Migfest 2024 will live in the memory for a very long time. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe how brilliant it was.
It started for us on Thursday night when we arrived to a near gale northerly wind and our first decision was do we put the heating on in the caravan? Thankfully we chose not but it gives you an idea of what we were seeing and feeling.
I wish I had ventured out for a spot of sea watching but that’s another story.
Friday morning dawned bright and quite mild. I ventured out before dawn, hopefully of some birds over the sea, but it was strangely quiet compared to the night before.
I wandered up towards Church Field after the greenish warbler was called out. I managed fleeting views at Kew its only giveaway was its call. The sun was up by now and I had a very productive half an hour looking over the Humber with a sooty shearwater, common scoter and common and sandwich terns. A quick look in Schippers Field produced a variety of common migrants including pied and spotted flycatchers, redstarts and a garden warbler.
A wryneck was called out then a red-backed shrike It felt like something was happening!
I wandered back for some breakfast and didn’t even get a chance to finish my cornflakes before a red-breasted flycatcher was called out in the Crown and Anchor car park.
Next shout was that it was a stunning male!
It showed beautifully in the warm sunshine-what a stunner.
I’d only just finished my breakfast when a bee eater was found on Easington Straight and the reports kept coming so I went to have a look and as I parked up I realised it was on wires straight across the road.
On the way back to Kilnsea a pallid harrier was called and it flew strongly in a northerly direction as I could only watch in awe. Someone had pressed the crazy button!
I spent the afternoon setting up my stand but all the while news of birds being found was crackling over the radio. Typical Autumn fayre with red- backed shrike, wryneck, icterine warbler, barred warbler-what next?
Friday night was calm and clear would everything clear out or stick around?
A misty morning greeted the Migfesters and slowly but surely all of the previous days star birds were picked off apart from the bee eater. A couple of quail in off the sea was unexpected but a wood warbler slightly more predictable.
A yellow browned warbler was the first one ever to be found at a Migfest event.
Great birds kept coming with an ortolan warbler at The Warren.
I had a great morning with my photography workshop an enthusiastic and appreciative audience seemed to have a great time with lots of questions hopefully answered to the full. I stayed with my stand in the afternoon and it was great to chat about all things Spurn and I even managed to sell a few of my prints.
The Spurn Ladies did a sterling job of keeping everyone fed and watered. The work they put in with limited resource is truly admirable and the evening barbecue was first class.
The evening ended with a little walk around Sykes and Corner Field for me and it was great to see pied and spotted flycatchers, redstarts and a garden warbler feeding up before their onward journey.
Sunday started with rain but I was up and out early. The wryneck was still in Sykes Field and the red-backed shrike was in North Field. No photos but still very nice to see in the most Autumnal of conditions.
I heard a strange call overhead from some kind of wader which was most likely the dotterel that was shouted out a couple of minutes later.
I found a cracking convolvolous hawk moth on the way to set up another photography workshop. I had another very appreciative audience, the questions just kept coming.
More Spurn chat, more sales of my prints and the end came all too quickly.
The atmosphere over the weekend was electric and it was clear that something very special had happened.
It was a privilege to be there, the organisation, the food, the people and the undoubted stars of the show were the birds.
This Migfest will be talked about for years to come and the joy and happiness this weekend created was just immense.
As if to put the final cherry on a heavily cream laden cake a honey buzzard flew by as we were packing away.
Thanks to Spurn Bird Observatory, The BTO and to messers Garner and Roadhouse for your ground breaking vision. Spurn Magic!
Late Summer At Spurn
Traditionally, the Bank Holiday at the end of August has always been pretty good for drift migrants with pied flycatchers, redstarts and whinchats leading the charge.
This weekend, however the wind was firmly in the south west or west and a blustery one at that so chances of an early Autumn fall were slim.
That didnt affect the quality of another outstanding trip.
Friday evening started quietly with a couple of spoonbills and a whinchat along with some common waders on Kilnsea Wetlands.
Storn Lilian had blown herself out and the evening finished dead still.
The moth trap was quiet but the offering of peanuts for our resident badgers was snaffled up in the early hours.
Saturday dawned showery so I headed to Kilnsea Wetlands hide. Again quiet but a juvenile little gull was new.
It rained heavily over lunch so I was ‘cabined up’ at the caravan for a couple of hours. As forecast, it brightened up in the afternoon.
The tides have been massive on the back of the full moon earlier in the week and with a south-westerly wind, the tide went out for miles. I had a wander up towards Beacon Ponds along the beach and was amazed by the amount of waders heading south along the edge of the sea. Whimbrel, golden plover, dunlin, redshank as well as countles umbers of oystercatchers.
Sanderling and ringed plover were scurrying about on the sand keeping me entertained for a while.
Mid-afternoon the heavens opened and I headed back-too late to beat the rain though and I got a proper drenching.
I popped back to the beach in the evening for the tern roost and whilst it looked like there were good numbers, they remained well off shore and out of range for the camera.
Saturday night was cold and clear which meant great conditions for photographing waders at the gate.
I had 3 fleeces and a jacket and it was not hot! a chilly wind coming over the Humber suggested Autumn is just around the corner.
there were thousands of common waders being oushed in by the tide- a great hunting opportunity for falcons! and so it proved with some great but brief views of both peregrine and merlin.
As the tide pushed on to the saltmarsh, the passage of waders slowed, the radio crackled with news of a purple sandpiper at goodwin battery and then a pod of white-beaked dolphins weer seen off-shore!
What a sight as they were hunting fish-a long way out but you could see the splash being enhanced by the off-shore wind as they re-entered the sea. What a thrill to see and yet another truly memorable weekend in the Uk’s premier wildlife watching venue.
A Short Trip To Norfolk
We had the most wonderful trip to Norfolk over the weekend.
Arriving on Friday afternoon, we had a wander around the village of Brundall which was to be our base for the next 4 days.
The first thing that struck me was the clear engagement with nature, not just by the residents (it looked like every house had its own wildlife reserve for a garden) but also the council, minimal verge cutting (they were brimming with flowers) but not a drop of glyphosate to be seen! Other councils should take note.
There was a wonderful local nature reserve by the name of Creamers Meadow which was an absolute delight-small but perfectly formed. The orchids were stunning as was the number of banded demoiselles and our first close encounter with a muntjac deer.
The next morning I went out earlt to Strumpshaw Fen-a wonderful reserve on the banks of the river Yare, managed by the RSPB and probably more famous for its swallowtail butterflies than the birds that also live there.
I didnt expect to see any butterflies first thing so I used the time to navigate my way around the reserve in anticipation of having to move around later in search of the elusive quarry. I headed towards tower hide and on the way there were at least two cuckoos calling, blackcaps galore interspersed with a sprinkle of cettis warbler and reed warbler-a great start.
I also heard the distant boom of a bittern and the first sight that greeted me was 3 marsh harriers hunting over the fen and a common tern hunting fish close to the hide.
After an hour I made a move and headed north. The sun was out and there was a good number pf active dragonflies including my first ever scarce chaser.
I made my way back to the visitor centre to check if any swallowtails were around.On the way back a muntjac deer and single speckled wood were the highlights.
No swallowtails at the VC so I headed to another well known spot-the doctors garden. Again no sign so went on to the boardwalk. On the way I met up with a really knowledgable young lad who apparrently writes blogs for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, I was mightily impressed by his knowledge of all of the fauna and flora-he very kindly put me on to my first Norfolk Hawker as well as pointing out a very small swallowtail caterpillar (technically my first ever swallowtail) but not in the form I was hoping for. The boardwalk was good for common lizards as well as close views of marsh cinquefoil and marsh pea.
I made my way back to the car park for a spot of early lunch then went back to check out the VC. No sign so this time I headed out around the woodland walk, brown rat and squirrel were added to the mammal list as well as more muntjac. The woodland walk gave way to open fenland that took me part way along the river Yare. Great crested grebe was the highlight with a couple of buzards overhead. A very kind gentleman put me on to my first ever Fen Raft Spider-what a beast but I had to make a hasty retreat as the heavens opened.
A break in the visitor centre withe some very nice ice cream whiled away some time as the rain continued.
After around an hour it eased and the clouds parted-sunshine at last. I hung around the VC for a while and a very smart ruby tailed wasp created photographic interest while all the time I was hoping for the appearance of a swallowtail. In the enxt two hours I commuted between the VC and the Doctors garden with just 3 red admirals for my hard labour. At around 4.15 I realised I was running out of time but ever the optimist I headed back to the VC and news of a sighting filtered out. A swallowtail had settled on the ground just outside the visitor centre long enough for dome photos. There was still hope!
It had moved on by the time I got there but after only 5 minutes a shout went up that one had been seen near the car park-I dashed over and sure enough sat out in all its glory was my first ever swallowtail. The wait of 50 years plus the 9 1/2 hours on site was over! What a magnificent creature. It wasn’t a perfect specimen as it has a tear in its wing but still, wow I was mesmerised.
It stayed for around 10 minutes, wings half closed as the sun was obscured by cloud the opened them fully as the sun came out.
A true bucket list tick was finally accomplished along with a host of other amazing wildlife at a very special place, full of friendly people sharing the same excitement about some of our natural wonders!
