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Southern Hospitality
Mon 2nd Jul, 2012
Echoing the on-field dramas of Euro 2012, almost all the big bird names in June were distinctly Mediterranean. Despite a messy and unpredictable month weather-wise, there was no stopping the continental influx, leaving our native players looking somewhat dull in comparison and providing plenty of entertainment for fans of flashier and more garish styles.
A strong contender for the Golden Boot, the stunning adult Roller continued its semi-residence just outside Aldbrough well into the month, finally losing patience with the English summer on 14th. Incredibly, a second bird was reported from nearby Hornsea on 4th and 6th; as far as we know, any romantic notions sadly went unrequited.
Other contenders included an increasingly showy Alpine Swift at Bempton and Buckton from 29th, a Black Kite near Atwick on 6th, and a Grey-headed Wagtail at Burniston on 1st (with presumably the same at Scalby Lodge pond on 3rd).
Classic overshooting scarcities kept coming as relentlessly as the Spanish midfield, with at least six Red-Backed Shrikes scattered along the coast, five Bee-eaters at Spurn on 4th (with a single also on 10th), and a Serin also at the latter site on 2nd.
Seawatching, however, was as predictable as an English quarter-final exit, with small numbers of skuas, shearwaters and waders trickling through. Singles of Little Tern, Great Northern Diver and Long-tailed Duck (the latter two in summer plumage) brightened up Filey Bay, while a Whiskered Tern was reported feeding with Kittiwakes off Saltwick Nab on the 10th.
Golden Orioles continued their exceptional spring presence, with at least three in the Spurn area and one at Flamborough; the Headland also hosted another spring Icterine Warbler on 1st and a sharp Rosy Starling for the morning of 9th.
Spoonbills visited Muston and Spurn, a Red-necked Phalarope called in at Hornsea Mere, and two Pectoral Sandpipers dropped in at Beacon Ponds during the early afternoon of the 2nd – four and a half hours after two had left Westkapelle in Holland; surely no coincidence....
Unseasonal arrivals were typified by three Snow Geese past Spurn on 30th, and a Willow Tit - which remarkably came in off the sea at the cliff top Fog Horn Station – at Flamborough on 26th. Equally notable were high counts of common species: Spurn scored with big numbers of Swifts, peaking at 4,203 on 22nd, and a record count of 1,640 Common Scoters went past Flamborough on 20th.
Mark James Pearson