A day that descending into some pretty grim wind and rain after a pleasantly bright start. With the wind having moved onshore overnight seawatching was always going to be first choice at the Bill and a light trickle of westbound Balearic Shearwaters was evident from the outset; after something like 75 had been logged by early afternoon the situation became rather confused as the rain threatened with plenty returning eastward and a decent-sized feeding flock developing offshore; a day total of 150 looked like a fair guesstimate taking into account all their shenanigans. Sea passage was otherwise an almost complete non-event: Gannets dribbled by all day - including the first juveniles of the autumn - but a handful of Kittiwakes and auks were the only other worthwhile sightings. A constant stream of Swallows were departing out to sea through the morning but the only other noteworthy reports from the land concerned a Hobby over Southwell and a lone White Wagtail grounded at the Bill.
A few of the day's Balearics in a few of the day's ever changing conditions © Martin Cade:
