Again, too hot for pleasurable fieldwork today and reports from the Bill were limited to 30 Common Scoter, c20 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Sandwich Terns, a Black-headed Gull and an Arctic Skua either lingering or passing on the sea. Fifty Mediterranean Gulls and 6 Sandwich Terns were at Ferrybridge.
Last night was an almost perfect one for another attempt to lure some Storm Petrels at the Bill tip - it was millpond calm and very warm with a lovely moonrise after midnight...
During these night-time excursions we spent a fair bit of time scanning around for petrels with the thermal imager and often spot other things of interest; last week this included the presence of a couple of bats active over the slope between our netting site on the wave cut platform and the Bill Quarry - it was interesting to contrast their behaviour and use of the airspace with that of the petrels © Martin Cade:
