The predicted downturn in the recent spell of settled weather arrived on cue this morning, with a wet couple of hours post-dawn compounded by increasingly blustery conditions from the southwest that saw regular gusts over 40mph. Naturally attentions were largely focused on the sea, where visitors struck seawatch gold in the form of 2 passing
Cory's Shearwaters - along with 4
Little Gulls amongst others - before the rain fizzled out; subsequent events were rather more mundane with around 50
Balearic Shearwaters, 45
Common Terns, 8
Ringed Plover, 3
Whimbrel, 3
Arctic Skuas and singles of
Great Skua,
Dunlin and
Black Tern the best on offer. On the land, a group of 8 soggy
Cattle Egrets provided a rather sorry sight as they briefly sought refuge in the Crown Estate Field, with a further individual logged simultaneously further up the Bill Road. Nearly 80 grounded
Lesser Black-backed Gulls (with unquantified numbers also on the move offshore) contained in the midst another
Caspian Gull - this one a colour-ringed bird so more details on that once we receive them.
The flock of Cattle Egrets that dropped into the Crown Estate Field contained a really dark-billed presumed juvenile in their midst. A smaller group of Cattle Egrets seen passing the Bill yesterday were reported by observers at the Bill tip to contain a single Little Egret - could this be the same bird? © Martin Cade:
Black Terns used to be a regular sight on late August/early September seawatches but they've become extremely infrequent these days © Martin Cade:
With no joy for us on the large shearwater front we had to make do with a few Balearics © Martin Cade:
With the garden mist-nests well and truly closed for the foreseeable, visiting ringers Tony Galsworthy and Roger Booth provided sterling service by refurbishing our stock of birdbags- we'll be well prepared if/when the next fall arrives © Jodie Henderson
