With wind speeds gusting up to 78mph in the harbour, it was always going to be left to the sea to save the day. A Sooty Shearwater past the Bill was the ultimate highlight, with a supporting cast of four Eiders, two Red-throated Divers and a tardy Manx Shearwater. The land was unsurprisingly quiet save for a surprise reappearance of the Arctic Redpoll and its two companion Lesser Redpolls that were trapped at the Obs; a Golden Plover, a lingering Purple Sandpiper and the odd wind-blown Goldcrest were otherwise all that could be mustered. The harbour is starting to show some class with a Velvet Scoter in with four Great Northern Divers.
The Arctic Redpoll had shown so well in the field on the day of its initial discovery that it could rather easily be aged/sexed as an adult male - a fact that was fully confirmed in the hand today © Martin Cade:
Rather unusual companions at Ferrybridge: a juvenile Gannet © Debby Saunders...
