A WALK ON THE WILDSIDE---PAUL FOSTER

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Sunday 1 November 2009

Spurn Point

This Sparrowhawk was combing the bushes,looking for its next meal.
This Redwing was feeding on insects.

Brent Geese coming in to feed.


Noisy Little Wren.
I had a pleasent few days lately visiting the East Yorkshire area of Spurn Point.It is a well known bird observatory, where they monitor and ring birds for record purposes.At this time of year there are lots of migrants passing through,the majority of which are the Thrushes from Eastern Europe and Scandanavia,namely Redwing,Fieldfare and good numbers of Blackbird.On one of the days there, some 7500 were recorded flying South.
Good numbers of Brent Geese were present feeding on the estuary,these are one of the smallest of the goose species and again come to our shores to escape the harsh climate of Eastern Europe.Here they can rest up after their arduous journey and I enjoyed watching them from the comfort of the hide.Wrens were quite numerous in the Buckthorn and I managed to take a few quick pictures of one as it showed noisily close by.
Spurn is a 3 mile strip of land and in places only 60 metres wide covered in Buckthorn bushes.The Yorkshire wildlife trust manage this inhospitable piece of land, but spare a thought also for the lifeboat crew and their famillies, who permanantly live on the very tip of the point.Some seven famillies live isolated together in a little community 12 momths of the year.What a marvellous job these people do, saving the lives of people who get into difficulty on board their vessels.I believe there has been a lighthouse here for the past 200 years,sending out its warning to unwary seafarers.
I hope to post a few more pictures in my next blog of this maevellous place.




2 comments:

  1. Paul. Enjoyed your account from Spurn. Plenty of variety as you would expect from this migration hptspot. Look forward to your next installment from the East Coast.

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  2. Thanks Paul, looking forward to more and you can take Kingfisher pictures too!

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