This August was probably the best one ever for rarities, but a bit lacking in numbers of common migrants.

1^st a bit of wader passage offshore included 174 oystercatchers, 80 knot, 85 Sanderling, 40 dunlin, 14 Whimbrel and a wood sandpiper flying south, along with 620 swifts, 110 sand martins and 150 swallows. 2^nd more wader passage offshore, with 142 knot, 40 Sanderling, 120 Dunlin, 9 black-tailed godwits, 51 Whimbrel, 21 redshank and 29 turnstone flying south, with 300 swifts, and 200 swallows. A peregrine was seen. 3^rd offshore 252 oystercatchers, 38 Sanderling, 47 dunlin, 3 black-tailed godwits and 31 Whimbrel flew south and a little ringed plover and a wood sandpiper were seen. 24 artic Skuas drifted south in the evening; 40 sand martins and 260 swallows flew south and grounded migrants increased to a wood warbler and 15 willow warblers. 4^th offshore 232 oystercatchers flew south, along with 40 sand martins and 240 swallows. 5^th a marsh harrier, 34 sand martins, 205 swallows, 18 alba wagtails flew south, a cuckoo and 13 willow warblers were grounded and a Peregrine was seen, but the highlight of the day was an adult white-rumped sandpiper seen on the Humber early in the morning. 6^th the white-rumped sandpiper was still present again on the Humber most of the day and there was quite a lot of passage in the morning with, 420 sand martins, 2500 swallows flying south along with 26 ringed plovers, 110 dunlin, 9 black-tailed godwits and 45 redshank. A red flycatcher was seen and there was the first decent tern movement of the autumn with 2000 sandwich, 1 roseate, 3500 common and artic and 1 black tern flying south, but viewing was interrupted by a chimney swift which appeared over clubbey’s field for a few minutes before drifting off north east. 7^th a quieter day – 102 oystercatchers, 40 sand martins, 300 swallows flew south; a small increase in grounded migrants, with a garden warbler, 36 willow warblers, 2 wood warblers, a pied flycatcher and a tree creeper. 24 artic Skuas drifted south in the evening and a Peregrine was seen. 8^th 60 sand martins and 460 swallows flew south, a long-eared owl was seen and grounded migrants included a tree pipit, 2 blackcaps, and 30 willow warblers. 9^th a marsh harrier, 206 oystercatchers, 280 swifts, 160 sand martins and 200 swallows flew south and a Peregrine was seen. 10^th 620 swifts, 60 sand martins, 160 swallows, 30 house martins and 8 fiava wagtails flew south and 37 artic Skuas drifted south in the evening. 11^th a quiet day, with just 104 oystercatchers and 38 artic Skuas flying south. 12^th an osprey, 212 oystercatchers, 120 sand martins, 150 swallows and 24 fiava wagtails flew south, grounded migrants increased again to 3 Whinchats and 16 willow warblers. 18 ruffs were in a flooded field and the white-rumped sandpiper was found again on the Humber. Offshore 2 Pomarine Skuas flew north and 2 black terns flew south. 13^th on the move 92 teal, 3 marsh harriers, 300 sand martins, 750 swallows and 15 fiava wagtails flew south. Grounded migrants increased again with a cuckoo, 4 Whinchats, 5 wheatears and 20 willow warblers. A Pomarine Skua flew north and in the evening 530 sandwich, 1560 common and artic and 2 black terns flew south. 14^th on the move were 255 teal, a marsh harrier, a purple sandpiper, 49 Whimbrel, 200 swifts, 40 sand martins, 75 swallows and 11 fiava wagtails flew south. The white-rumped sandpiper was still on the Humber and a coot appeared on the canal. An excellent evening tern movement, with 2020 sandwich, 6700 common and artic and 2 black terns flying south followed by 55 artic Skuas. 15^th a very unseasonable great northern diver flew south offshore, and also on the move were 260 swifts, 90 sand martins, 450 swallows, 50 house martins, and 30 fiava wagtails flying south. 6 Whinchats and 15 willow warblers were also seen. 16^th the first reasonable wader passage for a while, with 153 oystercatchers, 102 ringed plovers, 260 dunlin, 40 Whimbrel, 120 redshanks and 40 turnstones flying south offshore. 100 sand martins, 260 swallows, 23 fiava wagtails and 15 Alba wagtails also flew south. Another good evening tern movement, with 2222 sandwich, 4300 common and artic and 2 black terns. 17^th waders on the move included 150 oystercatchers and 103 grey plovers flying south offshore and 2 wood sandpipers were on the canal. A marsh harrier flew north and 120 swallows south. Grounded migrants seen included 5 Whinchats, 8 wheatears and 20 willow warblers. Not many terns tonight, but with 2 roseate and 4 black terns. 18^th 106 oystercatchers, 40 sand martins and 400 swallows flew south. 19^th quite a bit of movement offshore included 265 fulmars, 63 Manx shearwaters a Pomarine Skua, 70 Artic Skuas and 290 oystercatchers south, also 45 swifts, 220 sand martins and 200 swallows flew south. A Peregrine, a wood sandpiper, 7 curlew sandpipers, a redstart, 10 Whimbrel and 6 pied flycatchers were also seen. 20^th offshore 6 sooty shearwaters flew north and 2 Pomarine Skuas were hanging around. 21^st a further 6 sooty shearwaters flew north offshore, with a Pomarine and 184 oystercatchers south, and a purple sandpiper was on the canal. 22^nd a few new migrants were seen, including 4 tree pipits, 2 redstarts, 14 Whinchats and 5 pied flycatchers. 20 Ruff were on flooded fields in the triangle. 23^rd 2 marsh harriers and an osprey flew south, and 2 adult roseate terns were on the Humber. 24^th quite a good day for passage, with 2 marsh harriers, 2 sparrow hawks, 300 sand martins, 2500 swallows, 24 fiava wagtails and 65 linnets flying south, and a few new migrants were seen – a wryneck, 9 Whinchats, 5 wheatears, and 3 pied flycatchers. 25^th a bit of passage again, with 100 sand martins, 1200 swallows and 76 linnets flying south, and a2 black terns and a roseate tern were on the Humber. 26^th offshore 10 Manx shearwaters, 9 Wigeon, 533 teal, 5 Scaup, a Pomarine Skua and 82 artic Skuas flew south, 25 curlew sandpipers were seen on the Humber and in bushes there was a tree pipit, 3 redstarts, 6 Whinchats, 2 garden warblers, 13 willow warblers and 18 pied flycatchers, but best of all was a booted warbler found on the point in the afternoon. 27^th another excellent day, with 52 Wigeon, 625 teal and 11 Shoveler flying south offshore, a little stint and 7 curlew sandpipers were on the Humber, 4 marsh harriers, 300 swallows and 19 fiava wagtails flew south and grounded migrants included, 8 tree pipits, 4 redstarts, 11 Whinchats, 3 wheatears, 7 garden warblers, 12 willow warblers, 3 pied flycatchers and a fieldfare. The booted warbler was present on the point all day, and incredibly a greenish warbler was also found there. 28^th an excellent morning’s passage, with 3 sparrow hawks, 15 swifts, 3000 sand martins, 16000 swallows, 11 fiava wagtails, 2 grey wagtails and 57 linnets flying south, 5 tree pipits, 10 Whinchats, 2 wheatears, 7 garden warblers, 3 blackcaps, 18 willow warblers, 5 Goldcrests and 4 pied flycatchers were in the bushes, the greenish warbler was still on the point and in the evening 2 Pomarine Skuas, 4 roseate terns and two black terns flew south. 29^th a much quieter day, 315 swallows and 120 house martins flew south, a little stint was on the Humber and the greenish warbler was still on the point. 31^st what was looking like a very quiet day was suddenly brightened up by the discovery of an artic warbler, in exactly the same bushes on the point where the greenish warbler was first found. Offshore in the evening 2 Pomarine Skuas, 18 little gulls, a roseate tern and 4 black terns flew south.

MONTHLY MAXIMA FOR THE HUMBER