Although it was raining when I sent off from Hornsea and the sky was still grey and overcast with a strong wind blowing when I arrived at Flamborough it was still good to be out and about after a busy week at home with little opportunity for birding or walking.
Walking to the outer head from the car park I planned to walk along the coast path, then inland to Old Fall plantation, checking for migrants as I went.
There was very little activity along the coast path and hedgerows but on the water just off the beach there was a single male Eider, in moult. A good start then!
There were lots of
gulls, Oystercatchers and Cormorants on the rocks below the cliffs so plenty to look at on the way to Old Fall.
Meadow Pipits flitted about in the stubble fields before I turned inland.
In the hedgerow leading to the plantation I saw 2
Redstarts along with a few
Chiff Chaffs, Blue Tits and
Great Tits. I hoped for Red breasted Flycatcher (still a missing bird on my British List despite the best help from Nick and Andy over the years) and for Yellow Browed Warbler once I got to Old Fall. The wind was straight in my face coming up the field so it was a relief to reach the stile into the field surrounding the plantation and get into the lee of the worst of it.
Straight away
Chiff Chaffs were evident, feeding in the bushes. One adult still had a youngster in tow and fed it several times while I was there. A single
Willow Warbler was singing feebly and showed itself for a short while but the morning was dominated by Chiffies. The first sighting of a
Spotted Flycatcher brightened things up so much that the sun burst through and a blue sky lasted for all of 20 minutes
Things went quiet when the sun went in but another 10 minutes later it came out again and birds were active once more, with Chiff Chaffs a Redstart and a Spotted Flycatcher all showing well.
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| Chiff Chaff |
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| Chiff Chaff |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Redstart |
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| Redstart |
After a couple of hours waiting and watching for my hoped-for birds I decided to move on and walkind on up the hedgerow to the road then turned towards the lighthouse and a cuppa in the Cliff End Cafe.
Refreshed, I drove down to South Landing and parked in the pay and display car park near the Living Sea Centre. The parking machine wasn't accepting coins so I parked for free :) I walked down to the beach and found a throng of people and dog walkers, a large group were merrily clearing the beach of rubbish (I thought initially they were fossil hunting) and there seemed to be dozens of families enjoying themselves, and a boat was being launched. I doubted there'd be many birds about with all the noise and disruption but I was wrong - a small mixed flock of
Dunlin and
Sanderling fed for a while then flew off and landed elsewhere when disturbed but never left the beach all the time I was there;
Rock Pipits did the same but gave up eventually and disappeared after 15 minutes; an
Oystercatcher and a single
Bar Tailed Godwit dodged the dogs for a while;
Pied Wagtails were all over the place and 2
Wheatears flew from the rocks to the cliff and back again a few times.
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| Sanderling in winter plumage |
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| Sanderling |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Wheatear |
So I'd had a grand day despite not seeing the hoped-for warblers. Although it was windy it stayed dry while I was walking and I would certainly have settled for that while I was driving north earlier in the day.
A few hours gardening in the afternoon ensured that I ended the day tired, but content.
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