Colin's trip over to Spurn 20/21st October 2026
At the onset of Autumn I always look at the pressure charts and wind direction especially on the East coast.
In the middle of the week starting 12th October the forecast was looking positive for a migrant fall at Spurn on the East coast.
The conditions looked good for the following Mon to Wed, with this in mind I booked into the Observatory at Spurn for an overnight stay Tues to Wed.
20th October 2026
I left home later than usual at around 05:00 for the long drive to Spurn, what a good choice was that as the M62 was closed overnight for roadworks between J22 to J23 with it re-opening at 06:00 just as I arrived to join the long queue which was waiting for the roadworks to finish. Despite the delay of around 25 mins I arrived at Spurn around 08:00 when I drove down to Sammy's Point which is on the North band of the River Humber.
As soon as I left the car it became obvious that migrants were arriving in numbers
Fieldfare, Blackbirds and Song Thrush were numerous as were Goldcrests and Chiffchaff.
As I reached the end of the horse's field the first star bird was observed in the form of an Isabelline Wheatear.
On the mud flats of the Humber Redshank, Curlew and Golden Plover were observed.
Redwing Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Goldfinch and Great Tit were soon added to the list.
As I opened the car door a Sparrowhawk swooped at the Starling flock but the attempt proved unsuccessful.
My CB burst into life with the news that a Dusky Warbler had been trapped and would be released, so it was off to Church Field  that I headed in order to observe the bird.
3 of skeins of White-fronted Geese flew overhead with a number of Bean Geese within each skein. The light was good at this point with very little cloud cover making it easy to see the much darker marks on the bill and wings than Pink-feet would have.
There was a steady flow of Starlings which were obviously arriving and it was at this point that the CB once more gave notice that a Firecrest had been ringed with its release from the Corner Field being imminent. As I was nearby I arrived at that location in time to see the bird being displayed before being released.
My next stop was for a bit of lunch in my car along with a little rest.
When I started to walk down to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust I observed a single swallow heading in the direction of Spurn Head. This was the only swallow noted on the trip.
The next stop was back to Corner Field which is a set-aside field owned by the observatory and managed with birds in mind.  Whilst I was at the site there was a group of birders obviously looking at something. Upon my arriving next to them I observed a Bluethroat skulking about furtively in the dense undergrowth.
Towards the end of the day news broke that a Hume's Warbler had been seen opposite the Riverside Hotel so off I went to attempt to see the bird. I did manage to briefly see the bird as it flitted about in the dense scrub.
Off I went the Granby for pie and chips and then retired to bed.
Late afternoon the CB announced that a Rufous-tailed Robin had been found at Flamborough so a decision had to be made twitch or not to twitch .I decided on the latter although bit is an extremely rare visitor to the UK from Siberia.
21st October 2026
The wind had shifted to a Southerly wind this morning with a hint of Easterly contained within it. The forecast also indicated that heavy rain was due to occur in the afternoon.
I decided to return to Corner Field to see if I could manage to photograph the Bluethroat.
Although the bird did show regularly the only photograph that I managed was of the bird in heavy undergrowth.
With nothing new being reported I decided to return to Sammy's Point.
Upon arriving it became obvious that although the wind direction was from the South that migration was still taking place with a constant procession of Blackbirds, Fieldfare, Song Thrush and Goldcrests.
I decided to enter the last enclosed field which was sheltered from the now high wind.
Numerous Goldcrests were flitting about with the odd Firecrest seen. The guys that I had been sharing a room with had seen 5 Firecrest in the area when I bumped into them there.
I also could hear the regular calls of chuck chuck chuck calls of Ring Ouzel which I managed to obtain a photo of.
The morning had been windy but sunny with hardly a cloud to be seen, by early afternoon the cloud cover increased so that there was complete, ominous, cloud cover.
I had a decision to make leave now and miss the traffic at Leeds and Manchester or stay until around 6pm to miss the traffic at the same points.
I decided to leave now as it was increasingly obvious that a period of heavy rain was arriving.
I arrived home in time for tea but when I looked at Birdguides early next morning I noted that a Siberian Rubythroat had been found by 2 birders at Spurn.
Now this is the bird that is number one on my wish list so I had a decision to make
Return to Spurn or wait to see if it was located.
Thankfully, for me, I decided upon the latter and it was never seen again and my wife is still talking to me.
An exact same situation occurred in 2016 when I returned from Spurn, then the next day a Siberian Accentor was found late afternoon. I left immediately only to be held up for an hour on the M62. Arriving back at Spurn in the dark I had to beg the landlady from the Crown & Anchor to let me stay in the only room left there.
Although I was given the cold shoulder when I arrived back home that was easily countered by my having seen the bird after a rather restless night's sleep.
Such is Spurn and the reason that I return in Autumn whenever the wind blows from the East.
The list of birds recorded on my trip is not a complete record but just a casual record; however I have recorded all of the most interesting records.
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