Spurn Bird Observatory March 27th 2016 - A New Chapter

 So March 27th 2016 became an important date in the history of Yorkshire Birding and in UK Migration.It's an exciting new chapter for SBO , 70 years since its beginnings in 1946 by John Lord, Ralph Chislett, George Ainsworth & RM Garnett. A lot of time and hard work has gone into the new building by the SBO Committee and volunteers, and it shows.

  Bookings are already being taken to stay at the new Observatory, just check the website below for details.

http://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/staying-at-spurn/

  SBO Patron and TV Naturalist Mike Dilger made the journey up from Bristol to officially open the new observatory. SBO Chairman Rob Adams addressed the good sized crowd that had arrived for this important occasion, thanking volunteers and Friends Of Spurn Members for enabling this to be possible.

Rob Adams with Mike Dilger

  Rob then introduced Mike who gave a fantastic speech including a fitting tribute to the late, great Martin Garner who tragically passed away earlier this year and also mentioned the amazing new book coming out soon on The Birds Of Spurn by Andy Roadhouse(details also on the SBO website)

  Mike then proceeded to lift the curtain on this new chapter in SBO history despite the struggles against the strong winds.

 Mike struggling with the curtain and.....

  ...reacting to shouts of "Should've got Chris Packham!"

  Free drinks and food were available as everyone congregated in the Observatory to chat about birding, wildlife and the future of Spurn.In here we also got to see Findlay and Heather Wilde again :)

 With Mike.

  We had arrived 5 hours previously to the opening so had plenty of time to walk around the wild beauty of Spurn Nature Reserve. Skylarks were trying their best to be heard over the North Sea winds while Snipe probed in the long grass for food.

  Oystercatchers, Shelducks, Curlews, Redshanks and Ringed Plover were all seen along the Humber Estuary.

  Spurn Lighthouse with Oystercatchers in the foreground.

  Dozens of Brent Geese arrived jostling for position to feed on the succulent grasses now exposed by the receding tide.

  Inland to the more sheltered Church Field we watched Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and numerous Goldcrests while hoping to get a view of the Firecrest that was in the area.We didn't see the Firecrest but we did meet some new friends Linda & Ron Lowndes with whom we had a good chat about all things wild.If you are reading this Linda & Ron, it was great to meet you both :)

  Goldcrests

  We also had a close encounter of the furry kind with a curious Weasel that checked us out a few times before deciding we were harmless enough and just continued its exploration of the field edge.

  All in all it was a fantastic day in an amazing place.It was great to meet new friends and old and be there for the beginning of this new chapter for Spurn Bird Observatory.

  Cannot wait til September and the next Spurn MigFest :)

See you all there.

For all the recent sightings, booking accommodation, ordering Andy's Birds Of Spurn book or to help and become a Friends Of Spurn member please go to the SBO website below.

Thank you

http://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/

Birding at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

  I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about wildlife parks and zoos as no one really wants to see animals in captivity.If the Human Race wasn't a diabolical killing machine and could live in harmony with our planet and its inhabitants then maybe we wouldn't have to.

  Parks and Zoos are a necessity though with their endangered animals breeding programs and conservation projects around the globe and the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster is one of the UK's best.They have fantastic animal management and some of the largest enclosures in the world which is why they have had recent success with breeding rare Amur Tigers and Amur Leopards.
  It is a great place to take your kids to educate them and to get them enthused about our Global wildlife.Not only that, it is a fantastic place to do a bit of birding too, so I'm proud to say I renew my annual membership each year:)

  During my numerous visits to the YWP I have now logged over 40 wild bird species in the park.The man made pools in the Baboon enclosure and waterfall in the Tiger enclosure are great for Grey Wagtails.

  Depending on the Season the hedgerows and bushes are alive with Robins, Long-tailed Tits, Goldcrests, Redwings, Goldfinches & Linnets.
  Goldfinch near the Polar Bear enclosures.

  Linnet in the Lion Territory

 Fieldfares, Pied Wagtails, Song Thrushes can be found in the African Plains field along with an array of Corvids.
  Fieldfare on African Plains

  Tree Creepers, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays occupy the wooded areas around the children's playground and in the Oak woodland nature reserve adjacent to the Lemur Walkthrough.

  Jay in Oak woodland

  Having protected wetlands at the rear of the park also helps.As well as numerous Black-headed Gulls, Teal, Moorhens & Greylag Geese you can also find waders along the banks.Black-tailed Godwits, Snipe, Redshank & Common Sandpipers have all been observed there by us.

  Greylag Geese on the Wetlands.

 Part of the protected wetlands behind YWP

 Snipe in the wetlands.

Add to these great views of Raptors such as Common Buzzards, Kestrels, Sparrowhawks and Little Owls and you have a pretty good birding patch.

  Little Owl near Lion Territory

 Fly over by Common Buzzard

 Kestrel at the Polar Bear enclosure.

  So if you fancy a trip to Doncaster and Yorkshire Wildlife Park to see the Amur Tigers, Lions and Giant Otters just remember to bring your binoculars too:)

The 3rd Spurn Migration Festival

  Another month, another Birding Festival.This time on the Yorkshire coast down at Spurn Point.Run by The Spurn Bird Observatory and The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust though they are split at the moment over the proposed building of a new visitor centre in a delicate area of Spurn when there are better places for it which would cause less disturbance for the birds.

  Anyway on to the festival.We arrived on Friday night for the opening welcome and Yorkshire Coast Nature lecture.As soon as we arrived at Westmere Farm we were greeted by friendly faces such as Rob Adams and Martin Garner who then introduced the evenings talks.Both amazing birders with lots of information and advice to share.
Martin Garner

 Rob Adams

  The main lecture gave us an insight into various locations along the East Yorkshire coastline and the variety of birds seen at each point.

  After the lecture we headed back to our accommodation for the 2 nights at a local pub in Hollym.

  The next morning we were up early(though Majella wasn't too keen on the idea) lol and back at Spurn for 6.30am.It started off dull but the sunrise started to break through the clouds.

  The first port of call was Corner Field to see if we could find the Red Backed Shrike.Expecting to be the first ones there we were surprised to find Springwatch artist Darren Woodhead already sat in the field painting Shrikes.
  Red Backed Shrike(top)(with Willow Warbler)

     After our success with the RB Shrike we joined a guided walk around the Triangle with Scott.The Humber shoreline was full of waders.Scores of Redshanks were joined by Knots, Ringed Plovers, Curlews, Little Egrets, Golden Plover and a Whimbrel.
Ringed Plover

 Little Egret

 Redshank

   A search in the garden of Cliff Farm produced another Willow Warbler and our first of 3 Spotted Flycatchers and on our walk back past the cattle field a Yellow Wagtail flew in and disappeared into the grass.
Willow Warbler

 Spotted Flycatchers

   A stop for lunch, kindly provided by the wonderful people at Westmere Farm was followed by a walk to Kilnsea Wetlands.More Little Egrets, Knots, Mute Swans, Redshanks, Mallards and Oystercatchers enjoyed the sanctuary provided by the Wetlands.

  Linnets were to be found in most of the hedgerows.

  The talks for the Saturday evening were preceded by a Hog Roast(I had a cheese sandwich) and wine.Then came the announcement for the "Young Birder Of The Year" and fantastically it was someone I already knew, the amazing Findlay Wilde.A star of Hen Harrier Day and brilliant all round conservationist(though he did annoy me by showing me birds from his recent Portugal trip that I couldn't even ID) lol.I forgive you Findlay ;)

  The main Saturday evening talk was by Yoav Perlman, one of the top ornithologists in Israel.Down to number 3 due to currently living in East Anglia while doing a PhD for Great Bustard conservation.He spoke about Israel and showed us some stunning birds that made you want to go straight online and book a trip there.(Apologies for the photo Yoav)
You can check out the birding site for Israel here - http://www.birds.org.il/en/

  The audience for the lectures were joined by the temporary barn residents, Swallows for the weekend.

While Findlay headed all the way back to Cheshire, we just had the 20 minute journey back to the pub and had a fantastic sighting of an Adult Fox on the way:)

  Next morning and we wanted to be back at Spurn early enough to have a early Seawatching session.The North Sea in the early morning light.Plenty of Gulls, knots and a Gannet but I missed the Corys & Sooty Shearwaters and Long-Tailed Skuas:(

  Me Seawatching(photo by Majella Fox)

  We left the Seawatching hut and headed down to the Observatory where they were ringing a few birds.First up was this Pied Flycatcher....

....followed by our first Redpoll of the year.This was followed by more Redpolls at the Church Field ringing station later in the day.

  The highlight of Sunday had to be watching the fastest predator on Earth hunt.We just happened to be in the right spot at the right time near Kew Villa to witness a Female Peregrine chasing a flock of alarm calling Knots.The Knots darted through the sky, abruptly changing direction as the Raptor dived in closer.They disappeared over Cliff Farm as the Knots headed out to open water.
  We had already seen a pair of Peregrines at Westmere Farm mobbing an annoyed Common Buzzard  a few hours beforehand but this sighting was more dramatic and a lot closer:)

  Even the coastguards were enjoying the afternoon sun by having a training session out in the Humber.

  Another miss with a Barred Warbler and we walked back to Westmere Farm to listen to a talk about the local Little Tern colony by Mike before seeing who was around to say our goodbyes too for another year.

  It was another fantastic Migration Festival, one that we hope to return to every year.In the end 57 species were seen by us over the weekend, not sure how far off the top total for the Bird Race that was though, quite a lot I should think.

  A big thank you to all the people who organised the weekend, Martin, Rob , Andy and the rest, and also to the volunteers and people at the farm that watered and fed us for 2 days(best scones ever).

  See you all again next year!! :)