What a Difference 25 miles of Sea makes!!!

Cap Gris Nez

 Myself, DW, AJG, CT and BP (AKA King Squacco) deserted Dungeness today. I picked them up at 03.00 and caught the 04.20 ferry to Calais them made the short drive to Cap Gris Nez arriving at c06.30 where the NW wind was blowing hard.

Bonxie 1 of 772 logged !!!!!

 By 07.00 we had got our selves in position and settled on a ledge near the bottom of the cliffs(not  for the faint hearted) with expectations running high. The first 20 minutes saw little activity and I was wondering if we had made the choice, then a few minutes later WOW! the flood gates opened, streams of Skua's. Our totals for 07.00-15.30 are listed below.

Manxie

Little Gull 1 of 2,440 logged !!!!!

Red-throated Diver: 15
Great crested Grebe: 1
Sooty Shearwater: 5  another 5 from the return ferry.
Manx Shearwater: 3
Balearic Shearwater: 23
Leaches Petrel: 3     another 2 from the return ferry
Gannet: c1,500
Brent Geese: 1630
Wigeon: 12
Teal: 8
Common Scoter: 584
Red-breasted Merganser: 4
Peregrine: 1
Oystercatcher: 2
Bar-tailed Godwit: 1
Curlew: 12
Pomarine Skua: 2
Long-tailed Skua: 4
Arctic Skua: 117    another 6 from return ferry
Great Skua: 772   another 20 from he return ferry   Amazing!!!!
Little Gull: 2,440  another 50+ from the return ferry
Sabines Gull: 1
Kittiwake: 40
Common Tern: 2
Arctic Tern: 4
Sandwich Tern: 12
Auk sp: 26

A brilliant days sea watching just c25miles from Dungeness as the Bonxie flys!!!!