Ortolan bunting and Wryneck find

 Today myself, Joe Griffin and Emma Rigate decided to head down the point in the morning. Once we had arrived at the lifeboat cottages we decided to work the area for a while with due to quite a few species being present and no other birders. At 0953 we decided to walk through the parade ground in an attempt to flush any birds hiding in the grass. This worked and a bunting flew out of the grass calling with a distinct two tone call. This got my attention as it wasn’t like anything I’d heard in the field before. Luckily the bird flew up into a bush only a short distance away and allowed all the observers present to get onto the bird I immediately called it out as a ortolan bunting but with no prior experience with this species I wanted a second opinion so rang Zach Pannifer and send him to back of camera images which he quickly confirmed my identification and I put out the news. The bird had flown towards the lifeboat cottages so we headed around to try get another view of the bird at which point myself and Joe Griffin simultaneously got onto a wryneck in the centre of the lifeboat cottages on the pathing stones! Two fantastic finds in the space of a few minutes. What a feeling! 

Spurn White rumped sandpiper & American golden plover

Today started with me finishing a nightshift. When the sun finally rose at the main highlight of the morning was a Hobby which tried to catch an adult little tern. Luckily the Hobby was unsuccessful and the little tern got away. 

Once I was done at the tern shift I made my way to the Chalky point to watch the waders on the Humber which included me relocating the American golden plover that has been around for a few days & had been radioed out from the Warren. Also 500 golden plover, 150 ringed plover, 2000 Dunlin & 400 redshank. 

Whilst people arrived to view the American goldie between chalky and Sammy’s a white-rumped sandpiper got radioed out from the Warren gate, this was a lifer for me and would put me on 263 as well as taking me to 184 for my Spurn list. I quickly rushed down to the Warren and luckily the WRS was still showing incredibly well in front of the gate. This was one of my target species on my return to Spurn this season with no records being recorded last year & previously missing out on one by seconds in 2022 so I was very pleased to have connected with this bird. A great mornings birding. 

White-rumped sandpiper

American golden plover

 

Spurn gull-billed tern!

Today I started on nights in the evening so had a day free. This turned out to be handy in the afternoon when a gull-billed tern was found by Pete Wragg on Kilnsea wetlands! A 2nd for Spurn and a lifer for me meant a mad rush to the tide which was packed with around 30 locals. Luckily the tern was still present in the black headed gull flock and I was able to get some phone scoped record shots before it flew west then south-west over the hide. Other highlights included a roseate tern, a Drake greater Scaup & 220 sandwich tern at beacon ponds. 

Gull-billed tern