Today really was a struggle: another night of continuous and at times heavy rain looked to have prevented all but the most determined passerine migrants getting airborne, whilst diurnal passage was reduced to no more than a trickle; there didn't look to be any reason why seabirds shouldn't have been on the move but they obviously felt otherwise. Waders accounted for the bulk of the new arrivals and included 65 Dunlin, 5 Whimbrel, 4 Grey Plovers and a Sanderling at Ferrybridge and a Common Sandpiper at the Bill; passerine numbers and variety were hopeless, with singles of Lesser Whitethroat and Spotted Flycatcher providing the only minor interest at the Bill where not a single migrant was trapped all day at the Obs; elsewhere there was a Pied Flycatcher at Avalanche Road. Upwards of 200 Manx Shearwaters lingering close inshore off the Bill were entertaining but 3 Red-throated Divers and a single Arctic Skua represented a terrible return by way of passage seabirds there.
Right up there as one of the coolest of Arctic-breeding waders, the Grey Plovers at Ferrybridge were a real treat © Martin Cade:
