31st October

Wildly windy conditions that peaked around dawn did nothing for the quality of the birding, with what coverage there was revealing precious little new on land or sea. Hope of storm-driven strays on the sea were perhaps a pipe dream given the position of the culprit weather system that had no great reach out into the Atlantic; as a result, 4 Balearic Shearwaters and a steady procession of Gannets and Kittiwakes were all that could be mustered by the seawatchers. Shelter was at a premium on the land so the total of 7 Firecrests shared between the Obs garden and Pennsylvania Castle was a respectable return; the odd ones and twos of Bramblings, singles of Merlin, Short-eared Owl, Wheatear and Black Redstart and the lingering Treecreeper also featured on the day tally, along with a handful of Wood Pigeons and Siskins attempting to move overhead.

 Today's Wheatear at the Bill © Debby Saunders:


And a Barn Owl from yesterday at Southwell © Pete Saunders:



The sort of damage that winds gusting up to 87mph does: tiles lifted and broken, and a long chunk of fascia and drainpipe ripped from the Cottage - not helpful!