19th April

With yesterday's rain only finally clearing through just as dawn broke and with a stiff and cold easterly still well established hopes weren't high for the land but the seawatchers were certainly expectant and, perhaps more by dint of dogged persistence than heavy passage, it was they that came up with the day's chief rewards. Chesil and the Bill were well watched and returned combined totals that included 410 Bar-tailed Godwits, 357 Little Terns, 230 Common/commic Terns, 110 Manx Shearwaters, 50 Sandwich Terns, 60 Whimbrel, 17 Arctic Skuas, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Teal, 2 Shovelers, 2 Little Gulls and a Pomarine Skua; an associated increase in waders at Ferrybridge included 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, 6 Sanderling, 3 Whimbrel and a Grey Plover. Things were appreciably quieter on the land although it wasn't a complete write-off, with 7 Whinchats, a Common Sandpiper and a Hobby amongst others at the Bill and a Pied Flycatcher at Sweethill.

Just so typical of a Pomarine Skua: well after the mainstream morning seawatch had wound down and the light had got shockingly dazzling so the first Pom of the spring lumbered through off the Bill - fortunately there was still one die-hard on station with camera to hand © Garry Hayman:

Hopefully today won't be this spring's only Barwit day: the few that showed nicely like these at Ferrybridge were lovely but those over the sea were having to battle hard in the brisk easterly and were mostly low to the water and in small, tight parties - we didn't see anything of the big 'smoky' flocks high in the sky that are so characteristic of passage in quieter conditions © Pete Saunders:

It must be a happy time for the local Peregrines with all manner of appropriately-sized migrants about to provide some tasty pre-fattened variation from their usual staples © Debby Saunders:

Another Sweethill Pied Flycatcher © Debby Saunders:

We arrived at Ferrybridge just after dawn in the rain, the early birds there were the Grey Plover, the Redshanks and the Whimbrel, here's some low light photos

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— Debra Saunders (@debbyseamist.bsky.social) April 19, 2025 at 9:51 PM