The wild weather that blew in yesterday afternoon persisted throughout the night, with the wind barely abating until well into the afternoon. Storm-driven Grey Phalaropes are as near a cast iron certainty as you get in birding in these conditions and one was duly discovered soon after first light at Ferrybridge where it remained until early afternoon. Much more unexpected in the oddity stakes were the 2 Ospreys that flew south over Chesil Cove half an hour apart during the morning. The Obs Quarry Wryneck also popped up from time to time, with a presumed different individual seen briefly in the Obs garden. The sea got plenty of attention but rewards were scant, with 3 Balearic Shearwaters and singles of Red-throated Diver and Great Skua through off the Bill and 2 Great Skuas through off Chesil Cove. Migrant interest on the ground looked to be pretty minimal, with nothing in any numbers and singles of Common Sandpiper and White Wagtail the best on offer at the Bill.
