 Shag, 64 Arctic Skua, 15 Bonxie, 4 Mediterranean Gull, 21 Lesser B.B.Gull and 348 Herring Gull all south. The tern roost movement wasn't has intense as last night but still impressive with a bare minimum of 17,000 Common Tern, 6 Black, 3 Roseate, 25 Arctic and 142 Sandwich Terns, also a Little Gull. North of the area there were at least 9 Mediterranean Gulls at Beacon Ponds.

Overnight a Silver-striped Hawk-moth was trapped and is the first record of this rare migrant at Spurn.

Migration/sea-watches 06.00 – 10.15, 14.15 – 20.30. A mixed day with long spells of sunshine at each end of the day and some heavy clouds and short torrential showers during the middle part of the day. A very blustery WSW wind all day.

An excellent day with the fifth ever record of GREAT WHITE EGRET which flew south at sea and then headed westwards and past Easington at 09.25 in the morning. Then in the afternoon 5 Ospreys flew south (3 singles and a two), four over the sea and one straight over the Triangle, this is a new record with only three in a day seen previously.

It has been the best ever late summer for tern roost and post-roost movements, and after the last couple of poor evenings we were not expecting a staggering 40,990 Common Terns (with birds still moving in big numbers as we packed in when the light was too poor to continue), also involved were 2 Black, 1 Little, 75 Sandwich, 3 Roseate and 15 Arctic Terns, with single Little and Mediterranean Gulls, 500 Black-headed and 29 Lesser B.B.Gulls also moving.

There was a good passage of flava Wagtails – 81 and also moving south were 2 Tufted Duck, 52 Fulmar, 1 Cory's Shearwater at 18.50, 11 Manx Shearwater, 1 Marsh Harrier, 75 Oystercatcher, 29 Ringed Plover, 103 Knot, 31 Dunlin, 1 Ruff in, 8 Whimbrel, 36 Redshank, 3 Green Sandpiper, 58 Swift, 219 Sand Martin, 248 Swallow and 16 House Martin.

Grounded migrants were hard to see in the windy conditions but the ones present were 10 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Redstart, 10 Whinchat, 6 Wheatear, 9 Willow Warbler, 3 Spotted Flycatcher. North of the area there were 3 Mediterranean Gull in fields off Beacon Lane and 2 Spotted Flycatcher on the land.

Migration/sea-watches 06.30 – 09.00, 17.30 – 19.30. A cloudy start but soon clearing to leave long spells of clear blue skies, a light WNW wind backed WSW in the afternoon.

The highlight of the migration watch was an Osprey that flew south offshore at 08.25, otherwise there was very little moving, just 11 Shelduck, 1 Marsh Harrier, 54 Oystercatcher, 15 Dunlin, 8 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Lesser B.B.Gull, 1 Swift, 55 Sand Martin, 60 Swallow, 14 House Martin and 3 flava Wagtail.The tern movement was again light – 1 Black, 41 Sandwich, 1600 Common, 1 Roseate and 6 Arctic Tern.

There was a good scattering of grounded migrants, 2 Tree Pipit, 13 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Redstart, 18 Whinchat, 3 Wheatear, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 13 Lesser Whitethroat, 27 Whitethroat, 31 Willow Warbler, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, and 1 Pied Flycatcher.

Other birds of note included a Common Buzzard which U-turned, 4 Little Egret and the leucistic Bar-tailed Godwit.

Migration/sea-watches 06.00 – 10.30, 18.00 – 19.15. A very blustery day with a moderate southerly wind picking up to a force 6-7 by late morning and bringing a few heavy showers around mid-day.

We didn't get the duck movement we were expecting but there was a reasonable passage of Oystercatchers which totalled 326, there was a trickle of other waders on the move, a Ruff coming in off being the best. The only other birds of note moving south were 9 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Manx Shearwater, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 73 Lesser B.B.Gull, 72 Swift, 28 Sand Martin, 15 House Martin and 6 flava Wagtail.

The tern movement was almost non-existent with just 700 Common, 10 Arctic, 136 Sandwich and 1 Black Tern.

The only other birds of note were 1 Merlin, 1 juv Hobby, 10 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Whinchat, 11 Willow Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher.

Migration/sea-watches 06.10 – 10.30, 18.15 – 20.00. A day of broken clouds and sunshine with a light shower around lunchtime wind was a force 3 SW-S wind.

No sign of the Icterine Warbler today but a few new migrants arrived and totals included, 1Cuckoo, 1 Tree Pipit, 12 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Redstart, 16 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 24 Willow Warbler, 2 Spotted Flycatcher and Tree Sparrows building up to 80.

There was some light passage which included 8 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 82 Teal, 5 Manx Shearwater, 2 Marsh Harrier, 30 Oystercatcher, 18 Whimbrel, 2 Bonxie, 20 Lesser B.B.Gull, 67 Swift, 44 Sand Martin, 70 Swallow, 77 House Martin and 3 Tree Pipit.

A few thousand Common Terns moved in the evening roost but a full count wasn't made but did also included 8 Black, 1 Roseate and 12 Arctic Tern. Other birds of note were 3 Little Egret, 1 Ruff, 1 Green Sandpiper.

Migration/sea-watches 07.00 – 11.30, 16.40 – 20.05. A warm day, mainly cloudy with some sunny spells, a light SSW wind dropped off and an onshore or light SE wind picked up in the afternoon and then veered WNW in the evening.

All migrants had cleared out overnight and there was a new small arrival around mid-morning which included the first Icterine Warbler of the autumn on Beacon Lane. Other migrants were 10 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Redstart, 9 Whinchat, 6 Willow Warbler and 7 Pied Flycatcher.

There was a good passage of duck and also a few waders but the star bird was a very juvenile Montagu's Harrier at 09.25. Birds moving south included 10 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 436 Teal, 7 Shoveler, 1 Tufted Duck, 57 Common Scoter, 2 Red-throated Diver, 4 Fulmar, 19 Manx Shearwater, 1 Grey Heron in, 22 Oystercatcher, 11 Grey Plover, 4 Whimbrel, and 14 Arctic Skua. There was a good roost movement of terns in the evening, 2 Black, 130 Sandwich, 14,000 Common, 43 Arctic and 9 Roseate. Also in this movement was an adult breeding plumage Sabine's Gull.

Another feature of the day was a large gathering of hirundines at the Warren, presumably attracted by an emergence of flying ants, because of this a determined ringing effort was made and by late morning 30 Sand Martin, 21 Swallow and 85 House Martin were all ringed. The number of House Martins is more than we normally catch in a whole year.

Migration/sea-watches 06.30 – 09.30, 18.00 – 20.00. Variable cloud cover and plenty of sunshine with a strong force 5 SSW dropping to 2 in the evening.

A generally quiet day, most of the Willow Warblers had cleared out leaving just 3 and other migrants seen were 2 Tree Pipit, 20 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 10 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear and 5 Pied Flycatcher. A few ducks and waders were moving the best being 4 Gadwall, 23 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 34 Grey Plover, 5 Whimbrel. There were 4 Black Terns at Chalk Bank and in the evening just 4500 Common and 3 Roseate Terns flew south.

Other birds of note included the second Red-legged Partridge of the year and the second highest count of Ringed Plovers – 950.

Migration/sea-watches 05.30 – 09.30, 16.15 – 20.15. Broken clouds and long sunny spells in a light WSW- SW wind.

A small arrival of migrants today included a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Tree Pipit, 14 flava Wagtail, 1 Redstart, 13 Whinchat, 4 Wheatear, 2 Sedge Warbler, 5 Lesser Whitethroat, and 44 Willow Warbler.

At least 17,000 Common Terns moved north in the morning and 10,000 south in the evening roost, with 4 Black, 1 Roseate and 8 Arctic Terns also in the evening movement. Other birds on the move today were 2 Teal, 6 Pintail north, 15 Common Scoter, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 85 Ringed Plover, 146 Grey Plover, 30 knot, 79 Sanderling, 160 Dunlin, 16 Redshank, 16 Sand Martin, 150 Swallow, 1 Tree Pipit, 15 flava Wagtail, 12 alba Wagtail.

Other birds of note seen included 2 Little Egret, 1 Little Stint, 1 Curlew Sandpiper. There was a Spotted Flycatcher in Easington.

Migration/sea-watches 05.30 – 08.30, . A cloudy day with patchy sunny spells, a fresh force 4 WSW wind dropping to 3 in the afternoon.

A count of 29,500 Common Terns moving out and north from the roost site during the first hour of daylight was a fantastic sight to see, and had there been more than one observer the count would have been even higher. Very few other species of terns were involved, although 3 Roseate Terns called as they flew out in two flocks over the Warren.

In the evening, the tern roost movement included 4 Black Tern, 63 Sandwich, 6700 Common, 4 adult Roseate and 17 Arctic Tern. Passage was much lighter than yesterday and no Teal were recorded, birds recorded moving south were 33 Shelduck, 1 Eider N, 5 Fulmar, 2 Manx Shearwater N, 2 Marsh Harrier, 17 Oystercatcher, 5 Knot, 7 Sanderling, 59 Dunlin, 1 Curlew Sandpiper in, 1 Ruff in, 2 Snipe in, 2 Whimbrel in, 7 Turnstone, 8 Swift and 14 Sand Martin.

The only migrants seen were 2 Tree Pipit, 39 flava Wagtail and 10 Willow Warble

Migration/sea-watches – 05.40 – 13.00, 14.40 – 20.40 . A very bright and sunny start clouding over mid-morning with rain showers late morning and early afternoon, then a sunny evening with superb light conditions, although a very fresh 3-4 S wind veering SW.

A feature at Spurn after fresh south or south-easterly winds is the offshore passage of ducks, and today was no exception apart from the unusually large numbers for this early on in the autumn. The bulk of birds were Teal with 1094, but also 10 Wigeon, 8 Gadwall, 33 Mallard, 25 Shoveler, 4 Tufted Duck, 7 Eider, 104 Common Scoter. Also tied in with this was more wader passage offshore, 155 Grey Plover was a very high count for southerly passage, while other waders moving were 64 Oystercatcher, 18 Ringed Plover, 9 Golden Plover, 20 Knot, 19 Sanderling, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 75 Dunlin, 2 Snipe, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit, 36 Whimbrel, 4 Curlew, 8 Redshank and 1 Turnstone.

Another feature of the day was the very unusual activity of terns during the day. Usually large numbers are seen passing north from the roost site in the first hours of daylight and apart from a few birds on the Humber, they are then seen as they start flying south to roost from late afternoon/early evening. However today, a minimum of 15,000 flew out over the peninsula or north at sea, but also thousands were to-ing and fro-ing from the Humber to the sea and back, but also good numbers were continually moving south at sea from about 8am, which also included 1 Black Tern south, 2 Arctic Tern out and 2 Roseate Tern out. The evening watch produced a minimum of 9000 Common, 3 Arctic, 3 Black Tern and 3 Roseate Tern, 9 Arctic Skua, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 268 Black-headed Gull, 40 Lesser B.B.Gull. While over the land moving south were 1 Marsh Harrier north, 101 Swift, 79 Sand Martin, 215 Swallow and 36 House Martin, all south.

A handful of migrants were around, 2 Tree Pipit flew south, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Wheatear, 8 Willow Warbler, and 3 Pied Flycatcher.

Sea/migration watches 06.50 – 10.30, 17.00 – 20.15. A hot sunny day with no clouds, a light SW-S wind.

A few duck and waders were moving during the day, the more notable being 111 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 22 Common Scoter, 73 Oystercatcher, 8 Snipe, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Whimbrel, 1 Greenshank. Other birds moving were 7 Arctic Skua, 1 Black Tern, 150 Sandwich, 5500 Common and 1 Roseate Tern, 6 Swift, 60 Sand Martin, 125 Swallow, 31 House Martin.

Migrants included 1 Cuckoo, 1 Tree Pipit, 10 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Whinchat, 1 Garden Warbler and 12 Willow Warbler.

A Convolvulus Hawk-moth, 1 Dark Sword Grass and 4 Silver Y were trapped.

Sea/migration watches 05.30 – 09.30, 16.30 – 20.30. Light cloud cover all day with occasional sunny spells in a light SW-S wind.

A quieter day for migrating waders, most species less than 20 birds but 240 Oystercatcher and 75 Redshank, but also 1 Ruff, 10 Whimbrel, 5 Greenshank and 4 Common Sandpiper in. Other birds moving (south unless stated) during the day were 12 Teal, 2 Shoveler, 11 Fulmar, 12 Cormorant, 1 Shag N, a Common Buzzard U-turned over the Triangle, 5 Arctic Skua, 10 Lesser B.B.Gull, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 110 Kittiwake and in the tern roost movement, 1 Black, 195 Sandwich, 4500 Common (c.15 – 20,000 flew north in the morning), 3 Roseate, and 34 Arctic Tern. 1 Stock Dove, 2 Swift, 91 Sand Martin, 80 Swallow, 22 House Martin, 8 flava Wagtail, 24 Tree Sparrow.

Migrants today were 1 Tree Pipit, 10 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Whinchat, 4 Stonechat, 22 Willow Warbler. In the moth traps a Convolvulus Hawk-moth, 1 Diamon-back, 1 Willow Ermine, 3 Dark Sword Grass, 1 Bordered Straw and 7 Silver Y were caught.

All day sea-watch from 06.00 – 20.30. Rain early morning and remaining cloudy throughout until early evening when blue skies appeared, a W – WNW force 2 wind.

An excellent day for wader passage offshore with one of our highest counts of Oystercatcher – 1170, other waders on the move were 153 Ringed Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 78 Knot, 93 Sanderling, 71 Dunlin, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 27 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Whimbrel, 2 Curlew, 54 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 51 Turnstone.

Other birds moving over the sea were 3 Shelduck, 1 Teal, 33 Common Scoter, a Red-necked Grebe south at 18.40, 15 Fulmar, 5 Manx Shearwater, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Merlin, 11 Arctic Skua, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 30 Lesser B.B.Gull, 45 Herring Gull, 1 Little Tern, 200 Sandwich Tern, 7500 Common Tern, 15 Arctic Tern, 5 Roseate Tern (2 ads, 3 juvs), 1 Puffin.

Other birds of note were 4 Little Egret, 1 Peregrine, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 14 Swift, a Kingfisher on Church Field Pond, 18 Sand Martin south, 8 flava Wagtail ad 10 Willow Warbler.

North of the area a Corncrake was found dead on the car park by Easington Gas Terminal, a Common Buzzard (probably yesterdays bird) was seen between Kilnsea and Easington and a Marsh Harrier was over Beacon Ponds.

Migration/sea-watches 06.30 – 11.45, 16.30 – 20.25. A fresh force 3 west wind on a largely warm, sunny day.

The highlight of the day was an addition to the ringing list – a juvenile Common Buzzard which had been seen earlier was in a ringing ride in Church Field and soon found its way into the bottom shelf of the open net! Other migrants included 2 Tree Pipit, 20 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Wheatear, 1 Garden Warbler, 11 Willow Warbler and the first Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn.

There was a steady trickle of common waders moving south, although none in big numbers, more interesting species were 1 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Ruff, 5 Whimbrel, 3 Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper. Other birds moving over the sea were 12 Manx Shearwater, 16 Arctic Skua, 4 imm Mediterranean Gull, 17 Lesser B.B.Gull, 280 Sandwich Tern, 10,500 Common Tern, 2 adult Roseate Tern, 20 Arctic Tern. While other birds on the move south were 1 Hobby, 4 Kestrel, 28 Swift, 33 Sand Martin and 50 Swallow.

Migration/sea-watches 07.05 – 09.15, 10.00 – 11.30, 16.50 – 20.20. Cloudy with sunny spells and feeling warm despite a fresh SW-WNW wind.

The main feature of the day was again over the sea with small numbers of waders moving including a juvenile Red-necked Phalarope which flew south at 19.30, 2 Ruff and a Black-tailed Godwit were the only other waders of note. Birds moving over the sea were 26 Teal, 2 Shoveler, 1 Eider, 1 Red-throated Diver, 17 Manx Shearwater, 1 Shag, 6 Arctic Skua and 1 Bonxie, while the evening roost movement of terns included 11,000 Common, 14 Arctic and 1200 Sandwich.

On the land an early Continental Robin was at the Point and other migrants were 6 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Whinchat, 2 Stonechat, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 5 Willow Warbler and 2 Pied Flycatcher.

Migration/sea-watches 06.15 – 10.00 , 17.35 – 20.30.Light SSW – SE – SW winds, cloudy with long sunny periods and warm.

A few waders and ducks moving south, mainly in the morning with the main species being 2 Wigeon, 46 Teal, 164 Common Scoter north, 82 Oystercatcher, 22 Knot, 89 Sanderling, 142 Dunlin, 4 Whimbrel and 3 Greenshank.

The tern roost movement was quiet with 3300 Common Tern, 14 Arctic, 120 Sandwich and 2 Roseate. Other birds over the sea were 5 Manx Shearwater, 8 Arctic Skua, 1 Bonxie, 3 Little Tern. The only birds moving south were 1 Marsh Harrier, 61 Swift and 42 House Martin. There were hardly any migrants, just 1 Tree Pipit and 5 Willow Warbler.

A Haworths Minor moth, although a common moorland species in Yorkshire was a first for Spurn.

Sea-watches 07.00 – 09.15, 18.00 – 19.30. A warm and sunny day with occasional cloud cover with a light N wind veering NE in the evening.

A very quiet day, the only migrants seen were 1 Whinchat, 1 Reed Warbler and 14 Willow Warbler. A Marsh Harrier flew south in the evening, also just a few waders and not surprisingly with the winds just 1200 Common Terns by the end of the watch.

sea-watches 07.10 – 09.15, 17.20 – 20.00. Broken clouds and sunshine all day, feeling very warm despite a light to fresh WNW wind.

Willow Warbler numbers were reduced to 20, however 9 Whinchats arrived late morning, the only other migrants seen were 2 Swift south, 45 Swallow south, 1 Tree Pipit and 2 Wheatear.

The evening tern passage was much lighter than yesterday, well certainly by 19.30 when the observers left to go to the pub to watch the England match! 160 Sandwich, 5 Arctic and 3360 Common Terns, other birds on the move included 7 Manx Shearwater, 71 Oystercatcher, 47 Sanderling, 42 Dunlin, 5 Whimbrel, 52 Redshank and 18 Kittiwake

Sea-watch 18.00 – 21.20. Broken cloud and sunny spells all day, very warm with a light variable wind from NNW – S- WNW.

The highlight of the day was the evening roost movement of terns which was already underway when the watch was started, a breeding plumage Sabine's Gull which flew south at 18.10 was the obvious highlight, however the sight of the third ever largest count of Common Terns (minimum of 20,400) was incredible, also in with these were 290 Sandwich, 85 Arctic and 3 Black Terns. Other birds noted moving at sea included 3 Shoveler, 1 Red-throated Diver, 5 Fulmar, 1 Manx Shearwater, 69 Oystercatcher, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Turnstone, 4 Arctic Skua, 11 Kittiwake.

There was an obvious influx of Willow Warblers which totalled 44 while other migrants included a Cuckoo, 3 Swift, 1 Tree Pipit, 7 flava Wagtail, single Redstart, Whinchat, Wheatear and Garden Warbler. A Hobby flew south early morning and 5 Little Egrets were on the Humber.

Migration/sea-watches 06.10 – 10.00, 18.30 – 20.50. Cloudy with the occasional sunny spells and frequent light showers, a force 2 SW backed NW in the evening.

There was no sign either Barred Warbler today but still a scattering of migrants: 1 Cuckoo, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Whinchat, 3 Wheatear, 16 Willow Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher. A Red-legged Partridge on the beach south of the Warren was the first of the year!

It was a reasonable day for wader passage, most in the evening when also the best tern roost movement so far this year. Birds moving south unless stated otherwise included; 2 Teal, 15 Common Scoter, 13 Manx Shearwater, 1 Marsh Harrier + 1 in and west, 1 Peregrine, 170 Oystercatcher, 44 Knot, 49 Sanderling, 147 Dunlin, 11 Snipe + 2 in, 15 Whimbrel, 43 Redshank, 17 Turnstone, 3 Black Tern, 440 Sandwich Tern, 6200 Common Tern, 11 Arctic Tern, 120 Swift, 14 Sand Martin, 60 House Martin, 8 flava Wagtail. At least 5 Little Egrets were on the Humber and a Roseate Tern flew off the Humber to the sea early afternoon.

Migration/sea-watches 09.00 – 10.00. A hot and sunny day with some clouds building late afternoon, a light N wind veered SE force 1-2 by late morning.

A small arrival included 2 Barred Warblers (1 out of the area on Beacon Lane and 1 from the Canal bank), a male Blue-headed Wagtail on the Borrow Pit, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Redstart, 1 Wheatear, 24 Willow Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher. A juvenile Marsh Warbler was at Kew in the morning where it was trapped and ringed, also a Reed Warbler was trapped there.

A few birds were on the move (south unless stated): 2 Greylag Geese, 15 Manx Shearwater, 1 Marsh Harrier, 32 Oystercatcher, 19 Dunlin, 4 Snipe + 3in, 3 Whimbrel, 4 Greenshank in, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Bonxie out, 270 Sandwich Tern, 2100 Common Tern, 1 Arctic Tern, 350 Swallow, 29 flava Wagtail.

Migration/sea-watches 09.00 – 11.30, 13.00 – 14.00, 18.00 – 20.00.

A fine sunny day with lots of sunshine and a light NW wind. The Friends of Spurn bbq took place in the evening and was very well attended again and raised over £200 for the Observatory – thanks to everyone who came along.

A Leach's Petrel came into a tape in the early hours but evaded capture, also 2 Little Ringed Plovers flew over at 12.30 in the morning. The only migrants seen were 1 Tree Pipit, 2 Garden Warblers and 36 Willow Warblers.

Birds on the move included 3 Teal, 3 Manx Shearwater, 1 Marsh Harrier, 47 Oystercatcher, 22 Whimbrel, 6 Curlew, 1 Pomarine Skua, 1 Bonxie, 1500 Common Tern, 20 Sand Martin, 500 Swallow, 29 House Martin, 1 flava Wagtail. A juvenile Marsh Warbler was still on Beacon Lane.

Sea-watches 06.30 – 09.00, 18.10 – 20.30. Rain overnight until about 7am, then slowly clearing to leave some nice long sunny spells and feeling warm in a light N wind veering SE in the evening.

Much the same as yesterday with similar numbers of migrants and some light wader passage, but the highlight was a Red-necked Phalarope which flew from Beacon Ponds over the the Humber late in the evening but couldn't be refound. A Pomarine Skua was the best bird over the sea, but also included 27 Manx Shearwaters, a few Gannets and Fulmars, 28 Teal, 5 Shoveler, 1 Tufted Duck, 9 Eider, a Great Crested Grebe, 90 Oystercatcher and 3 Whimbrel.

On the land migrants included 2 Tree Pipit, 4 flava Wagtail, 1 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 2 Garden Warbler, 36 Willow Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher. North of the area a Redstart and Marsh Warbler were still on Beacon Lane.

Sea-watch 06.30 – 09.15. A misty, drizzly morning, clearing a little but remaining cloudy, persistent rain from early evening, a light ENE-NE breeze

The most notable feature of the day was a small fall of drift migrants during the morning which included 3 Tree Pipit, 2 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, an increase in Lesser Whitethroats to 22, 1 Wood Warbler at the Point, 44 Willow Warbler and 2 Pied Flycatcher.

Over the sea there were 85 Teal, 11 Tufted Duck, 147 Common Scoter, a Storm Petrel flew south. Waders were only moving in small numbers but included 31 Sanderling, 4 Green Sandpiper and 7 Greenshank, a Little Ringed Plover flew north over Church Field.

Other birds of note included 1 Cuckoo and a Kingfisher, while north of the area 1 juvenile Marsh Warbler was still present.

An all day sea/migration watch from the sea-watching hut 06.00 – 20.30. A day of light S-SE wind force 1, with overcast cloudy conditions and regular rain and drizzle throughout.

Birds on the move south unless stated otherwise were 1 Gadwall, 122 Teal, 2 Shoveler, 18 Tufted Duck, 1 Scaup, 4 Eider + 1 N, 533 Common Scoter + 108 N, 3 Grey Heron in, 246 Oystercatcher, 15 Ringed Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 1 Lapwing, 18 Knot + 2 in, 91 Sanderling, 105 Dunlin, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, 55 Whimbrel, 1 Curlew, 19 Redshank, 1 Greenshank + 2 in, 1 Green Sandpiper, 40 Turnstone, 300 Swift, 34 Sand Martin, and 100 Swallow.

Seabirds included 34 Manx Shearwater, 6 Arctic Skua, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Little Gull and in the evening tern roost movement there were 2 Black Tern, 600 Sandwich Tern, 4500 Common Tern and 23 Arctic Tern.

The only other birds of note were 9 Willow Warbler, a Corn Bunting and a Spotted Redhsank.

Another quiet day with just some light southerly passage in a cloudy and breezy day, with some heavy showers.

Heading south were 31 Teal, 106 Common Scoter, 213 Oystercatcher, 23 Knot, 34 Sanderling, 25 Whimbrel, 4 Greenshank came in, 13 Turnstone, a Med Gull, 60 Swift, 8 Sand Martin, 63 Swallow, 25 House Martin and 2 Flava Wagtail. Other notable sightings were a Curlew Sandpiper (Chalk Bank), 12 Whimbrel (Humber), 5 Arctic Skua blogging, 60 House Martin (Triangle), a Sedge Warbler (Church Field), a Reed Warbler (Kew) and 11 Willow Warbler.

Whilst migrant moths in the MV’s were 13 Diamond-back Moth, 2 Evergestis extimalis and 128 Silver Y.

A much quieter day with the wind switching to a southerly direction of note today were 4 Manx Shearwater S, 169 Gannet, a Marsh Harrier S, 72 Oystercatcher S, 102 Knot S, 30 Whimbrel S, 3 Green Sandpiper S, 3 Arctic Skua and a Bonxie blogging, 320 Sandwich Tern S, 150 Swallow S plus 100 blogging, a Tree Pipit blogging, 8 Yellow Wagtail (6 Point).

Lots of insects about with the best counts being 500 Painted Lady, 2000+ Silver Y, 20 Small Red-eyed Damselflies (Canal), whilst migrant moths in the MV’s were 12 Diamond-back Moth, 1 Dark Sword Grass and 272 Silver Y.

Waders were on the move with a day with plenty of sunshine albeit in a moderate W wind.

On the move south were 28 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 11 Tufted Duck plus 3 in and 1 N, 239 Common Scoter, 6 Fulmar, 26 Manx Shearwater, a Marsh Harrier, a Hobby, 47 Oystercatcher, 85 Knot, 30 Sanderling, 75 Dunlin, 14 Black-tailed Godwit, 52 Whimbrel, 9 Turnstone, 657 Sandwich Tern, 2207 Common Tern, 77 Sand Martin, 600 Swallow, 4 House Martin, 2 Flava Wagtail. The rest of the days sightings included a Red-throated Diver N, a Merlin blogging, a Curlew Sandpiper (Humber), 7 Green Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper (Triangle), 46 Swift blogging, 100 House Martin (Triangle), a Tree Pipit, a Sedge Warbler (Warren) and 14 Willow Warbler (7 Point).

Insects of note were 24 Diamond-back Moth, 2 Evergestis extimalis, 1 Rush Veneer, 1 Willow Ermine, 5 Dark Sword Grass, 228 Silver Y, whilst a Small Rufous was a 2nd record for Spurn, Thousands of hoverflies are around mainly being two species Marmalade Fly and Episyrphus balteatus.

migration/sea-watch 06.40 – 16.30, 17.30 – 20.00, a sunny and warm start with a light SE wind veering SW and clouding over with the occasional shower and then heavy rain in the evening.

A steady trickle of passage at sea, mainly waders and ducks, the better counts being, 54 Teal, 6 Shoveler, 11 Tufted Duck, 185 Common Scoter, 10 Eider, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 310 Oystercatcher, 29 Knot,13 Sanderling, 30 Dunlin, 180 Whimbrel, 4 Curlew, over the land 14 Swift, 192 Sand Martin, 30 Swallow and 3 flava Wagtail flew south.

The evening tern movement was spoilt when the heavy rain moved through in the evening, although still in good numbers an accurate count couldn't be made.

There were not many grounded birds just 1 Reed Warbler and 9 Willow Warblers. Other birds of note included 47 Cormorant N, 2 Little Egret, 2 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper and 1 Common Sandpiper.

The invasion of hoverflies increased even more today and became rather bothersome while trying to look through bins or even drink a cup of tea! Overnight migrants in the moth traps included 87 Silver Y, 8 Diamond-back, 3 Evergestis extimalis and a Ypsolopha mucronella - a new species for Yorkshire.