Migrants Way. Stage 10. Hornsea to Atwick

I hesitated in doing the walk today as the weather was looking pretty rough, showers and a strong SW wind. But by 10am it looked that at least the rain wasn't going to be too bad, so I headed for Hornsea. I got to Kirkholme point and as soon as I left the car I realised I had underestimated the wind. The point is very exposed and the wind direction made it hard to shelter anywhere. There were clouds of hirundines and swifts feeding on the sheltered side of the trees and of Swan Island (above). The rain was light and I decided to start the walk and stop by the mere on the way back, in case the wind had eased.

Canada Geese, with some greylags.

A Mute Swan pair with cygnet on a relatively sheltered spot.

I cut across the streets of Hornsea toward the boating yard. The tide was low, and flowing. I walked by the promenade, surprisingly lively given the weather.

Summer plumage Redshank on a groyne.

Sea defences at Hornsea North Cliff.

A stranded flat fish.

 At Morrow Street I turned inland and walked alongside Cliff Road until Double Gates, where it is possible to descend to the beach, clambering down the rocks that defend the ramp. I walk on the beach the rest of the walk.

The ramp at Double Gates.

The cliffs off Atwick, looking north, the cliff reduces on height towards Skipsea.

A palaeolithic moment
A crow was feeding on something in the distance, on the beach. When I got there, it was a dead Grey Heron. Little meat left on it, but the head and legs looked in very good condition. Unfortunately the head was very well attached to the body and I had no tools. Thinking on a messy job I covered the head with sand and carried on. It wasn't a long walk today and I got to Atwick quickly afterwards. I tried to find a sharp rock to get the heron's head, but all the flints were quite round. I decided to have a go at knapping, something I hadn't done since I was a kid. I found a piece of flint, and hit it with a rock to remove a few flakes off it. The edge produced was so sharp, I had to be careful when I put it in my pocket for later. After a quick lunch it was time to turn back to the heron. The flint edge dealt with the heron's skin in no time, and I put the head in a bag.

My flint flake and the heron's head.

I walk on the beach all the way to Hornsea as the tide was still out. On the way, a Little Egret flew north, Gannets south, Common Tern and two Turnstones were other fly pasts.

Little Egret.

North Cliff fishermen.

 I make my way back to the mere though Hall Garth Park.

Hornsea Mere
As I return to the mere I'm blasted by the wind again. I walk to Kirkholme Point, a spit made of gravel, part of the glacial moraine that dammed the lake in front of the receding glacier.

The Mute swan family had moved on and were taking the brunt of the waves.

One of three Swallow Fledglings at the cafe.

The most spectacular sight were the swifts circling  the swarm of swifts feeding on the lee of the wind at Swan Island. You may need to click on this photo to enlarge.

Swifts.

Coots, Greylags, Mallards and Swans also sheltered on the behind Swan Island.

Common Tern over Mute Swans.

Swan Island from Kirkholme Point on a brief sunny spell.

The last Ice Age
The last Ice age, also known as the Devensian, lasted from 115,000 to 11,700 years ago, with glaciers at their maximum extent 22,000 years ago. An ice sheet up to 300 m thick grew over Holderness, butting onto the Wolds, and plugging the Humber Gap at North Ferriby. The seasonal fluctuations meant that during summer, ice melt water rushed out from glaciers, accumulating in a massive lake called Lake Humber -upstream of where the Humber Bridge is today and alongside the Vale of York - and at Lake Pickering, between the Yorkshire Wolds and the North York Moors. The sea level of -100 m exposed Doggerland south of the ice. According to Bryony Coles, it was

 “a rolling landscape cut by the tunnel valleys and longitudinal lakes, drained by braided rivers, with many areas of unstabilised sands and gravels, subject to desiccation and permafrost, and colonised by tundra-like vegetation”

Few plants and animals could survive on the ice, although mosses have been dated from sandy lenses at the cliffs at Dimlington towards the end of a glacial advance. On the areas away from the ice sheet, short vegetation developed, similar to what is found in the Arctic today with lichens and dwarf birch and willow and grasses that would slowly grow in the summer. Herds of Woolly Mammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros, Bison and Reindeer grazed the plains.

Featured bird: Swift
This week is peak autumn migration period for Swifts. Autumn? It may appear surprising, as breeding Swifts are busy feeding chicks and you are likely to see them around until mid or the end of August. It is the yearlings - birds born last year - who migrate into their breeding grounds, prospect for potential nest sites, and may wander widely, but don't stay to breed, who return to Africa at the end of June/early July. Last Sunday, at Hunmanby Gap (just North of Bempton Cliffs) an astonishing 18041 swifts were counted migrating, one of the largest Swift counts in the UK (read a first hand account at Mark James Pearson blog. Swift breeding populations have been in steep decline since the early 1990s and it is an Amber Listed species in the UK.

Breeding Bird Survey index for Swift (from Maximino et al 2019).

Walk information
10 km circular. Start at Mere Side, Hornsea, TA199475 or Kirkholme Point TA198473. Finish at Atwick Cliff Rd. Check tide tables if walking on the beach. Kirkholme point is private land, holding a cafe and a sailing club. The gates are only open Thursday to Sunday 10:00 to 16:30. Access to beach at Hornsea Promenade and Double Gates, sailing club. 

More information

Walk here: ViewRanger - Hornsea - Atwick Loop - Walking route in Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom.

Arctic animal remains found in quarry at Burstwick and Atwick “A walrus tusk from Kelsey Hill and the tooth of a mammoth from the cliffs at Atwick”.

Mammoth tooth discovered at Spurn. https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/10652492.mammoth-tooth-to-go-on-show-at-spurn-national-nature-reserve/

Paleolithic Yorkshire Fauna:
Palaeolithic Yorkshire – mammoth and other ancient elephant finds

Ice Age in East Yorkshire:  http://www.hullgeolsoc.co.uk/holdice.htm

Massimino, D., et al. (2019) BirdTrends 2019: trends in numbers, breeding success and survival for UK breeding birds. Research Report 722. BTO, Thetford. www.bto.org/birdtrends