Date Cost Availability Deposit Single Supp	06 Oct - 13 Oct 2024 £2195.00 6 Spaces £400.00 £350.00 Book Now

Leaders

Julian Sykes

Day 1	Meet at our hotel in time for our evening meal - 7 nights at Cave Castle, South Cave
Days 2-7	Exploration of the migration hotspots of Spurn Point, Flamborough Head, Filey Brigg and Bempton Cliffs. We’ll also seawatch from headlands and visit Blacktoft Sands for wetland and reedbed birds, plus visit the Yorkshire Wolds and the Robert Fuller Art Gallery
Day 8	After breakfast we say our farewells

Weather	Can be extremely variable at this time of year, so come prepared for everything from rain and wind, to calm autumnal sunshine!
Walking	Mostly easy walking on level paths up to 3 miles, with perhaps a little more if rarities require it!
Meals	All included from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 8.
Insects	Unlikely to be a problem at this time of year.
Accom	Double, twin and single rooms all ensuite. A transfer to the hotel can be arranged from York train station.
Group	7

An excellent chance to visit birding hotspots and witness the autumn migration. Potentially 1000’s of birds on the move - from geese to Goldcrest and everything in between!

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	*   Visit Yorkshire’s autumn migration hotspots - Spurn, Flamborough and Filey
	*   East Yorkshire’s premier RSPB sites such as Blacktoft Sands and Bempton Cliffs
	*   Yellow-browed Warbler, Barred Warbler, Bearded Reedling and Short-eared Owl
	*   Visit Wildlife Artist Robert Fuller’s gallery in the stunning Yorkshire Wolds
	*   See bird ringing first hand at the Flamborough Bird Observatory during ‘migweek’
	*   A ‘unimog’ tour to Spurn Point and climb the lighthouse
	*   Great accommodation and Yorkshire hospitality with birding on the doorstep!

Day 1	We meet up at our hotel in time for dinner and a chance to discuss the coming week. Our ‘well-placed’ accommodation means that most of the sites we shall visit are an hour or less away.
Days 2-7	The Yorkshire coast at this time of year is a thrilling place!! Thousands of birds are on the move and to witness this mass migration as birds head south along the coast is a wonderful experience. We have timed this trip to enjoy migration in action, with common migrants still passing through in good numbers, but also the chance of something a bit rarer - or with luck - very rare indeed!! East Yorkshire has become renowned as the place to witness autumn migration and has several sites from which to experience this massive annual movement of birds. Spurn Point is perhaps the most famous - its unusual shape acting as a funnel, which concentrates birds as they move towards the point. Whilst this can be weather dependent, the birding here can be astonishing, with large numbers of common migrants such as pipits, thrushes, finches, Robins and Goldcrests and often plenty of scarcer species too, with double figure numbers of Yellow-browed Warblers and the chance of species such as Richard’s Pipit, Firecrest, Wryneck, Shorelark, Lapland Bunting and more. What is more, we shall get an insight into how research on migration is carried out and see birds in the hand, with a ringing demonstration at Spurn Bird Observatory. We shall also cast our eyes seawards as, at this time of year, Filey Brigg and Flamborough Head provide excellent seawatching opportunities. We’ll look out for Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, Arctic, Long-tailed and Pomarine Skuas, divers and flocks of seaduck and geese. Like Spurn, these sites can also be the first landfall for high numbers of birds, with thrushes and Bramblings coming in off the sea and all three sites have had more than their fair share of national rarities. Each day we shall be keeping an eye on ‘what’s about’ and will be in touch with local birders, so plans may alter rapidly if something very special is found. Anything can turn up, but some years are incredible, such as 2016 when Siberian Accentor, White’s Thrush, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Isabelline Wheatear and Black-browed Albatross were exceptional finds. We can’t promise the same rarities necessarily, but we can promise an exciting time searching for the unexpected, with the opportunity to polish our skills when it comes to our less familiar warblers, whilst looking out for gems including Pallas’s and Dusky Warbler. Yorkshire has some fabulous Reserves and habitats, wetlands, cliffs, forest, coast and estuarine marsh. We’ll visit Blacktoft Sands, where the wetlands and reedbeds are superb at this time of year. Wader passage will include common species such as Dunlin, but should also include Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and Ruff. Marsh Harriers hunt over the reeds, where ‘pinging’ flocks of Bearded Tits can be seen and if we are very lucky, perhaps a Water Rail or Bittern will appear. At Bempton Cliffs, the huge seabird colonies will have departed, but some of the thousands of Gannets that nest here will still be present at this time of year. This spectacular place can also provide the chance to see migration and amongst the common migrants, we’ll be on the lookout for shrikes, flycatchers, or scarcer warblers. We shall also introduce you to some newer and less well known, but equally impressive, birding hot spots on our daily outings. East Yorkshire is a varied county, with rich agricultural land providing ideal feeding grounds for large numbers of Lapwing and Golden Plover. The subtly rolling hills of the Yorkshire Wolds, providing habitat for Barn Owls, Skylarks, Red Kite and Brown Hare, feature in a lot of David Hockney’s recent work. We plan to visit Robert Fuller’s wildlife art gallery and get a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of some of the ingenious ways he spies on his local wildlife. His paintings sell all over the world and his trademark, highly-detailed images, have been adopted by the RSPB and the National Trust.
Day 8	After breakfast on our final day we say our farewells. You may wish to extend your holiday by spending time in one of Yorkshire’s historic towns or explore further up Yorkshire’s east coast, to places such as Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Brambling	Little Owl	Yellow-browed Warbler
Redwing	Short-eared Owl	Barred Warbler
Bearded Tit	Woodcock	Red-backed Shrike
Marsh Harrier	Water Rail	Ring Ouzel
Sooty Shearwater	Red-throated Diver	Rose-coloured Starling
Pomerine Skua	Pink-footed Goose	Firecrest
Little Gull	Dark-bellied Brent Geese	Red-breasted Flycatcher
Jack Snipe	Whooper Swan
Spotted Redshank		Brown Hare
Black Redstart	Scarce migrants such as:	Harbour Porpoise