Spurn Grand Opening!

I had just recently broke up for the Easter Holidays and a fantastic way to start it was by going to Spurn for the grand opening for their new Bird Observatory! The new Obs looked amazing and another good thing was that we got to stay in the new Obs too!!! We set off early Sunday morning and we arrived at Spurn at around half nine.

Before we took a look at the new Obs we had a quick look around Sammy's Point as we heard a Firecrest had been showing well around the area. In the first paddock we saw a White Wagtail which was a very start to our trip. We had another look in one of the Paddocks and flushed a very nice Woodcock which was my first for about a year! Out on the Humber was a good number of Brent Geese where I managed to pick out a nice Pale Bellied Brent amongst the Dark Bellies. We made our way to the third paddock where the Firecrest had been seen. A man called us over and put us straight onto the Firecrest. It was flitting around a few particular bushes and at some points it came right to the front and showed amazingly! After a while I spotted another small bird just next to the Firecrest and it turned out to be another one! Self found Firecrest! A truly amazing start! Also in the paddock where Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests.

Firecrest

 

On the way back to the car I saw Findlay Wilde who I have met a few times before. it was great to catch up with him. We then headed to the crown and anchor and saw Darragh Hudson, another young birder I have met before, it was also great to see him. My Dad spotted 2 Chiffchaff next to the car park of the crown and anchor. Me, Darragh, his uncle, Carl and my Dad went looking for a Black Redstart in Sandy Beaches but we failed to find one. We then walked down to the Obs to have a look around, it looked awesome! The Obs was opened by the Patron of Spurn, Mike Dilger and after saying a few words, he opened the Obs! I am really looking forward to staying there in the future! I arranged to do some birding with Fin and Darragh after the opening so firstly we went to Kilnsea in search of the Black Brant but there was no sign of any Brents around Kilnsea. We then walked all the way to Sammy's Point to try and see the Firecrest again, after 5 or 10mins of searching 1 was picked out showing at the front of a bush, it showed very well. We also saw some Redwing in the paddock.

 

After we had a good luck at the Firecrest we headed back to the Obs area. We walked back along the bank next to the estuary in hope of getting a Black Redstart or a Wheatear on the rocks but we had no luck. We stopped off at the Obs to get a bit of food and drink then headed back off to Kilnsea as the Black Brant had been seen again. The bad thing was that the group of Brents were very flighty and kept flying to the wetlands and to the fields so it was hard to pick out. We headed to Beacon Ponds to get a good luck at the field and the wetlands but still the Black Brant was hard to spot. After searching for a while, it was time for Darragh to leave so we said our goodbyes after a great birding session. Me and Fin headed to the Crown and Anchor with our parents to get some food and then after that too, Fin also had to go back home, I had a very enjoyable day birding with some great people and birds.

 

After the food me and my Dad headed to Kilnsea again hoping to see the Black Brant hoping it had been pinned down. We arrived to see that all Brents were now down so I started scanning but first a nice Marsh Harrier over the car was great!

 

Marsh Harrier

 

The Brents flew a little closer which made it easier to pick out and soon enough, thankfully the Black Brant waddled to the front of the group! Once out in the open it was quite distinctive and easy to spot.

 

Black Brant

After seeing the Brant we went to the obs to see our room which was very nice. After that we went to the Crown and Anchor to put a great end to the day, it was nice to have a chat to many people such as Jonnie Fisk, Matt Bruce, Nathan Pickering, Lizzie Bruce and many more.

 

The Monday morning was very miserable where very little seemed to be about so we spent mostly all of our time looking for the Siberian Chiffchaff which was seen next to the Easington playing fields. We had a look round the whole of the field but other than a couple of Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests we saw nothing.

 

After a while of looking we decided to was time to leave Spurn after an awesome couple of days. I never tire of coming to Spurn its a truly incredible place!