Finally
the floodgates opened and it turned out to be a superb migration day.
Offshore highlights were 71 Black Terns and 621 Arctic
Terns flying into the bay. Visible Migration was superb with a big
Hirundine movement, the first Swifts of the year, a good count of 21
Tree Pipits and a late surge of Meadow Pipits.
The Grounded highlights included a
showy Hooded Crow sat on the seawall and later on the
beach, good counts of Wheatear and Whinchats, plus a late Stonechat. We
probably missed quite a few birds due to being one observer down
and the increasingly gusty SE wind. There were still Hirundines going
over the point in the late afternoon, but IG was dragged away by an
angry woman!
Hooded Crow
Offshore
11 Common
Scoters east, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2
Red-throated Divers east, 14 Gannets west, 1 Arctic Skua east, 1
Guillemot east & 1 on the sea, 3 Auk sp. west, 1 Little Tern east, 71
Black Terns east, 20 Sandwich Terns, 3 Common Terns east and 621
Arctic Terns east.
Black Terns
Arctic Terns
Visible
Migration
1 Whimbrel east, 2 Swifts east, 1 Kestrel north-east, 1
Merlin east, 289 Sand Martins north-east, 1514 Swallows north-east, 30
House Martins north-east, 3 Yellow Wagtails east, 11 Alba Wagtails north-east, 21 Tree
Pipits north-east, 133 Meadow Pipits north-east, 21
Linnets east, 6 Redpolls east, 42 Goldfinch east and 2 Siskins east.
Grounded Migrants
1 Hooded Crow, 5 Willow Warblers, 1 Garden Warbler, 2
Grasshopper Warblers, 1 Redstart, 11 Whinchats, 1 Stonechat, 58
Wheatears, 3 Yellow Wagtails and 7 White Wagtails.
Hooded Crow - note the deformed upper mandible
Whinchats
Wheatear
Others
138 Ringed
Plovers, 11 Whimbrels, 12 Bar-tailed Godwits, 23 Black-tailed
Godwits, 80 Turnstones, 45 Sanderlings, 700 Dunlins and 1
Common Sandpiper.
