A trip to the East coast!Spurn (part 1)

Easterly winds were forecast for the coming weeks, so I decided on having a few days out towards Spurn on the East coast.With these conditions forecast and it being October this cold only mean one thing,and thats lots of birds being blown across on their migration South!

I was also hoping that it would bring in one or two rarities,such was the strength of the wind.Yellow browed warblers had been recorded in excellent nos,so everything was going to plan.Redwing had began to arrive on our coasts with hundreds of song thrush and blackbirds,all coming for the autumn berries which would be their staple diet for the next few months!

October on Spurn always draws crowds of birders from far and wide,if there is a better place to go in mainland britain to enjoy migration at close hand,then I would like to know,its an absolute mecca!

 Goldcrest were constantly flitting through the bushes and numbers of these diminutive birds were high.There was always the chance of a firecrest amongst them,so you had to be on your toes!I was lucky enough to find a Firecrest up by Sammy's point,which gave a very good show of itself!

                                                   Firecrest at Sammy's Point

    Some    cracking birds began to filter through the grapevine,one such was this Red Breasted Flycatcher           below!This was discovered at Easington cemetery,high up in the sycamores!

 A first for me was this Red Flanked Bluetail also on show at the cemetery.Another of these had been found at the point a few days earlier,but I didn't fancy the 3 mile walk there and again back,with all the camera gear it wasn,t for me!

The bird was flitting about the many headstones that were in the cemetery,but always kept its distance!

Sometimes it flew down to ground level to search for insects and flies.It was only on show a few hrs after being located and when dusk approached it wasn,t seen again!

Again the Red breasted Flycatcher showed well!

With so many thrushes about,its no wonder this Sparrowhawk was in attendance,I used to see it on a daily basis around the same area!So for now I,ll close on this first blog of the East coast and in a few days part 2 will follow,thanks for taking the time to view and keep well!

Eric morecombe hide/leighton moss

So with good reports of Greenshanks being reported from Leighton moss,myself and Brian Rafferty decided to have a run up there to see what was about!It was a dreary morning to start but with us being sat in the Eric morecombe hide,at least we would be dry and comfortable!

On arrival the hide was pretty empty,not surprising really with the inclement weather,not many people had bothered to venture out,we were extremely glad that we had made the effort,as up to 20 Greenshank were avidly feeding in the food rich mud ,some being just 5 metres away!

We were certainly gonna fill our boots with these lovely waders.It was interesting to watch them feed in small groups quickly running through the shallow water picking at anything that they disturbed!

Also on show was a brief view of a water rail that had decided to leave the cover of the reeds,again to look for food in the brackish water.A good few hrs were spent observing the waders at close range,an avocet was also present scything the shallow water.All in all it was a productive day with the camera and as always, enjoyed in good company! Hope that you all enjoy the images and as ever keep well!