August 30th 2010

A trip to Spurn, Humberside was not to be turned down so after a long journey we arrived to windy conditions and the news that there had been a fall of migrants to this coastal hotspot so it did not take long to gather the gear and go a wandering – first bird was a Wood Warbler, then 2 Whinchat followed by a Barred Warbler then a – and so on and so on - for a landlocked birder this was bliss even if by local standards it was a small arrival. The most interesting birds recorded from our final tally including birds moving off shore were- 2 Barred Warbler, 2 Wood Warbler, Wryneck, 3 Redstart, 2 Whinchat, 4 Wheatear, 6 Pied Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, 100+ Kittiwake, Red-throated Diver, 2 Sooty Shearwater, 16 Manx Shearwater, 11 Artic Skua and 3 Great Skua. There was also a good supporting cast of waders, common warblers and a Hobby.
With the prospect of a long journey home fighting Bank Holiday traffic we decided to head south taking a detour to see the juvenile Citrine Wagtail at Ogston Reservoir, Derbyshire which was a good idea at the time but lady luck decided that once we were too far to turn back Spurn would produce a probable juvenile Collared Flycatcher which had been trapped, o well you cant be everywhere.
I arrived home in time for a look at the night sky with Jupiter and four of its moons showing plus stunning views of Orion before the dropping temperatures drove me inside.

Richard