Humber Estuary Wildlife Watching: Autumn Migrants and Memorable Encounters
By Sally Nowell
Day 1 – Arrival in Yorkshire
Everyone arrived safely at our delightful accommodation, a Georgian hotel in the countryside just outside the historic town of Beverley. A lovely base for our week exploring the Humber Estuary and surrounding areas.
Day 2 – Spurn Head and Kilnsea
Our first full day took us to Spurn Head, an area famed for migrant birds at this time of year.
We started at an area called 'The Outstrays' on the north bank of the River Humber, where we enjoyed large numbers of mixed waders, including a huge flock of Avocets.
From here, we headed to Kilnsea for a bit of seawatching and a very distant view of a Leaches Petrel. We spent the rest of the day visiting different locations around Kilnsea and Spurn Head, before returning via an interesting stop at a local church.
Day 3 – North Cave Wetlands
We stayed a little closer to our hotel today, spending much of the day at North Cave Wetlands. We had a great time walking around the reserve, visiting the different hides and screens.
Highlights included excellent views of Water Rail, a flyover of Whooper Swans, Pectoral Sandpiper, Ruff and a beautiful Greenshank.
We finished the day back on the banks of the Humber Estuary, overlooking the reedbeds just as the birds were going to roost. From here, we were lucky enough to see two Barn Owls and a group of Pink-footed Geese. A lovely end to the day!
Day 4 – Flamborough and Beverley
We travelled to Flamborough, hoping to catch up with some of the rarities that had been dropping in over the previous 24 hours.
Despite our best efforts, we didn't manage to find the numerous Firecrests and Yellow-browed Warblers that had been reported, but we did stumble upon a major twitch for a Rufous-tailed Robin!
We spent around 20 minutes searching for this elusive bird before leaving the growing crowd of twitchers to continue their efforts.
Later in the afternoon, we visited Beverley Minster.
Day 5 – RSPB Blacktoft
We made our way to RSPB Blacktoft, with a few particular birds in mind. Some we found, others remained elusive, but there were some wonderful surprises along the way.
One of the most exciting and unexpected sightings was a Grey Partridge. What a handsome and charming bird!
A Hen Harrier was another unexpected treat, while an obliging Kingfisher at Blacktoft perched long enough for us to take photographs and even some video. A real highlight!
Day 6 – A Spectacular Evening on the Humber
We made the most of a promising weather forecast, with sunshine predicted throughout the day, and set off to explore both sides of the Humber Estuary.
In the morning, we enjoyed flocks of birds that included 13 different species of finch, thrush and bunting, along with a male Hen Harrier and a surprise Clouded Yellow Butterfly.
In the afternoon, we crossed the Humber Bridge into Lincolnshire for what turned out to be a show-stopping end to the day.
We watched Barn Owls, an incredible 11 Marsh Harriers in the air at once as they went to roost, thousands of Starlings and huge flocks of Pink-footed Geese.
With a fabulous sunset and beautiful evening light, it really was quite a day and provided several of our guests with their magic moment of the holiday.
Day 7 – Wildlife Art and Bempton Cliffs
Our final full day took us north to visit Robert Fuller's Gallery in the Yorkshire Wolds. This is often a highlight of our Yorkshire holidays, and this visit was no exception.
Robert told us about his latest film projects, which we looked forward to seeing on The One Show. We also enjoyed looking around the gallery, admiring his art and films about local wildlife and his travels abroad.
Robert's passion for wildlife really does ooze out of him. He's a real inspiration!
Afterwards, we travelled across the Yorkshire Wolds to Bempton Cliffs. At this time of year, the cliffs were empty, but the scrubby woodland certainly wasn't.
It had been a great week for migrants, and we managed to catch up with Pallas' and Yellow-browed Warbler.
As we left, the heavens opened and we drove back to the hotel for our final meal through a dramatic thunderstorm. The weather had been kind to us right up until the very end!
Day 8 – Homeward Bound
After a wonderful week, it was time to say our goodbyes. Some guests took the train from York back to their various destinations, others extended their trip, while some made their way home by car.
If you would like to join our next Humber Estuary holiday, you’ll find further information and bookings here. Please email us or phone 01479 812498 if you have any queries.
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