Higher expectations than yield today with more seen on the land in the first hour after the dawn rain ended than in the rest of the day combined. The highlight was a brief sighting of a new
Serin, this one appearing to be a female that streaked off as quickly as it arrived. Otherwise, it was down to a smattering of
Yellow Wagtails,
Garden Warblers,
Spotted Flycatchers and
Lesser Whitethroats, along with 2 more
Hobbys overhead,
to keep us entertained during the fieldwork. The sea was relatively quiet until late morning when a small flurry saw three
Arctic Skuas and a single
Pomarine Skua pass in quick succession; a lot of watching at other times produced just 79
Common Scoter, 4
Great Northern Divers and a
Great Skua.
It's been a pretty mediocre spring for skuas but a few nice photo opportunities have presented themselves, including today's Pomarine and one of the Arctics ©
Matthew Barfield matthewbarfield.com:
After a lull through late April and early May, Common Scoter passage has picked up a little in recent days © Pete Saunders:
