September didn't begin very auspiciously for those that ventured out coat-less after dawn and got a good soaking for their trouble after what apparently might prove to be the death throes of the last few weeks of unsettled weather saw unforecast showers pass through after a really murky night; fortunately, it didn't take long for fair weather to set back in even if it didn't result in many positives beyond another good showing of
Balearic Shearwaters. The shearwaters trickled through off the Bill all day, eventually reaching a total of 236, with 80
Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 39
Common Scoter, 5
Arctic Skuas and a
Pomarine Skua also logged by the seawatchers there. Odds and ends of passerines penetrating the overnight fog and making landfall there included 3
Grasshopper Warblers, 2
Reed Warblers, 2
Garden Warblers, 2
Spotted Flycatchers and singles of
Redstart and
Pied Flycatcher, with 17
Siskins and a
Merlin amongst the overhead migrants once the sky cleared. The Ferrybridge wader tally included 16
Knot, 9
Sanderling and a
Greenshank.
Just lately, Sanderling have been fewer in number at Ferrybridge than's usual at this time of year - since most of today's small increase to 9 were juveniles perhaps many are still working their way to these parts after a late start to the breeding season? © Pete Saunders:
We'd wanted to include some Reed Warbler comparison photos with yesterday's little review of last weekend's Marsh Warbler but inevitably only one had been handled during the early part of the week and we didn't even get to see that one. However, today came up with a couple of chances even if the one we got our hands turned out to be as skittish as Reeds often are and wouldn't pose for a nice side-on photo; incidentally, the notch on the 2nd primary of this individual was 11mm © Martin Cade:
