UK Tick #315

To talk about the lifer from yesterday would be to do yesterday a diservice. I was at Spurn for the afternoon and nearly trod on Goldcrests & umpteen Siskin, watched more Chiffchaffs and Redstarts than I can remember with all the chiffers looking distinctly abietinus, saw over 100 Brambling for the second day in succession and also caught up with 2 more Ring Ouzel. Redwing were like a biblical flood overhead, Robins looked distinctly scandi and flocks of Song Thrush were the norm. A little scarce was good with three distinct highlights.

• 4 Shorelark ambling in the strand line at Chalk Bank. This was my lifer and also Yorks tick 278. Not quite as exciting as I hoped. And I fell over into some sea buckthorn. Yowser! Brambling & Redstart foraging amongst the seaweed next to the Shorelarks was amusing.
• 3 Jack Snipe acting like proper waders by feeding in the open teetering a mere 2m infront of the hide at Chalk Bank. No camera (although it seems Santa may want to rectify that).
• Best of all was a bunch of migrants finding and mobbing a Tawny Owl in Easington Cemetary. Ages since I saw a Tawny in daylight and I have never seen one in a tree in the day.

All three were yearticks with sats shrike and Rouzels takes me to 218 for the year. Beat last year but may struggle to get another 39 birds to equal 2008.