Stormy Spurn,25th September....

Chris taking a shot of the stormy North Sea.

Female Roe Deer

Yellow-browed Warbler

A trip out with Chris and Nige to this migration hotspot to partake in a bit of seawatching,resulted in it being a bit of a disappointment after Friday's excellent counts.The main reason for this was that the wind had switched around from Friday's North-easterly to today's North Westerly,pushing the birds further offshore,thus the little blighter's were too far out to i.d. and were flying by in a blur in the heat haze.We still managed to see some nice birds though which included Sooty and Manx Shearwater,Bonxie,Arctic Skua,Red-breasted Merganser,Eider,4 Purple Sandpiper and 2 small groups of Barnacle Geese flying south and a small flock of 10 Snow Bunting coming 'In off'.The Barnies were a nice surprise and birds where noted moving south all along the east coast from Northumberland to Norfolk.Visible migration was also in evidence today,with us recording 3 Lapland Bunting,south and several Brambling with their distinct 'Eheep' calls as they passed overhead.On the land,the best bird went to a stunning little Yellow-browed Warbler which had been found in a mist net in Kew and we then watched as it was released in front of an expectant crowd,lovely.We were also treated to superb views of a Jack-snipe roosting on the Canal scrape,with it's superb,intricate patterned camouflage,blending in well with the reeds it was resting in.Other land migrants included a male Stonechat,Redstart,3 Siskin and Chiffchaff.Non bird sightings included 4 Roe Deer and a single Migrant Hawker.A great day out again,despite the battering North Westerly.

Ring-necked Parakeet....

While visiting Trace's mum yesterday evening at Grimsby hospital,we had a single Ring-necked Parakeet flying around the grounds,the first one i have seen in Linc's for ages.According to the Grimbarians it has been around for a few months and it was a nice bonus,diverting thoughts from our visit for a few moments.

MSQ And the Patch......

Gorse-shield Bug

Fly Agaric.

Pebble Prominent larvae.

A day to myself today as Trace was working,so i started at Messingham were the best highlights were an Osprey,which was watched flying low overhead towards the sand works,carrying a sizeable fish in it's talons.This species is always great to see and was the first one i have seen this year.Other bird highlights were a couple of Siskin,my first of the autumn period,8 Chiffchaff,3 Reed Warbler and a Green Woodpecker and the bizarre sight of a male Pheasant landing on and swimming about on the edge of the Grebe lake.I had read that this species was capable of swimming,but had never witnessed it before,amazing!.There was also lots of insects on the wing in the warm autumnal sunshine today,Butterflies seen,included 15 Comma,10 Speckled Wood,6 Red Admiral and a Small Copper and Dragonflies were represented by 3 species,Migrant Hawker,Southern Hawker and Common Darter.There were also lots of Shield-bugs around the reserve with Green,Birch,Bronze and Gorse being seen,but the best insect highlight went to a caterpillar,with me finding a cracking Pebble Prominent larvae,which was the first time i have observed this species larvae and it was found feeding on a lakeside Sallow.The only other notable sighting was a single Stoat.
 The second site i visited was my local patch at Worlaby were the best sighting was my first records of Pink-footed Geese of the autumn/winter period with a total of 69 birds moving south in flocks of 35,23 and 11,i love hearing there calls as they pass over,a sure sign of autumn and the colder months to come.Raptors were well represented as always,with 4 juvenile Hobby,19 Common Buzzard and 2 juvenile Marsh Harrier.Non bird highlights included several Common Darter,a couple of Speckled Wood and a single Wood Mouse.A great day out again locally!.

Cetti's...

Orb-web Spider(Araneus diadematus)

Another visit to Far-Ings this afternoon to look for the reported Osprey from yesterday resulted in a big zero,but i did gain some compensation in the form of another male Cetti's Warbler.Todays bird showed brilliantly in the Hotel pit hedge and was watched singing in the lower branches of a Buddliea bush.As i commented in yesterdays post,these are a smashing little bird species and lets hope they get properly established here,it is a perfect site for them.The only other birds of note were a handfull of Beardies and a single Whimbrel which flew west.There were still a few dragons on the wing today,which included at least 20 Migrant Hawker and 10 Common Darter.A nice few hours in some sunshine at last.

North Linc's...

A few hours out and about today visiting two sites,Far-Ings and the local patch at Worlaby.The first few hours of the day were spent sheltering in Ness hide at Far-Ings as it absolutely peed down,but all was not lost as i got good views of a male Cetti's Warbler feeding close to the hide in an area of cut reed,these are lovely warbler's and i heard a further 2 singing males around Ness.Also observed from my shelter,was a cracking Water Rail which showed absolutely brilliantly in the open and was watched catching and killing a Common Shrew,an amazing piece of behaviour,which it carried off into the cover of the adjacent reedbed!.The only other sightings observed from here,were a single Jay watched flying along the edge of the north meadow towards the Target Lake and a nice mixed flock of Gadwall,Teal and Shoveler and a single Reed Warbler.The next site i visited was the local patch at Worlaby and it was a little bit blustery to say the least,but i managed more nice sightings,the best of which was more stunning views of a juvenile Hobby,probably the same individual as my last visit.This time i watched it perched in a Poplar plantation,calling loudly and every so often flying down to catch a Common Darter,these are fantastic raptors and are a close second to my favourite Common Buzzards.Another Hobby was seen to fly along the Wold top between Elsham and Saxby wood.The only other really notable sighting was an adult Yellow-legged Gull watched feeding and loafing on the newly ploughed field near to the car park with a mixed flock of Lesser black-backed,Herring,Common and Black-headed Gull's and it gave good views before departing with the other species as i got too close.Numbers of passerines are picking up a little,with 120 Linnet and 80 Goldfinch today and a good sized flock of 57 Meadow Pipit in the wet pasture.A single Green Sandpiper was trying it's best to hide in the Soak drain and a single juv. Marsh Harrier and 8 Common Buzzard where also recorded.A good day out in the local area.

Brown Flycatcher....

After a timely look on the net late yesterday afternoon and a very hectic journey with Dave,we made it to Bempton RSPB and ran/walked the half a mile to the birds chosen feeding area.It had been found feeding in a small gorse filled gully only a few hundred metres from the sea and was watched flycatching from the cover of the gorse bushes and was frustratingly difficult to see at times,but we managed to see it perched on a couple of occasions albeit briefly.Amazingly the bird was still flycatching when we left at 8.30 and was watched catching moth's.This constitutes the 4th record for Britain and Ireland of this asian mega and only 5 miles from the last Yorkshire record at Flamborough in October 2007.A fitting end to what has been a very memorable weekend's birding with me seeing Eastern-olivaceous Warbler,Brown Flycatcher,4 Barred Warbler's,juv. Common Rosefinch and some lovely views of common migrants to boot,truly amazing stuff and one i will remember for a long time!.

Spurn.....

A visit today with Nige to this cracking area for migrants,saw us having a great days birding.No major rarities were seen today,unlike yesterday,but we managed some nice sightings all the same.The first goodie was a Barred Warbler which we saw briefly at the back of the VTS tower,perched and then in flight,looking like a minature shrike!,with a further 2 seen very well,1 near the Canal and 1 at Cliffe Farm and it was nice to study these birds salient feature's such as the finely barred rear flanks and undertail and the strikingly pale plumage,strong bill and dark eye.This is the first time i have had multiple Barred's in one day for some time!.Next was 1 of yesterdays 3 Common Rosefinche's at the point,which gave it's position away by it's distinct 'Duee' call and it also showed brilliantly,feeding in Elder's and Bramble scrub with a small group of Linnet and Greenfinche's,a little cracker!.Also seen were several common migrants which included 3 Pied Flycatcher,3 Whinchat,Spotted Flycatcher,Wheatear,Redstart,4 Garden Warbler and my earliest Lapland Bunting ever!.Also a couple of migrant wader species were also seen and where singles of Greenshank and Green Sandpiper.Non bird sightings today comprised of 3 lovely Roe Deer,at least 25 Migrant Hawker,20 Common Darter and several Speckled Wood and Small Heath.Another superb and enjoyable day at this great site to witness bird migration!.

Eastern Oli....

Another trip to Flamboro' this morning,this time with Dave,resulted in us catching up with this eastern mega warbler in it's chosen corner of the old fall plantation.The bird didn't show at first to the expectant crowd,but i heard what i thought was it calling nearby and sure enough about 5 minutes later it appeared and gave cracking views for about 25 minutes.It was a very distinctive looking bird,with it's pallid plumage and orange lower mandible to the bill,what a cracker and a big well done to CCT for finding it!.This was a new species for nearly everyone present and was a welcome addition to my warbler list.After observing this beauty,we went to look in the Bay Brambles area,quickly finding one of the reported Barred Warbler's and it also gave fantastic prolonged views,showing very well as it preened and fed in the bramble and willow scrub,superb stuff!.Other birds observed while we where on site included a flyover Common Buzzard,Greenshank and a single Manx Shear over the sea.A super few hours and thanks to a quick u-turn by Mr Wright!.