Red-rumped Swallow

A flat calm sea with some mist at the fishing boats this morning when I arrived. AJG and BM were already there and had had a fly over Snow Bunting but little passage at sea.

AJG and BM decided to bird around the Long Pits while I wandered around The Point just in case yesterdays Great Grey Shrike was still around. In the lighthouse garden just a couple of Robins chasing each other and 2 Blackbirds, also an adult male Sparrowhawk flashed through the garden across the road seemingly leisurely putting out 1 leg and plucked a House sparrow from the air. I saw a Swallow land on the wires at West Beach, because of the relatively late date and the light was good I decided to take a couple of pictures of it, it allowed me to creep more or less underneath it. While snapping away at it 2 House Martins appeared and then a Red Rumped Swallow alighted on the wires right above me. I quickly took a couple of images of the bird then started making phone calls, all the time aware of just how close I was to it and trying not to spook it. I then took a few more images then tweeted it. While tweeting it, it flew off towards the observatory with the 2 House Martins and 2 Barn Swallows, losing my chance of a flight shot. Fortunately at least 6 of the local birders manged to see it. 

A wander around the boats and sea containers found another Robin and Black Redstart.

 Red-rumped Swallow

  Red-rumped Swallow

  Red-rumped Swallow

 Red-rumped Swallow

With the wind getting up another watch from the fishing boats with MH 13.50-14.55 joined by PT and SM:

Brent Goose: 107 W
Common Scoter: 11 W
Velvet Scoter: 1 W
Red-throated Diver: 1 W
Gannet: 37 W
Mediterranean Gull: 7 around
Kittiwake: c30 around
Little Gull: 3 W
Auk sp: 32 W
Late afternoon on the reserve from Makepiece Hide , a 1w Caspian Gull, at least 5 Yellow-legged Gulls, 4 Great White Egrets and 8 Dunlin. The 2 Cattle Egrets were still around today.