Kilnsea and Spurn Triangle in November

 

What a difference a day makes. Contrasting to yesterday grey gales, today was cold, but sunny and still. I drove to Spurn and parked by the visitor centre. A flock of Starlings fed on the car park. After a short stint in Canal Scrape hide, where I failed to see a Water Rail but caught up with Bethan, I started my walk about the triangle. The tide was out, but coming in fast.

Cormorants.

A group of Shelduck on the mudflats.

One of the several Little Grebes on the Borrow Pit.

A Robin just by the Sandy Beaches.

One of two Stonechats by Beacon Lane.

I had lunch at the KIlnsea Wetlands hide. I had it to myself all the time I was there, which was great. The family of Whoopers and the large number of Brents were highlights. I walked to the high on the road at Long Bank to check the fields, and there is where I counted the 60 Whoopers with just the one Mute Swan.

Black-tailed Godwit, Wigeon and Teal.

Lapwing.

A Whooper Swan family, Pintail, Wigeon and Brent Geese.

More Brent Geese.

Shoveler.

One of 7 Pintail.

Brent and Greylag flushed out.

Whoopers in flight.

More Whoopers!

Roe Deer.

This guy walking along the field edge got the Whoopers up.

Alert Whoopers.

Tree Sparrow.

Magpie.

A small skein of Pink-footed geese over.

The last bird. Three Ringed Plovers landed on the Kilnsea Beach with beautiful light.

A walk to the Spurn Lighthouse

 

Yesterday I travelled to Spurn with family. It was expected to be cloudy all day, although, in the end, we had some wonderful sunny spells (and a couple of drizzly showers). It was an hour before high tide when we got there. We started in the Spurn Discovery Center and walked to the lighthouse and back.

The last high tides had removed large chunks of the cliffs north of the seawatch hide and flattened the vegetation. We had to walk away from the path at times as it looked close to collapse.

We went down the steps by the warren. Some lovely clumps of sea mayweed.

In the wash over, a large mixed flock of sanderling and dunlin were roosting. A small raptor, a Merlin, caused panic and flocks spiralled like starling murmurations on the Humber side. 

Eventually they settled on the spit. A Knot was with the flock and there were several Ringed Plovers about too.

From the other side of the wash over the land rises and there were great views of the estuary. The flock of Sanderling painted a white band on the spit.

The view framed by a metal post. Looking North towards the wash over.

Sea Holly.

It is on this area that we found some Sea Aster bees, feeding on rocket flowers.

This one appeared to be marking a stick.

Common Field Grasshopper.

From the Chalk Bank hide, we counted 42 Curlew roosting. There were a few terns, usual gull mix and Cormorants.

This sad and gruesome photo is just part of the contents of a drinks can that had been discarded by the path to the Chalk Bank hide. It contained dozens of carrion beetles, including Silpha tristis, Tanatophilus rugosus and Nicrophorus vespillo. Discarded drinks cans and bottles are traps for insects

We loved the wire butterfly sculpture by the lighthouse.

A sunny spell brought out more invertebrates.

Dune robberfly.

Sea Aster bee on cat's ears.

Small heath butterfly.

After the sun, a dark, ominous cloud. We were near the high tide refuge when the rain started. A Pied Flycatcher landed on the path ahead of us, a migrant on it's way back to its winter quarters.

At the car park, this trio of Lesser Marsh Grasshoppers, a female and two males.

Spurn and Kilnsea spring migration

 Last year with the lockdown I missed the spectacle that is Spurn during migration. I hadn't visited since October with the various restrictions on movement and that had to be addressed. The weather forecast wasn't great, with drizzle and rain all morning and quite cold at 5oC. I first made a stop at Kilnsea Wetlands. Sand Martins and two Swallows hunted low over the water. A Cuckoo called.

What is it about Shelduck and hay bales?

Summer plumage  Bar-tailed Godwit.

The bird to look for was a drake Garganey. A birder who had travelled from the Peak District pointed it out to me, initially hiding in the shoreline, only the top of its head visible. Later it gave much better views. It was a first for me, I've seen Garganey before, but never a drake.

Drake Garganey.

Linnet with nicely marked chest.

I saw 9 Wheatears spread around the fields.

This Redshank landed momentarily in front of the hide, but moved on to join the rest at the roost.

Meadow pipit.

Little Ringed Plover.

Shelduck.

Brown Hares.

The lone, long staying Whooper swan. It has an odd mark on the neck.

Oystercatchers.

I moved onto Beacon Ponds. A Common Sandpiper and a distant Greenshank were the highlights.

On the ponds and scrapes at Kilnsea Wetlands there were some Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrel feeding together.

This odd looking pipit was also in the area. It was pale and with a plain head and back, with neat chest stripes. It turned up to be a Meadow Pipit.

Meadow Pipit.

One of many Whimbrels today.

Sparrowhawk.

Little Egret.

First Swift.

I met up with Bethan Clyne and we walked around the triangle. When at Long Bank, I spotted a Great White Egret in amongst a reedy pond. It then flew to Canal Scrape but it didn't last much there. I can't believe I saw a Little Egret just an hour before the GWE this year!

Large flocks of Brent Geese moved back and forth. This group was feeding by the Crown and Anchor.

As I returned to Kilnsea Wetlands, I saw that the Great White Egret had returned there, and I managed some shots. The rain had become stronger and the light was quite poor.

Nice to see the plumes of its breeding plumage.

A Cuckoo called and showed quite well, but with reeds in front and behind, it proved hard to focus. It was also raining quite hard, had to keep wiping my camera lense.

Cuckoo.

The rain had soaked my shoes and gloves and after my lunch in the car I just couldn't warm up so it was time to call it a day. But, despite the weather, what a day! A total of 64 sp today and added 18 sp to my year list. I can't wait to go back!