This is one of many films made by Charles Chislett, a skilled amateur filmmaker from Rotherham. Chislett produced a considerable number of exceptionally well made films over a period spanning from 1930 to 1967. The Chislett Film Collection held at the YFA consists of nearly 100 films, about half directly relating to Yorkshire, the rest mainly holiday films from around the world (for more information on Chislett and his other films see the Context for Rachel Discovers The Sea). In addition to his very many interests, Chislett was a great supporter of the Council for The Preservation of Rural England and the National Trust (a fuller account of Chislett’s interest can be found in an obituary in the collection of Chislett material held with the YFA).

 

Charles Chislett made this film for his cousin Ralph Chislett, an ornithologist who was involved in setting up the bird observatory. It may be the first film made of bird ringing at Spurn Point. A communal log for ornithological observations was established in 1938 by members of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. Ralph Chislett was one of four members of a committee overseeing the observatory, established at Warren Cottage, at the northern end of the peninsula, just after the Second World War in 1945.  The first bird, a blackbird, was ringed on November 17^th. The birds were caught in a Heligoland trap (named after the German island):this trap directs birds down a narrowing tunnel of nets until they are caught at the end.  At first covering the main migration seasons, in the early 1950’s the project of ringing birds was widened to include winter weekends, when Snow Buntings were common, and later into the spring and summer. 

 

In the 1950s Spurn Point was still a military base, but was later purchased by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (formerly the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union) in 1959, and the following year a warden was appointed to oversee the observatory and wildlife. Over the years a further five Heligoland traps were built, now reduced to three.  

 

Spurn Point is a narrow strip of land jutting out 3 ½ miles into the Humber Estuary. Made of boulder clay deposited during the Ice Age, it is continually eroding. It is made up of a series of sand and shingle banks held together with mainly Marram grass, Seabuckthorn and Sea Holly.  On the other side, facing away from the sea, the peninsula is washed by the waters of the Humber twice a day, so the vegetation has to adapt to being immersed every 12 hours.  Because of this, the constant erosion and flooding has resulted in having to regularly rebuild the bird watching huts. 

 

In 1988 the Spurn Peninsula became a part of the Spurn Heritage Coast, and a year round full-time warden was appointed in 1999. In 2003 the ‘Friends of Spurn Bird Observatory’ was set up to oversee the construction of a new bird observatory (more historical background and information can be found at their website listed in References).

 

Because of its location Spurn Point attracts many passing birds, including some real oddities.  In August and September bird watchers can spot Wheatear, Whinchat, Redstart, and Spotted Flycatchers. The large areas of mudflats attract large numbers of wading birds such as Dunlin, Redshank and Curlews. Also to be seen by the many bird watchers who visit are large numbers of Shelduck that gather in the estuary in the winter, within reach of Warren Cottage, and Brent Geese between November and March.

The ringing of birds goes back about 100 years.  The information thus gathered on migration patterns, eating habits and so on greatly aids bird conservation. Bird ringing, using lightweight metal or plastic, is organised and co-ordinated in Britain and Ireland by the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology), using a network of over 2,000 highly trained and licensed volunteers to ring over 850,000 birds every year – although only one in every fifty birds ringed are subsequently found and reported. As seen in the film, it is a highly skilled process to ensure that the birds are not harmed or distressed. This film shows the dedication of an earlier generation of bird enthusiasts seeking to help in the protection of birds. Yet despite this work, the number of endangered species of birds continues to rise.

 

The YFA has an extensive collection of material from the Charles Chislett archive. This includes correspondence, film scripts and notes, photographs, promotional material and slides. This is accompanied by an itinerary of documents within the collection produced by Fiona Latham.

N. V. Jones (ed), A Dynamic Estuary: Man, Nature and the Humber, Hull University Press, 1988.

A Bibliography of Spurn and the Lower Humber Estuary, compiled by Peter A. Crowther on behalf of Spurn Heritage Coat Project, Cottingham, 1999.

The nature on Spurn Point from the BBC