Spurn and Beacon Lagoons

We visited Spurn Head and Kilnsea's Beacon ponds with the Hull Natural History Society today, a sunny, mild day with a very light breeze. After a short stop by the Crown and Anchor car par and walked around the church, enlivened by a Chiffchaff singing and Tree Sparrows, we joined the main party by the Blue Bell and walked north by Beacon Lane. In that area, thanks to the expert cricketers Andy and Rob, we found the highlight of the trip, two crickets new for me. First was Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii), with several calling males and a female; I was mostly unable to hear the male's calls, and as you can imagine, I didn't find any myself. The only one I could hear - sometimes - was one which allowed close approximation (watch a short clip of the male singing here). The second cricket species was the Short-winged Conehead (Conocephalus dorsalis)(photo above, note the extremely long antennae!), of which we saw two females.  

A female Roesel's Bush Cricket on a fence

Male Roesel's Bush Cricket singing

A group of Meadow Pipits were having a bath on a pond and a pair of Stonechats hunted from the hedge. On the Beacon Lagoons, a flock of Brent Geese, Mallards, Wigeon and Teal, and a lone Great Crested Grebe. A Curlew fed by the beach.

After checking for woodlice and other critters under a log, Rob spotted a Common Lizard, which scurried into the grass before I could take a photo.

We quickly cut across to the estuary side as we had got separated from the leading group. In the mudflats, a large flock of Golden Plover, also Knot, Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew and a Little Egret. After a quick lunch and we carried on south. Under a large log we found two Woodlouse spiders and a large centipede. No luck for Sara with the local woodlouse she was trying to find though.

 We failed to see any rare bird migrants, although the four Jays flying over the Blue Bell was very nice. There was a passage of Skylarks and Linnets, a pair of Stonechats near Beacon Ponds and two Wheatears.

 Despite the mild weather, not many butterflies on the wing, a Wall Brown was seen and two tattered Painted Ladies.

We had a spot of sea watching and saw Little Gulls, Terns and a young Gannet.

One of four Jays passing over

Eristalis pertinax

Willow Warbler

some of the Brent Geese in Beacon Lagoon

Dunlin

Knot

Watching waders on the mudflats.

Flock of knot and Golden plover flushed by a bait digger

Shelduck

Wheatear

A busy group of seawatchers by the Blue Bell car park.

The sign to Beacon Lagoons

Short Winged Conehead female

A view of Beacon Lagoon

Eristalinus aeneus on Sea Aster (identified by Rob Jaques).

Eristalinus aeneus

Tibellus sp. spider

Female Lesser Marsh Grasshopper (Chorthippus albomarginatus).

Dysdera crocata, the Woodlouse spider

Painted Lady, the less faded individual we saw, stretching up to catch the sun

Bird List

1. Black-headed Gull
2. Blackbird
3. Blue Tit
4. Brent Goose
5. Brent Goose
6. Carrion Crow
7. Chiffchaff
8. Collared Dove
9. Common Gull
10. Cormorant
11. Curlew
12. Dunlin
13. Dunnock
14. Gannet
15. Golden Plover
16. Goldfinch
17. Great Crested Grebe
18. Great Tit
19. Greenfinch
20. Grey Heron
21. Herring Gull
22. House Sparrow
23. Jackdaw
24. Jay
25. Knot
26. Linnet
27. Little Egret
28. Little Gull
29. Magpie
30. Mallard
31. Meadow Pipit
32. Mute Swan
33. Oystercatcher
34. Pied Wagtail
35. Redshank
36. Reed Bunting
37. Ringed Plover
38. Robin
39. Shelduck
40. Skylark
41. Starling
42. Stonechat
43. Swallow
44. Teal
45. Tree Sparrow
46. Wheatear
47. Wigeon
48. Willow Warbler
49. Woodpigeon