Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday!

With gale force South Westerly blowing I was expectant of a good sea watch, the first half hour was very busy but passage soon dried up.
05.15-08.30 from the sea watch hide with AJG, SO, CP, JTM & OL.
Great-crested Grebe: 1W
Common Scoter: 22W   2E
Fulmar: 17W
Gannet: 105W   67E
Great Skua: 2E    3W
Arctic Skua: 2E
Kittiwake: 9W
Little Tern: 2W
Sandwich tern: 74W
Common Tern: 422W
Swift: 9 out
Harbour Porpoise: 1+
2 visits to the ARC saw little change to recent days with 8+ Wood Sandpipers, 5+ Common Sandpipers, 4 Ruff, 3 Redshank, 7+ Garganey, 2 Little Gulls and Great White Egrets all among the the commoner waders, wildfowl and Gulls, not forgetting the Sand martins over the lake.

This afternoons sea watch carried on where this mornings left off!

14.15-16.00 from the fishing boats with AJG, RW, CP & JTM,

Common Scoter: 2W

Fulmar: 3W

Gannet: 5W

Cormorant: 3 around

Great Skua: 1E

Yellow-legged Gull: 3+ around all juveniles

Kittiwake: 1 around

Sandwich Tern: 173W

Common Tern: 202W

Common Swift: 3 out

Grey Seal: 1

 Juvenile Common Tern CT5 from Firth hide last evening

At Firth hide in the evening a single juvenile Black Tern and 4 Little Terns among the many Common Terns and 3 Sandwich Terns, 9 Knot, 5 Dunlin, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Common Sandpipers and 4 Redshank. There was also a colour ringed juvenile Common Tern which I believe is a British bird, am waiting for confirmation of this.

 Juvenile Black Tern from Firth

 Little Terns with a Knot in the background 

Black-tailed Godwits

 Sunday

Overslept this morning so no sea watch, apparently the sea was very poor this morning so the lay in was worth it. From Firth staring into the sun, I could just make out 2 juvenile Black Terns but little else, so abandoned and went to the ARC. On the way 2 Cattle Egrets were in the sheep fields at Boulderwall. As I got home early I spent a few hours in the garden trying to clear some of the damage done by yesterdays gales.

                                         Juvenile Kittiwake at the fishing boats this afternoon

13.30-15.00 from the fishing boats with RW, JTM, LH & PH.
Gannet: 12W.    5E
Cormorant: 6 around
Dunlin: 1W
Kittiwake: 4W   1 around
Yellow-legged Gull: 2 juveniles around
Sandwich Tern: 26W.   1E
Common Tern: 3W

One of the juvenile Black Terns at Firth this evening

A much quieter evening at Firth hide where a juvenile Black Tern was still present as was the colour ringed juvenile Common Tern, 5 Dunlin and 4 Common Sandpipers were noted.