The magic of Spurn, by Zach Haynes

The Autumn months are some of my favourite. There’s the wonderful colours of the trees turning, and there’s also the migrations. It starts to get cold, but that doesn’t stop some of us! There are lots of places for the hardy nature lover to go and see this wonderful spectacle, and, in my opinion, Yorkshire has one of the best places to see migration in action. I’m talking about Spurn Point and it’s one of my favourite places to go. It’s located in East Yorkshire, and is a long strip of land that stretches about 3 and a half miles into the Humber Estuary. One of the things I find quite amazing is that you can watch the sun rise and set over the sea!

Sunrise at Spurn by Zach Haynes

This place is one of the birding greats. It's a National Nature Reserve and 40,000 people flock here at all times of the year to see the amazing wildlife that turns up. For the past 5 years, there’s been a great little event called Migfest held at Spurn. This is a held in Autumn when migration is at its peak, and usually, something rare turns up!

At this time of year, the numbers of birds are astonishing, in two days, 4,000 meadow pipits were counted! There’s also the vast number of other birds, like goldfinch, redwing, gulls, tern, and all sorts of wader and sea birds, seen over the point, or over the sea. It's the prefect place for studying bird migration and the staff and volunteers of Spurn Bird Observatory have been doing just that for decades. The landscape is also absolutely beautiful, with the peninsula sticking right out into the North Sea, and an abandoned army outpost and lighthouse at the end, Spurn is an incredible landscape, and at this time of year, it’s amazing.

View from the lighthouse by Zach Haynes

If you’re a birder, Spurn has an amazing amount of birds, and also some great rarities if you get lucky. The rarest bird I’ve seen there is a Long-billed Dowitcher, but also things such as Kentish Plover and Pied Flycatcher. The reason for the huge numbers of birds is because of the placement of the land. Peninsulas seem to be some of the best places for this, this is because as the birds fly along the coastline, they try to keep the land in sight, so the birds will fly along and down the point as they can still see the land there. The Point acts as a sort of funnel to bring birds in vast numbers to one spot.

Birdwatchers watching a Long-billed Dowitcher at Spurn on September 2017, photo by Zach Haynes

Because of the incredibly fragile wildlife that lives here, there are a lot of ‘rules’ that the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have had to put in place. Firstly, there are no dogs allowed on the reserve or point, Spurn has a huge variety of wildlife, including things like ground nesting birds and deer, so to protect these and their habitat, they’ve had to prohibit these, as well as vehicles. All access is strictly on foot or bike. The Trust also runs ‘Spurn Safaris’. These wonderful trips involve a couple of experts on the point taking you down on a specially equipped vehicle that they have. They take you right down to the end of the point to where the abandoned army outpost and the lighthouse are. These places are host to some amazing wildlife, birds especially. Being so far east and surrounded by water it’s a natural land fall point for birds migrating from the continent. Usually every year some sort of rare warbler or wader turns up and if it’s right down the end of the point that makes it fun for the birders taking a three-mile run down to see it!

On top of all the amazing wildlife, the people that are regular to Spurn are some of the nicest people you’ll meet. They are incredibly helpful to new birders, are open to any questions and they’ll always let you know where the latest amazing find has been seen. You’re usually tipped off to this quite well by lots of birders with backpacks and scopes running in the same direction yelling things like ‘Long-billed Dowitcher’ at you as they hurtle along.

In my opinion, Migfest is one of the best ways to learn about birds, and the wonderful landscape it’s held at. It’s a very friendly festival which is organised by Spurn Bird Observatory, everyone’s relaxed and you get great organisations like the BTO along. I had a great time meeting up with everyone again this year and can’t wait for next year’s, though I’m sure I’ll be back at Spurn before then! Maybe I'll bump into you there?

Zach, @nerboy386

Spurn Bird Observatory: http://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/
Migfest: http://www.spurnmigfest.com/

Nest boxes and winter feeding, by Noah Walker

Two years ago I started what I thought would be a relatively small nest box project restricted to a small wood near where I live. However over the past two years, more and more boxes have been going up, more land has been covered and more feeding has begun. Now I have around 200 nest boxes of varying types spread over 8, soon to be 9 sites (3 woodland and 5 farmland). As I said in my last post in 2016 most of the nest boxes are targeted at woodland birds such as Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits and Nuthatches. Now though I’m trying to focus on Tree Sparrows around the Thames Valley. Tree Sparrows declined by 96% in England between 1967 and 2014 and are a rare sight in most areas.

This graph from the Breeding Bird Survey shows how much Tree Sparrows have declined in England.

Recently the project took a big step forward with support from the RSPB and a number of local farmers who were keen to help their farmland birds. Currently we are working with 8 farms trying to aid the recovery of typical farmland bird species through feeding. At 5 of these farms we are specifically aiding the return of Tree Sparrows by putting up nest boxes and feeding intensively. At this time of year I move from checking and monitoring nest boxes to maintenance and bird feeding.

Tree Sparrows, photo by John Harding

This winter I will also be making 20 more boxes for a new farm that has great potential for Tree Sparrows. Unfortunately Tree Sparrows won’t use the boxes until the second year of them being up so its especially important they go up as soon as possible to maximise the chance of them being used. Occasionally I have to empty out the nest box of the old nest. Usually I don’t do this as Tree Sparrows will reuse the old nest material and just refurbish the nest. Instead I only clean the boxes that have become full of Earwigs and faeces or contain dead chicks engulfed by the nest material from the previous year. At a few of the farms I have put up Little Owl boxes and a Barn Owl box so over the winter I will be checking the Little Owl boxes for signs of roosting individuals.

Hopefully one day soon Little Owls will nest in one of my boxes! This beautiful clutch was photographed by Graham Giddens.

Within the Tree Sparrow project the nest boxes provide a good nest site that Tree sparrows would otherwise struggle to find. This should help the productivity (breeding success) of the bird improve but then the young still have to make it through the rest of the summer and the following winter. To help the juvenile survival rates improve I will start feeding at all 8 of the farms within the next few weeks. At 5 of them I have been feeding since July because this should stop juveniles dying in the first few weeks of fledging and build the juvenile Tree Sparrow flocks up. Putting feeders out during the summer also means any ‘pioneer’ juveniles (dispersing from further away sites) will lock onto the food and further build the population. Other species that benefit from the feeding are Yellowhammers, Corn buntings, Reed Buntings, Linnets and Chaffinches in particular. To get the best idea of the strength of the populations of different species we ring at the sites during the winter. This gives us data on the movement, size and health of the population and any birds ringed as young in nest boxes could be re-caught and add evidence of juvenile survival.

A couple of my feeders

In the woodland site I will be putting up some nest boxes for Tawny Owls and Kestrels. Although too late for Tawny owls breeding next year it should give them time to investigate it and hopefully use it the following year. The rest of the small (passerine) nest boxes will be checked for any damage. Typically the nest boxes in woodland need cleaning out more often. This is usually because the species using them have more juvenile deaths and being on trees as opposed to posts they seem to get more bugs in.

I hope this post gives you some ideas for things you might do over the winter months.

Noah Walker, @NoahWal01

My internship at Bardsey Bird Observatory, by Elliot Montieth

From July 27th through to September 2nd, I found myself situated on the island of Bardsey in Wales, ready to spend 5 weeks there as part of my Autumn Internship, kindly offered to me by the Bardsey Bird & Field Observatory Warden Steve Stansfield, having been impressed with my work at the observatory earlier in the year for my college work experience.

Dunlin (Calidris alpina) – One of the first migrant waders to start passing through Bardsey and this individual proved it self a cooperative photography subject.

I first experienced life on Bardsey back in August 2016 whilst on a Next Generation Birders (NGB) trip to the island where I simply fell head over heels for the place: birds were coming in both quantity as well as quality, coating every bit of vegetation in sight, the scenery was utterly breath-taking and a good half hour after scaling the mountain you’d be rewarded with a transfixing view across not only Enlli its self, but also across the Irish sea into the heart of Co. Wexford. But that’s not all that Bardsey has to offer, as just as important as the birdlife is the botanical side of the island with nationally scarce Sharp Rush (Juncus acutus), Small Adders Tounge (Ophioglossum azoricum) and Western Clover (Trifolium occidentale) along with the fantastic Golden-haired Lichen (Teloschistes flavicans) all being scattered across the island.

Common Ringed Plover - A species that after many attempts i finally nailed a decent image of 

As at every site it’s the wildlife that makes you remember it and gives it the reputation etc. Yet, on this delightful spot of land in the middle of the Irish Sea you have to remember one thing and it’s that you’re on an island and with that comes a limited social mix. Given the fact I’ve got Asperger’s Syndrome I wasn’t expecting to immediately fit in, get along with people or feel accepted as part of the Bardsey family during my time on the island. Yet I was proven totally wrong as within a matter of few days in to my 5 week stay I felt accepted and created life-long bonds with people I never thought I would, with in times when things hit me hard, there was always a shoulder to cry on with Steve & Emma being there when I needed someone

Assisting the BBFO in their Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), studying was certainly an experience I’ll never forget. Perhaps one day I might be able to come back and ring a few myself!

A question you may be asking is why Bardsey? There’s 19 registered Bird Observatories scattered across the UK, any of which I could have visited: Fair Isle, Spurn, Skokholm, Isle of May, Cape Clear and the observatory that’s right on my door step, Hilbre Island; are all places I could have spent my summer hols at if I wished. Why I chose Bardsey was not only because of the aforementioned reasons, but also because not all bird observatories actually offer volunteering opportunities such as an internship, and given the fact I was offered work experience, it’s easily accessible and I already had a connection with island, it was an obvious choice!

Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) – One of the star birds from the stay, a cracking bird flushed by Ben Porter and I on an evenings walk round the mountain.

The next question is then what do you do when working at one of the UK’s best bird observatories? Well, to answer that question then is quite simply a lot, and from my experience it helps to have common sense combined with a practical/imaginative way of thinking. One thing that I enjoy is that you’re never short of work, weather it’s completing your designated census route in the morning, assisting with writing up a report, going through transects to finish off a bee/butterfly survey, digitising data, repairing damaged areas of infrastructure or just simply maintaining the cleanliness of the observatory and forming a bond with the guests staying so that their enjoying the experience just as much as you are; such jobs and more are why I enjoy the lifestyle of an observatory, because you never get into that zone of boredom.

The whole idea of an internship is so that you can gain an extended insight into the working lifestyle at an observatory and that is why I jumped at the chance of an internship at the BBFO. An experience that will look outstanding on a university application as well as a CV. As I sit now typing away in the BBFO Office, taking into account my times coming to a close, I find myself loving life at an bird observatory to such a degree that I actually wouldn’t mind taking things further and maybe work at an observatory one day.

I mean, I like the work load, its varied nature, and, that a reasonable amount of it is based outdoors, it also involves writing and doing research which again is something I enjoy stuck into as well as working around the greatest love of my life, nature.

 Bardsey experinced its best year yet for these monsters, Convolvulus Hawkmoth (Agrius convolvuli), with a grand total of 9 individuls being recorded throughout my stay. Convolvulus Hawkmoth (Agrius convolvuli)

Now, at the end of my internship, I find myself not only developing a deeper connection with the island of Bardsey and the people that are fortunate enough to call it home. But I now have a seed planted in my mind of a potential carrier path for the future. On that note I now have to say thank you to the people who helped make all this happen and made my internship such an enjoyable and memorable experience: Steve, Emma & Connor Stansfield, Liam Curson, Ephraim Perfect, Ben, Steve & Jo Porter, Josie Hewitt, Harry King, Luke Anderson, Kate Fox, Lizzie Forest and of course Colin Evans, the unsung hero of Bardsey for ferrying all island visitors from the mainland to this Welsh retreat.

Thanks for reading,

Elliot. (@Elliot_montieth)
Website - https://elliotsbirdingdiaries.wordpress.com/

Trip list: 115

Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Common Scoter, Red-throated Diver, Northern Fulmar, Cory’s Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, European Storm Petrel, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, European Shag, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Red Kite, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Western Osprey, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, European Golden Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Northern Lapwing, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling, Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Common Snipe, Pomarine Skua, Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Atlantic Puffin, Black Guillemot, Razorbill, Common Guillemot, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sabine’s Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Rock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Cuckoo, Little Owl, Long-eared Owl, Common Swift, Eurasian Wryneck, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Eurasian Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Red-billed Chough, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Goldcrest, Common Firecrest, European Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Wood Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, European Wren, Common Starling, Ring Ouzel, Common Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, European Pied Flycatcher, Common Redstart, Whinchat, European Stonechat, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, Western Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Rock Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch and Eurasian Siskin.