Before I get the spelling police contacting me, the spelling in the title is deliberate, because one of the more unexpected sightings this week was of a Little Auk.
Little Auks are one of the world’s commonest seabirds, breeding in vast colonies on cliffs around the edge of the Arctic ice, but they’re quite scarce birds in the UK.
As the name suggests, they are tiny birds, being barely half the size of that more famous auk, the Puffin. In fact, they are slightly smaller than a Starling, yet spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land only to nest. After breeding, they remain close to the Arctic ice, rarely venturing further south.
Little Auks are only usually seen in the UK during and after autumn storms, when small numbers are blown further south and may be seen passing close to the east coast. That has certainly been the case this week, with several sightings of Little Auks flying along the shore.
A library shot of two Little Auks
More unusually, on Wednesday one or two visitors spotted a Little Auk flying over the dunes, and this was presumably the same bird then spent an hour swimming around the Scrape close to East Hide.
Sadly, this was probably an exhausted migrant, as it was later spotted resting against the hide itself – very un-auk-like behaviour. We don’t know what ultimately happened to this auk, but we do know that two or three dead ones have been found washed up on the beach this week, along with the odd dead Guillemot and Grey Seal. This is not unusual after winter storms, which make feeding more difficult.
The White-rumped Sandpiper that was found last Friday remained until at least Wednesday, though it was mobile around the Scrape and could go missing at times.
White-rumped Sandpiper by Les Cater
There have been a variety of other waders on the Scrape this week, too, including Avocet, Lapwing, Dunlin, Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank and Turnstone, while a Purple Sandpiper has been spotted on the sluice outfall.
One or two Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls have been seen on the Scrape, along with the more regular Black-headed, Common, Herring, Lesser and Great Black-backed Gulls, and a Little Gull was seen offshore.
A few Goosanders are sometimes present among the hordes of Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Shelduck and feral geese (Barnacle, Greylag and Canada). The Bewick’s Swans haven’t been seen since Monday, and the Whooper Swans are moving between the Scrape and Island Mere.
Wigeon is just one of the duck species that are common on the Scrape in winter. Photo by Ian Barthorpe
Also in the Island Mere area or out on the Levels are up to five Common Cranes. Despite their size, these are more likely to be heard than seen, but you may be lucky to spot them flying over the reedbed, or to them distantly from the Whin Hill Watchpoint.
Marsh Harriers, Bitterns, Bearded Tits and Kingfishers are seen daily around the reedbed, Otter are regular and Water Rails and Cetti’s Warblers can often be heard.
Other wildlife to look out for at the moment includes Bullfinches and Siskins in North Bushes, Marsh and Coal Tits and Nuthatches on the feeders, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays around the woods, and the Water Voles at the pond.