Albeit punctuated by days of inappropriate weather, autumn's got going quite nicely in the last week with today's light northerly breeze and generally fair conditions returning the best variety and numbers so far. Waders staged a good showing, with nine species including a
Wood Sandpiper logged by the nocmig recorder as they passed over the Obs during the hours of darkness, whilst the daytime totals at Ferrybridge were much improved and included 71
Dunlin, 30
Sanderling, 22
Ringed Plovers, 10
Redshank, 4
Knot and 2
Whimbrel; another lone
Whimbrel also passed by off the Bill. Diurnal overhead passage also picked up, with 150
Sand Martins, 100
Swallows and 43
Swifts leaving to the south from the Bill and fair quantities of each also lingering over the fields there. Grounded passerine arrivals weren't numerous but did include 15 each of
Sedge and
Willow Warbler at the Bill where a lone
Garden Warbler was the first of the season;
Whitethroats were also numerous and looked for the first time as though they included some non-locals in their midst; scarcity-wise, the
Serin reappeared and was seen at both the Bill and Avalanche Road. The offshore breeze wasn't helpful for the sea, with 30
Manx Shearwaters, 17
Common Scoter, 7
Yellow-legged Gulls and 2
Balearic Shearwaters the pick of the rewards at the Bill.
There were lots of comings and goings at Ferrybridge this morning © Debby Saunders (top two) and Pete Saunders (lower two):
The Wood Sandpiper would have been a nice 'in daylight' bird but, even unseen and unheard as it headed over in darkness well after midnight, it left a digital signature to let us know it had paid a fleeting visit:
