After the birding slumbers of June and July it was good to get all the members of our little team together again for a trip to the east coast. All five of us met in Newhey at 6am and loaded ourselves into Bob K`s latest car, the day promised to be warm and sunny and away we went. Our target bird was the Marsh Warbler`s that have spent a while in the latest acquisition by the Friends of Spurn in Sykes Field (formerly Blue Bell Ponds Caravan site) Upon arrival two Yellow Wagtails showed very nicely on the car park and lots of Swallows, House and Sand Martin with a single Swift reminded us that migration time was here. We were directed to the right area to hopefully see the Marsh Warblers by a helpful birder and waited for them to show. After about an hour and a half, we managed to see Lesser Whitethroat, Willow and Sedge Warbler but there was a strange call comingfrom the reed fringed pool, what was it? Then an all too brief flight view of a warbler that flew from the area of the strange noises. Another visiting birder then said, The Marsh Warbler is showing on the fence We all enjoyed about 30 seconds as the bird sat out and showed really rather well, a new bird for one of our team!
We all hurried along to the Kilnsea Wetlands and managed to get seats in the hide over the high tide period, plenty of Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Little Gulls, Sandwich and Common Terns, a good selection of waders with Spotted Redshank, Knot, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Greenshank, Avocet, Black tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper and along with a heavily moulting Garganey it made it a very pleasant birdwatch. We all had a stroll down Beacon Lane and managed to locate about four Pied Flycatchers along with a decent number of Tree Sparrows. We also searched in vain for yesterday`s Clouded Yellow butterfly in Church Field but the amount of Painted Lady, Red Admiral we all saw was quite impressive as they fed up for their migration.
All in all a very good days birding which was capped off with a pint at The Rams Head pub in Denshaw!
