July 2006

A quiet day with very little passage of any description, but a Willow Tit was found at the Point and moved north being seen in Canal Hedge later, this was the first since 2003. Then as it was getting dusk the Red-necked Phalarope was found off the gate at high tide.

Southerly passage included; 1 Tufted Duck, 28 Oystercatcher, 3 Grey Plover, 8 Lapwing, 13 Knot, 14 Sanderling, 10 Whimbrel, 6 Redshank, 10 Turnstone, 17 Swift, 7 Sand Martin, 32 Swallow, 2 flava Wagtail, 5 alba Wagtail. Other birds of note seen today were 1 Garganey, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 830 Common Tern, 1 Cuckoo and 3 Willow Warbler.

At Beacon Ponds there were 2 adult Roseate Tern, 1 Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover. On the moth front, rarities included 3 Bordered Straw, 2 Scarce Bordered Straw and 2 Small Mottled Willow and over 7000 Silver Y.

Early excitement to the day, when a Red Kite flew south at 08.00 and was shortly followed by a Red-necked Phalarope being found at Beacon Ponds, then very quiet until the evening tern roost movement.

Birds moving south today were; 2 Common Scoter, 27 Oystercatcher, 7 Grey Plover, 30 Knot, 63 Sanderling, 18 Dunlin, a Ruff (1st of the year!), 52 Whimbrel, 5 Greenshank, 163 Sandwich tern, 1031 Common Tern, 11 Arctic Tern, 195 Swift, 40 Sand Martin.

The only other birds of note seen today were; 1 Peregrine, 4 Arctic Skua.

A slight increase in migrants, with also good wader passage and the first decent evening tern roost movements.

Seabirds seen were; 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Fulmar, 2 Manx Shearwater, 300+ Gannet, 3 Arctic Skua, 200 Kittiwake feeding offshore with Gannets, 260 Sandwich Tern, 700 Common Tern.

Waders moving south offshore included; 266 Oystercatcher, 38 Knot, 70 Sanderling, 211 Whimbrel, 6 Greenshank, 33 Turnstone, also moving south were 1 Teal, 70 Common Scoter, 136 Shelduck flew out east, 18 Swift, 148 Sand Martin. Other birds of note seen were; juv. Garganey on Canal Scrape, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Cuckoo, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 7 Willow Warbler. At Beacon Ponds were 2 Curlew Sandpiper and an adult and juvenile Roseate Tern.

A quiet day with some wader passage at sea and some light visible migration.

Birds of interest seen today were 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 juvenile Cuckoo, a Black Redstart at the Point and 6 Willow Warbler. Seabirds seen included; 1 Fulmar, 55 Gannet, 2 Arctic Skua, 260 Sandwich Tern, 114 Common Tern and 30 Guillemot.

Southerly passage included; 17 Shelduck + 31 out east, 1 Marsh Harrier, 36 Oystercatcher, 15 Knot, 44 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Curlew, 7 Turnstone, 1 Swift, 15 Sand Martin, 100 Swallow, 6 flava Wagtail, 2 alba Wagtail. Even more moths today, with Silver Y’s increasing to 25,000 (15,000 at the Point and 560 in the Warren moth trap!), 2 Small Mottled Willow, 2 Rush Veneer, 2 Dark Swordgrass and a Many-lined which was a first for Yorkshire and a species which was extinct for many years in the UK.

Some passage of hirundines, and also reasonable movement of waders over the sea, with sea-watching being the main activity of the day.

A Garganey on Canal Scrape and 3 Green Sandpiper were the only birds ‘down’ of any note. Seabirds seen included a breeding plumage Great Northern Diver north, 1 Fulmar, 1 Manx Shearwater, 5 Cormorant, 6 Arctic Skua, 70 Lesser B.B.Gull, 2 Yellow-legged Gull, 4 Kittiwake, 178 Sandwich Tern, 233 Common Tern, 9 Arctic Tern. Wildfowl moving south were 8 Shelduck, 20 Teal, and 5 Mallard.313 Common Scoter were seen on the sea and Humber.

Waders moving south included; 65 Oystercatcher, 24 Knot, 89 Sanderling, 30 Dunlin, 7 Common Snipe, 8 Whimbrel, 2 Green Sandpiper + 3 west, 7 Turnstone. 3 Swift, 263 Sand Martin and 209 Swallow also moved south during the day. On the moth front, a minimum of 15,000 Silver Y’s were logged, with 1 Small Mottle Willow and 80 Diamond-backed Moth.

An excellent day for southerly passage with plenty of waders and Sand Martins, hazy warm sunshine all day with a light E-SE wind.

On the move south were 2 Shelduck, 1 Teal, 43 Common Scoter, a Velvet Scoter, 459 Oystercatcher, 517 Knot, 251 Sanderling, 284 Dunlin, 10 Snipe, 20 Whimbrel, 28 Redshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 84 Turnstone, 16 Swift, 1382 Sand Martin, 144 Swallow, 16 Flava Wagtail.

Other notable birds were 5 Eider N, 11 Whimbrel, a Spotted Redshank (Crown), 9 Green Sandpiper (Church Field Pond), 9 Arctic Skua, 2 Yellow-legged Gull, 300 Sandwich Tern, 157 Common Tern S, an adult Black Tern, a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Crown), 200 Sand Martin (Triangle), 2 Willow Warbler (Canal) and the Garganey was still on the Canal Scrape. The only moth of note was a Small Mottled Willow a migrant at Spurn.

A day of poor visibility with sea fret/fog most of the day clearing late on, on the whole much quieter.

Birds of note today were 10 Whimbrel, a Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, a Whinchat (Triangle), 2 Willow Warbler (Point) and the Garganey was still present on the Canal Scrape.

With good numbers of yellow winged Darters in the country it can only be a matter of time before Spurn gets it's share, today we had to make do with 2 Red veined Darters an Emperor and 15+ black tailed Skimmers on Clubleys and canal scapes.

Some more southerly passage and a few odd birds turning up and plenty of moths in hot and sunny weather with an onshore wind.

Birds heading south were 2 Common Scoter, a Marsh Harrier, 49 Oystercatcher, 29 Sanderling, 32 Dunlin, 16 Whimbrel, 6 Swift, 47 Sand Martin, 300 Swallow, 3 House Martin, 7 Alba Wagtail. Other notable birds were a Red-breasted Merganser on the sea, a Peregrine over the Humber, a Water Rail (Canal Scrape), 2 Greenshank (Humber), 4 Green Sandpiper (Church Field), 4 Arctic Skua, 2 adult Yellow-legged Gull, yesterday’s Caspian Gull was on the Tank Blocks, a home grown Cuckoo at the Point, a Treecreeper at the Warren and a Garganey on the Canal Scrape. At Beacon Lagoons c6000 Dunlin, a Spotted Redshank and a Curlew Sandpiper.

Silver Y’s were in force today with over 2000 in the traps and an estimated 5000 in the area other migrant moths were a Bordered Straw and 3 Diamond Back’s.

An interesting day with plenty of sunny spells and the odd shower in a light W-SW wind.

Birds moving at sea were 1 Manx N, 36 Gannet, 219 Shelduck out E, 1 Teal S, 1 Tufted Duck N, 22 Common Scoter S, 59 Oystercatcher S, 1 Golden Plover S, 73 Knot S, 183 Dunlin S, 47 Curlew S, 46 Redshank S, 18 Turnstone S, 8 Arctic Skua S, 179 Sandwich Tern S, 87 Common Tern, 15 Arctic Tern S, 30 + Guillemot on the sea some with young.

On land sightings included a Curlew Sandpiper (Humber), 4 Greenshank, 4 Green Sandpiper (Church Field Pond), 5 Common Sandpiper (Tank Blocks), 2 adult Yellow-legged Gull, 700 Swift S, a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Warren), 1042 Sand Martin S plus 600 (Triangle), 30 House Martin S, 2 juvenile Wheatear (Tank Blocks), 2 Blackcap (Kew) and the Waxbill was zooming around all over the place. North of the area in a ploughed field in Easington a Caspian Gull and 5 Yellow-legged Gulls were seen, at Beacon Ponds and the Riverside single Curlew Sandpipers were seen. In the moth trap a Slender Brindle was new for Spurn.

A better day with much more passage although there was the odd storm around in a very humid day.

At sea a Sooty Shearwater N, 44 Gannet N, 17 Common Scoter N, 3 Arctic Skua, 1 Bonxie S, 2 Kittiwake, 109 Sandwich Tern S, 37 Common Tern, 2 Razorbill on the sea, waders going south were 45 Oystercatcher, 10 Ringed Plover, 4 Lapwing, 20 Knot, 24 Sanderling, 208 Dunlin, 7 Whimbrel, 59 Redshank and 10 Turnstone. Other notable sightings were a Little Egret on the Humber, 1 Green Sandpiper (Triangle), 2 adult Yellow-legged Gull (Tank Blocks), 2 Cuckoo, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 419 Sand Martin S, 92 Swallow S, 3 Grey Wagtail S, a Corn Bunting singing at the Warren.

A Humming-bird Hawkmoth that flew into a building when released laid eggs on Bedstraw.

A slightly better day with bright sunshine but with some cloud building from time to time, rather hazy at distance with a force 2-3 S veering E.

At sea 2 Great Crested Grebe N, 8 Gannet, 7 Oystercatcher S, 3 Knot S, 7 Sanderling S, 40 Whimbrel S, an Arctic Skua S, 67 Sandwich Tern, 24 Common Tern was about the best. On land a Green Sandpiper (Triangle), 3 juvenile Little Terns were flying at Chalk Bank, a juvenile Cuckoo at the Warren, 64 Swift & 67 Sand Martin S, 3 Flava Wagtail S, 21 Pied Wagtail, 3 Willow Warbler and the Common Waxbill reappeared at the Warren.

A migrant Hawker (Wire Dump) & 2 Rush Veneer were the first of the year whilst in the moth traps 2 Acrobasis repandana was new for Spurn.

Hazy sunshine after a cloudy start with a light NE-E wind failed to produce anything of note.

A few birds trickled south including 26 Oystercatcher, 2 Knot, 8 Whimbrel plus 4 came in, 1 Curlew plus 2 in, 2 Swallow and 2 Flava Wagtail.

Other birds of note were a Storm Petrel that came to tape at 23.10, 3 Pochard (Canal), a Snipe (Wire Dump), a Green Sandpiper (Triangle), 53 Turnstone, 2 Arctic Skua N, 9 Little Gull (1 Point, 8 in), 2 Flava Wagtail and a male Black Redstart (Point).

A few birds south but little else in hot sunny weather but low cloud and sea fret coming in by the late afternoon.

On the move south were a Hobby at 10.30, 120 Oystercatcher, 22 Knot, 2 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel, 4 Swallow, and 3 Flava Wagtail. Other birds of note were 4 Brent Geese (Chalk Bank), 11 Whimbrel, a Common Sandpiper (Canal), 1 Arctic Skua (Point), and 200 Sandwich Tern (peninsula).

Around 500 Silver Y’s were observed all over the recording area.

An interesting day today with a few different birds to look at, with the hot weather continuing but still rather cool with an onshore breeze.

Birds of note today 2 Little Egret (1 S, 1 blogging), 4 Brent Geese presumed summered in Lincs, an adult Med Gull (Humber), 23 Common Tern, 20 Swift S, a Great Spotted Woodpecker S at Kew, 108 Sand Martin, 3 Flava Wagtail, 6 Yellow Wagtail (Clubley’s), a juvenile Black Redstart (Point), 2 Chiffchaff and a Serin S at around 06.15.

Late movement at sea and a trickle of birds south overland but little in the way of notable birds still with plenty of hot sunshine and light winds.

21 Manx Shearwater, c100 Gannet blogging, 6 Teal, 4 Mallard and a Tufted Duck S, 81 Common Scoter N, 93 Dunlin S, 62 Redshank S, 1 Arctic Skua, 3 Little Gull S, 2 Roseate Tern N, 48 Common Tern S, 22 Guillemot all at sea.

Other interesting sightings included 2 Marsh Harrier S, 17 Greenshank N, an adult Yellow-legged Gull (Humber), 11 Swift S, 117 Sand Martin (42 S),a Willow Warbler (Point), 1 Crossbill S. At Beacon Lagoons a juvenile Black Tern was with the Sandwich Terns. Insects of note were an Essex Skipper at Potato Fields and a Humming-bird Hawkmoth at Kew.

Some light passage of Sand Martins and a few birds at sea but little in the way of new birds but at least it is hot and sunny in a light NE wind.

Birds seen at sea included a Red-throated Diver, a Great Crested Grebe, 4 Fulmar, 6 Manx Shearwater, over 200 Gannet blogging, single Wigeon & Tufted Duck S, 6 Eider, 150 Common Scoter plus another 170 on the Humber, 3 Arctic Skua, 14 Kittiwake, 32 Common Tern, 4 Puffin. A Storm Petrel came into tape at around 23.00 but only stayed a few seconds.

Other birds of interest were 67 Whimbrel, 3 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper (Clubley’s), a Common Sandpiper, 62 Turnstone, a Med Gull and 2 Yellow-legged Gull (Tank Blocks), 7 Swift S, 105 Sand Martin S plus 100 (Triangle), a Corn Bunting at the Warren.

A quiet day all round except for a good number of scoter and the odd new bird in with plenty of warm sunshine in a light NE wind.

At sea 5 Manx Shearwater, 115 Gannet, 2 Tufted Duck S, 452 Common Scoter, 21 Oystercatcher & 4 Curlew S, a 2nd year Med Gull, 2 Little Gull, 4 Kittiwake, 24 Sandwich Tern and 2 Common Tern. Other birds of note were a Greenshank (Humber), single Green & Common Sandpiper (Canal), a Swift S, 30 Sand Martin, a Chiffchaff (Canal) and a Goldcrest (Crown).

At Beacon Lagoons there were 3 Goosander, 1 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 10 Little Gull, 45 Sandwich Tern.

The sea was the most interesting birding spot today with a few other notable sightings in a lovely hot sunny day with a force 2-3 NE wind making it rather cool.

Notable sightings at sea were 4 Manx Shearwater, 132 Gannet, 120 Shelduck out, 2 Teal, 141 Common Scoter (132 N), 6 Oystercatcher S, 3 Redshank S, an adult Pomarine Skua with full “spoons” S, 3 Arctic Skua, 4 Little Gull N, 5 Kittiwake N, 11 Guillemot and 6 Razorbill. Other birds of note included a Snipe, 11 Whimbrel, 2 Common Sandpiper (Canal), 4 Yellow Wagtail (Clubley’s).

On the butterfly front an Essex Skipper was the 1st of the year.

No sign of the butterfly in a cloudy morning but plenty of sunshine by midday in a light N wind, a few birds at sea but little in the way of any new birds around.

At sea a Fulmar N, the 1st Sooty Shearwater of the year went N, 7 Manx Shearwater N, 38 Gannet, 2 Teal S, 230 Common Scoter (97 N, 133 S), an Arctic Skua N, 1 Little Gull N, 7 Kittiwake N, 2 Common Tern N, 1 Arctic Tern S, 23 Guillemot & 8 Razorbill.

Other notable sightings were 133 Golden Plover, 2 Snipe (Clubley’s), 500 Redshank, a Green Sandpiper (Canal), 3 Common Sandpiper (1 Point, 2 Canal), the adult Med Gull (Point), 2 Turtle Dove (Church Field), 2 Yellow Wagtail (Clubley’s), a Grey Wagtail (Warren).

A lovely hot sunny day with cloud building only late on in the evening, a day with a 1st for Spurn and 2nd for Yorkshire in the insect department, very few new birds around except for a light movement of waders.

Birds heading south included a Brent Goose, 2 Tufted Duck, 20 Oystercatcher, 1 Ringed Plover, 3 Grey Plover, 39 Dunlin, 14 Black-tailed Godwit, 16 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Curlew, 60 Swift, 1 Skylark, 150 Sand Martin, 20 Swallow, 2 Flava Wagtail, 6 Pied Wagtail. Other birds of note were 61 Common Scoter (13 N, 48 Humber), a Little Ringed Plover N, 11 Whimbrel (Humber), 7 Common Sandpiper (Canal area), an adult Med Gull (Point), 3 Yellow Wagtail (1 Point, 2 Warren), an escaped Waxbill was also at the Warren.

The highlight of the day was in the butterfly section with a Clouded Yellow (Kew), 8 Red Admiral S, and a White Admiral along Beacon Lane feeding on Privet which was observed for around 15 mins before heading of over North Field, the 1st for Spurn and 2nd confirmed record for Yorkshire.

A fairly quiet day in bright hot sunny weather with a light W wind, a few Martins moving but very little of interest.

Birds of note today were 4 Teal, 70 Common Scoter (Humber), 2 Snipe, an Arctic Skua on the Humber, 90 Swift & 250 Sand Martin S.

At Beacon Lagoons there was an adult Med Gull, a Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank and a Snipe.

Some more waders returning but little else in the way of interest in a bright sunny start that clouded up later on.

Birds of note today were 3 Teal blogging, 78 Common Scoter (50 Humber), 5 Snipe (Clubley’s), 7 Common Sandpiper (5 Canal Scrape, 2 Canal), 41 Turnstone, a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker (Warren), 3 Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail (Clubley’s) and a juvenile Blackcap (Point).

A good day for southerly passage with some waders and Swifts, in a cloudy day with a strong W wind.

Birds seen at sea included 44 Manx Shearwater (42 S), 119 Gannet, 3 Grey Heron (2 S), 14 Common Scoter, 10 Oystercatcher, 27 Knot, 37 Dunlin, 94 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Whimbrel, 72 Curlew, 118 Redshank all south, 4 Arctic Skua, a 2nd summer Med Gull, 2 Common & 2 Arctic Tern S, 62 Guillemot, 3 Razorbill.

Other notable counts were a Hobby S, 1300 Swift S including a very small all dark Swift sp. obviously not a Common Swift but? 11 Sand Martin S, a Black Redstart (Point), 2 Goldfinch S.

More Swifts today but little else with plenty of clouds around and a changeable S-SW wind.

. At sea 1 Red-throated Diver, 8 Manx Shearwater, 22 Gannet, 7 Oystercatcher, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Redshank all south, 5 Little Gull N and a Razorbill on the sea. On land 100 Golden Plover, 650 Dunlin, 17 Whimbrel, 62 Curlew and 159 Redshank were all higher counts than previous days, 1300 Swift S, 21 Sand Martin S, 5 Flava Wagtail (3 S), a Willow Warbler (Point).

5 Small Skipper butterflies were the first of the year whilst a micro moth Coleophora fuscocuprella was trapped and is the 2nd record for Spurn the first being 1883!

More southerly passage today with waders and Swifts being the main movers in a moderate W wind and hazy sunshine.

On the move were 3 Grey Heron, 25 Shelduck out SE, 27 Common Scoter, a Hobby, 11 Oystercatcher, 8 Lapwing, 43 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Curlew, 6 Redshank, 4300 Swift, 29 Sand Martin, 6 Swallow, 2 Flava Wagtail & 23 Linnet.

Other notable sightings were an adult Med Gull, 6 Little Gull, 105 LBB Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull on the Humber.

Some light southerly passage plus a few more waders observed, hot sunny before heavy thundery showers moved in by late afternoon.

Birds heading south included 3 Hobby, 6 Curlew, 108 Swift, 288 Sand Martin, 4 Swallow, 18 House Martin, 1 Meadow Pipit, 8 Flava Wagtail. Waders of note were a Lapwing (Triangle), 17 Whimbrel, 53 Curlew and a Greenshank. Seabirds observed included 71 Gannet, a Bonxie which attacked a Gannet downing into the Humber with its fate unknown! 166 Little Gull, 51 LBB Gull, 2 Yellow-legged Gull (1 x 3rd summer, 1x 1st summer), 8 Common Tern & 5 Guillemot.

The main highlight of the day came from the moth department with a LEAST CARPET in the moth trap at Kew the 1st Yorkshire record and fairly rare within the UK.

More fog to start with clearing early afternoon, very quiet on the bird front.

of note were 43 Gannet (Humber), 46 Golden Plover, 2 Little Gull (Humber), a Common Tern (Point), 3 Turtle Dove including two fledged juveniles from the Warren, 2 Cuckoo (Point), a Barn Owl (Triangle), 8 Swift and a Blackcap (Little Hedge).

North of the area the only birds of note were 6 Little Gulls at Beacon Lagoons.

With fog all day giving visibility down to 100m very few worth while observations could be made the only highlight being 3 Common Cranes that were heading S at 11.00 then u-turned back north and settled in Green Lane in Easington before heading NW. These are the birds have been present further north at West Carlton near Aldeburgh for the past few weeks.

Other birds of note were c100 Gannet, 7 Little Gull & 2 Kittiwake (Humber), 3 Stock Dove and a Swift (Point). At Beacon Lagoons there were 20 Little Gulls.

Another hot day with sea fret from time to time and a light N-NE wind.

Few birds around except 4 Gannet, 1 Teal, 9 Lapwing, 1 Flava Wagtail and 2 Crossbill all south and 2 Swift (Point), a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Kew) and 8 Blackcap at the Point including 4 juveniles.

Immigrant moths in the traps included 3 European Corn Borer, the 5th record for Yorkshire, 1 Willow Ermine and 7 Bird-cherry Tree Ermine plus c20 Diamond Backed moths and some Silver Y’s.

More of the same in warm sunny weather and a light onshore wind.

Birds of note today were 29 Shelduck out, a Hobby S, 48 Golden Plover & 7 Whimbrel (Humber), 3 Med Gull a 2nd summer S and 2 adults blogging, a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Canal Hedge), 19 Sand Martin S, a Flava Wagtail (Triangle).

A Gatekeeper was a new butterfly for the year; other notable insects included a Humming-bird Hawkmoth, 48 Common Darter and 17 Red-veined Darter.

A new month with a continuing theme in weather and birds. Hot hazy sunshine with an onshore wind making it a rather pleasant day.

On the bird front a trickle of birds south with a Little Egret, 75 Swift, 21 Sand Martin, 8 House Martin, 1 Meadow Pipit and 2 Goldfinch. Other birds of note were a Grey Heron (Humber), 62 Golden Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Greenshank, 2 Common Tern, a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Gate), a Flava Wagtail (Warren). A Storm Petrel tape-luring session produced a single bird at 23.20, which was already ringed (No 2559108).

32 Common Dater were observed mostly recently emerged, 9 Red-veined Darter were also seen.