Field Trip to Bempton and Blacktoft Sands

Sunday, June 6^th, 2004

Report by Neil Glenn
Photo of Common Roasefinch by Tony Collinson© (for copies ring 0113 588476).

The destinations for the trip were pretty standard fare, so I was hoping for one or two extra goodies to turn up as a bonus. The previous week had seen a Little Bittern, a White-throated Sparrow and a Temminck's Stint all turn up within striking distance, and a Bluethroat had been seen at Blacktoft Sands, but none remained long enough to be admired by the Notts Birders' trip. Our only hope of an extra was the Common Rosefinch near Filey.

Sunday got off to a bizarre start: as I was driving along the road between Gotham and Clifton, I saw a youth dash into some bushes. Bearing in mind this was only 5.30am, I knew he was up to no good. I slowed down to see what he was up to and the little darling catapulted a stone at the van! I thought about calling in at the Clifton Copshop to report it but decided against it for two reasons: a). there would be nobody there; and b). knowing Nottinghamshire rozzers they would have found something wrong with the van and booked me for a motoring offence instead of chasing a dangerous little brat with a lethal catapult (no doubt our valiant Boys in Blue will catch him when he is old enough to do 32mph in a 30mph limit).

All twelve of my fellow travellers were picked up in record time and we were on our way north before 7.00am. Jay and Corn Bunting were noted on the journey. As we neared Bempton, I stopped to check my pager for news of the Rosefinch. Nothing, so we headed straight to the RSPB reserve. While everyone disembarked, I checked the pager again and found the Rosefinch was showing well! We quickly got back in the bus and shot off, much to the bemusement of one or two onlookers.

Ten minutes later, we arrived at Hunmanby and saw a small crowd gathered in the churchyard. The Rosefinch was skulking in a bush but soon popped up and gave superb views. If you haven't seen one of these birds, I would describe it as a sort of blood-spattered House Sparrow! It then flew up onto the church steeple and began singing. A beautiful bird in a beautiful setting on a beautiful morning.

The Rosefinch flew off a short while later and we took the opportunity to return to Bempton, everyone most satisfied with the start to the trip! The first port of call at Bempton was the small dell in the car park to try and spot the Long-eared Owl. Many people were already looking but none had found it. We all strolled down to one of the viewpoints for our first sight of the magnificent bird-filled cliffs. The light was perfect to pick out Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Gannet and, of course, Puffin. This was a pleasant, leisurely appreciation of the sights, sounds and smells (!) of these amazing cliffs on an ideal day to be on the coast.

One or two of the group managed a glimpse of a Peregrine as it shot through. I could tell where it was because birds were streaming off the ledges in a mad panic but I just couldn't pick it out in the swirling mass. I also scanned the calm sea for skuas and shearwaters but failed again

After a short while, we moved along the cliff. Several of us exclaimed "Grasshopper Warbler" in unison as we picked up the diagnostic reeling song of this skulker. Determining where the noise was emanating from was a harder task, though. We finally pinned it down to a small group of bushes on the track up to the visitor centre. Try as we might, we just couldn't see the Gropper so most went back to the cliffs for another scan of the bustling sea and ledges. The place was heaving with birds, loafing on the sea, gliding above our heads or guarding nests below us. It was a case of forget about identifying everything, just stop and absorb the whole experience.

Barry rejoined the group with tales of the Gropper showing well. One or two of our members' patience had paid off with good views, not of our reeling bird but of another further up the track. Several lingered to see if it would show again while others headed for a cool drink at the recently refurbished visitor centre. I went to see if the owl had returned to its favoured spot, but no such luck.

It was midday, hot, and time to move on. We retraced our route south (managing to resist the heady delights of the Nafferton Truckfest) and arrived at Blacktoft Sands at 1.30pm. No sign of the Tree Sparrows in the car park (obviously their lunch break) so it was on to the reserve proper. The bus split into smaller sub-groups or went off singly to cover the reserve at their own pace.

Sedge and Reed Warblers were singing from every patch of available habitat. A small group of us settled into the Xerox hide and Cliff soon spotted a Barn Owl over the reeds. It was distant and viewing was hampered by a heat haze, but it soon flew closer with some hapless prey in it's talons. A pair of Marsh Harriers was also quartering the reeds but also at some distance. It was getting very hot in the hide and I was sweating as much as Greg Rusedski on drug-testing day so it was time to move out to catch a breeze.

Next stop was the Ousefleet hide for waders. Three weeks ago I had had nice views of a Curlew Sandpiper, Avocet and many Dunlin from here but not today: the flash was as dry as a bone! Not a bird in sight. No point in wasting time so I left immediately to look at some baby Tree Sparrows in a nest box, found by Barry. We could see three or four gaping mouths at the tiny entrance to the box jostling for pole position for when the parent returned with food. Jenny, Steven and PJ joined us with the odd question "did you see the Whooper Swan?" Bearing in mind that this is June, I thought the heat had begun to take effect, but they were adamant that the swan that had just flown by had got a yellow bill! We made our way back to the Marshland hide to see if the swan had dropped in in front of it. No such luck, but others had seen it from there. We did, however, catch up with a few Avocets and their very cute chicks from this hide.

We all got better views of Marsh Harrier and Tree Sparrow during the afternoon and I nearly trod on a Toad. As I tried to usher it off the path to save its little life, it inflated itself and reared up as if to say, "come on then if you think you're hard enough". What a character but probably as flat as a pancake by now!

With Blacktoft well and truly covered, we headed south. We stopped at a small garage to satiate Jenny's craving for an ice cream and found the world's slowest till operator in attendance. It took him twenty minutes to serve us: if it hadn't been so funny to watch him in (in)action it would have been intensely annoying!

With nothing else turning up to go for, I decided a quick call in at Budby might be worthwhile. If nothing else, it would be a nice stroll on a beautiful evening. Green Woodpecker was added to the list for the day and we also heard a Great Spotted. No sign of the Wood Larks, Crossbills or Tree Pipits but truth be told, we didn't search too hard. The day's heat had taken its toll and it was a tired bunch that returned home happy with a full day's birding.

Barry, the official record-keeper of the day, tallied 82 species, with Common Rosefinch unanimously voted as Bird of the Day (not surprising as this was a 'lifer' for seven out of the thirteen travellers and several others had only ever seen the dull autumn birds - or 'Rateyes'as they are disparagingly known - before). Many tried to persuade me that the Rock Doves at Bempton were real ones but I was having none of it. I would have loved to have ticked them because it was the only species I had missed out on in Scotland the previous week, but I couldn't be swayed! The only blot came later, as I reached home to find out that the Long-eared Owl had returned to its favourite tree in the evening. Never mind, one for another trip...

SPECIES POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED ON THE TRIP:
Capital letters indicate a rare/scarce national bird or a good local species. Your opinions may differ!
Little Grebe:	1, Blacktoft.
FULMAR:	Lots, Bempton.
GANNET	Lots, Bempton
Shag:	Only 2, Bempton.
Grey Heron	Blacktoft.
Mute Swan:	Blacktoft.
WHOOPER SWAN:	1, Blacktoft (obviously an injured bird).
Greylag Goose:	7, Blacktoft.
Canada Goose:	Buckton Pond, with chicks.
Shelduck:	Several, Blacktoft.
Mallard:	Everywhere.
Gadwall:	Blacktoft.
Shoveler:	Blacktoft.
Teal:	Blacktoft.
Pochard:	3M, 1F, Blacktoft.
Tufted duck:	1 pair, Blacktoft.
Ruddy Duck:	2M, Blacktoft.
MARSH HARRIER:	At least 1 pair, Blacktoft
Sparrowhawk:	1, travelling.
Kestrel:	Several, travelling.
PEREGRINE:	1, briefly, Bempton.
Red-legged partridge:	Travelling.
Grey Partridge:	Travelling.
Pheasant:	Blacktoft, Budby, travelling.
Moorhen:	Blacktoft.
Coot:	Blacktoft.
Oystercatcher:	1, Blacktoft.
AVOCET:	A few + 6 chicks, Blacktoft.
Lapwing:	Blacktoft.
Redshank:	3, Blacktoft.
Black-headed Gull:	Lots, Blacktoft.
Herring Gull:	Lots, Bempton.
Great Black-backed Gull:	Several, Bempton.
Kittiwake:	Thousands, Bempton.
Sandwich Tern:	Heard, Bempton.
Common Tern:	Travelling.
PUFFIN:	Several, Bempton.
GUILLEMOT:	Thousands, Bempton (inc 1 in a cat carrying box!).
RAZORBILL:	Thousands, Bempton.
(Feral Pigeon:	Bempton, posing as Rock Doves).
Woodpigeon:	Eveywhere.
Stock Dove:	2, Blacktoft.
Collared Dove:	Travelling.
BARN OWL:	1, hunting + with prey, Blacktoft.
Swift:	Everywhere.
Green Woodpecker:	2 or 3, Budby.
Great Spotted Woodpecker:	1 heard, Budby.
Skylark:	Bempton & Blacktoft.
Swallow:	Everywhere.
House Martin:	A few, travelling.
Meadow Pipit:	Bempton.
Yellow Wagtail:	1, Blacktoft.
Pied Wagtail:	Blacktoft.
Wren:	Blacktoft.
Dunnock:	Blacktoft.
Robin:	Blacktoft.
Song Thrush:	Heard, Vale Pub when picking up PJ.
Mistle Thrush:	1, travelling.
Blackbird:	Everywhere.
Blackcap:	Blacktoft.
Whitethroat:	Bempton & Blacktoft.
Sedge Warbler:	2, Bempton; lots, Blacktoft.
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER:	1 seen well + 1 heard, Bempton.
Reed Warbler:	A few seen + many heard, Blacktoft.
Willow Warbler:	Heard, Blacktoft.
Chiffchaff:	Heard, Budby.
Blue Tit:	Budby.
BEARDED TIT:	1 or 2, Blacktoft.
Magpie:	Travelling.
Jay:	1, travelling; 1, Budby.
Jackdaw:	Bempton, travelling.
Rook:	Travelling.
Carrion Crow:	Bempton, Blacktoft.
Starling:	Everywhere.
House Sparrow:	Travelling.
Tree Sparrow:	A few + chicks in nest box, Blacktoft.
Chaffinch:	Travelling.
Linnet:	A few, Budby.
Goldfinch:	Budby.
Greenfinch:	Hunmanby.
COMMON ROSEFINCH:	1 singing male, Hunmanby.
Reed Bunting:	Bempton, Blacktoft.
Yellowhammer:	Budby.
Corn Bunting:	3, travelling.

Mammals
Grey Squirrel:	Travelling.
Rabbit:	Travelling.

Insects
Cinnabar moth:	1, Bempton.
Comma butterfly:	1, Blacktoft.
Green-veined White:	Blacktoft.
Red Admiral:	Blacktoft.
Peacock butterfly:	Blacktoft.
Small Tortoishell:	Blacktoft.

Amphibians
Common Toad:	1, Blacktoft.
Smooth Newt:	4, Blacktoft.