15th November

It feels as though we have experienced every possible combination of weather this last week, and today was no exception with rolling bands of fog throughout the morning that eventually cleared to a mild and settled afternoon. With the majority of birds lost to view in the murk, totals overhead included 340 Goldfinches, 30 Chaffinches, 13 Redwing, 7 Siskin, 4 Brambling and singles of Reed Bunting, Fieldfare and Merlin. On the ground, things seemed fairly unchanged, with a minimum of 10 Goldcrests and 3 Chiffchaffs at the obs, plus 2 additional Brambling, 2 Black Redstarts and a Snipe also logged around the Bill. At sea, the recent aggregation of small gulls reached it's crescendo, with over 1,500 Mediterranean Gulls and 300 Kittiwakes stretched as far as the eye could see from the obs viewpoint, whilst over 20,000 auks were seen passing through. Ferrybridge totals included 15 Golden Plover, 5 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Black Redstart and a Bar-tailed Godwit.

Some of the 15 Golden Plover present at Ferrybridge this morning © Pete Saunders