Too Tired To Think of a Title!

Today started off reasonably well, at Church Point for 7:20, with optics, chair and a Maccy D's latte.

No shearwaters at all in the hour before the heavier rain started, the only Skuas being the Arctic type, and half a dozen or so Red-throated Divers south.

Next stop, some shelter in the way of Cresswell's hide.  More than 600 Canada Geese on the west bank, with one Bar-headed Goose and three Black-tailed Godwits.

The field to the immediate west of the hide had two Meadow Pipits, three Yellow Wagtails and one Pied, and was the landing strip for two groups of Ruff, one of seven and one of six.

A Little Egret flew in from the north and alighted to the west of the SW reedbed and out of sight.

The sea of The Pools was littered with R-t Ds, more than a dozen, as well as Common Scoter and auks.  Several dark skuas were noted, but there acrobatics and the wind on the tripod made i/d tricky, but I would guess Arctics (deffo not Bonxies).

Crammy Birder had reported a Great Crested Grebe at Arcot so off there for a patch tick and a photo.

A quick walk this afternoon around St. Mary's yielded nothing of note, a single Whitethroat in the willows was the only item of note.

Better

Church Point today - 07:10 > 09:20 - heavy northbound traffic in terms of auks and Gannets.  Light and dark phase Arctic Skuas a plenty, and for me (there were four 'mad men' there), one Bonxie.  Manxies and Sooties were steady, but the highlights were two Balearic Shearwaters, and hour apart, both heading north, the first at 07:40.

Still Waiting

What a tw*t! 

Arrived at Church Point just after 6:15 pm to be told I had missed a Pom Skua (a Lifer and something I appear to have missed year after year) by 10 to 15 seconds and a L-t Skua by as many minutes.

Gutted!

Did see numerous Arctics, Sooties, Manxies and a late Stormy as the light faded just before 8 pm.

Back tomorrow.

Chatty Afternoon

Wind, rain, a chill, no birds, no birders and the SE hide on East Chev's North Pool full of six adults (3 couples) each with their dog and a buffet that would have fed a dozen combined to make a flat afternoon.

Except, for two juvenile Stonechats on the fence 75m north of the turning circle at the north end of Druridge Pools.  Brilliant!