WYKE BIRDING: SPURN; 19th

Saturday, 24 December 2016

SPURN; 19th - 23rd December

19^th DECEMBER
I arrived at Spurn at lunchtime and a quick walk round produced 7 Pink-footed Geese on Holderness Field along with 158 Wigeon, 3 Goldeneye, 12 Little Grebes, 8 Teal and a few Red-throated Divers on the sea plus a Fox along Beacon Lane. Put up a couple of nets on Kilnsea Wetlands just before dark and a few hours later as the tide came in we caught 13 Knot and 2 Redshank.

20^th DECEMBER

Caught a Song Thrush and a House Sparrow at Kew Villa in the morning but there wasn’t much happening really so I headed over the Welwick Saltmarsh and after a long, very cold two hour wait had good, if a bit distant views of the wintering juvenile PALLID HARRIER over the marsh at one point having a bit of a tussle with a male Marsh Harrier; a ringtail Hen Harrier was also floating around.

21^st DECEMBER

A pleasant day with a walk round the wetlands / ponds in the morning as the tide was rising producing a Purple Sandpiper on Beacon Ponds (probably the first I’ve seen at Spurn!) along with 266 Wigeon, 17 Teal, 8 Pink-footed Geese in fields behind the Obs, an adult male Kestrel on the listening dish and one wintering Greenshank.

A walk along the Humber to Sammy’s Point and back along the lanes in the afternoon then produced a Merlin which missed a Dunlin by inches over the mud, 2 more Sparrowhawks, a Stonechat, 3 Black-tailed Godwits also on the mud and the regular Black Brant with c500 Brent Geese a couple of fields west of Sammy’s carpark while there was a monster adult female Peregrine sat in the next field along.

22^nd DECEMBER

The only birds today were a nice selection of Geese in the fields along Easington Straight with 3 Tundra Bean Geese the pick along with 14 Pink-footed Geese, 7 White-fronted Geese and the Black Brant with 600+ Brent Geese. Just before this another group of 21 White-fronted Geese flew south over Kew Villa where there was also 2 Sparrowhawks but nothing in the nets.

23^rd DECEMBER

Much stronger, howling winds today and a half-hearted wander around produced an increased 349 Wigeon, 3 Gadwall and 14 Teal around the wetlands, another Kestrel (and a Weasel!) at Beacon Ponds, a Gannet and a few Red-throated Divers offshore while an odd looking Common Gull floated down the beach with very dark heard markings but I couldn’t really turn it into anything else.