2014 year list totals and round up

3 Porpoise were feeding off Whitburn Obs this morning which says a lot about the bird passage today.
It was hard work in a strong westerly and it was more like a typical December sea watch than the excellent watches we've had lately. Gone are the Little Auks and Poms...lets hope the 1st is better than this.
Boy Wonder popped in briefly on his way to check out the Golden Plover flock on the firing range and called the second Gannet of the day. Pink Floyd said hello on his way to the Steel and nailed shut the hut door which is always banging and annoying me, thanks mate

I may make it in for the final watch of the year tomorrow... but just in case my Obs year list ended on 167 compared to 162 in 2013. The number of species seen over the two years is 182 so that just shows what is possible
My highlights for the year included Bridled Tern, Fea's Petrel and Smew, you couldnt have predicted that lot. The lows included just missing Green Woodpecker, no Minke Whale and the Bonaparte's Gull  avoided me in the Obs for the fifth year...maybe next year
Thanks to all my sea watching pals who helped my list along especially Magic Mark and Saint Mark
Who knows what next year will bring an Albatross or maybe King Eider.....


This is what we saw today in order of appearance

Tuesday 30th December 08.10-10.25 W3 cloud cover calm sea

Common Scoter 1n 4s
Common Gull 4n 9s
Eider 3n 6s
Black h Gull 1n 7s
Gannet 1n 1s
Red th Diver 4n 6s
Guillemot 7n
Porpoise 3 feeding
Teal 1s
Cormorant 1s

On the 5th day of......

2 Velvet Scoter and a Peregrine were the best we could muster passed Whitburn Obs in 2 hours this morning. Santa's festive luck has deserted us.Magic Mark was back but even he could not pull anything out of the hat on a much quieter day.
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Monday29th December 08.00-10.00 W2

Black h Gull 65n 27s
Common Gull 33n 51s
Cormorant 11n 5s
Fulmar 69n
Red th Diver 9n
Scan Herring Gull 3n
Eider 21n 7s
Common Scoter 12n 3s
Guillemot 23n
Goldeneye 5n
Peregrine 1n ad male
Wigeon 7n
Great crested Grebe 1n
Shag 1s
Velvet Scoter 2s
Porpoise 1

On the 4th day of xmas santa sent.....

9 Little Auks and a Pom Skua passed Whitburn Obs this morning continuing our good run of birds this festive season, lets hope Santa saves us some for the 1st. I was joined by Stevie Makem, Chivs with Hoggie and Walter later. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 28th December 08.05-11.00 W1-2 early cloud cover clearing

Turnstone 4n
Black h Gull 14n 21s
Common Gull 11n 5s
Eider 25n 3s
Red th Diver 10n 2s
Cormorant 2n 8s
Curlew 1n
Goldeneye 3n 1s
Common Scoter 25n
Teal 7n
Scan Herring Gull 2s
Shelduck 10n
Guillemot 6n
Woodcock 1 in off
Gannet 3n
Little Auk n
Pom Skua 1s
Razorbill 2n
Mallard 3s
Great n Diver 1s
Snipe 1s
Shag 2s
Wood Pigeon 2 in off
Velvet Scoter 1n

On the third day of Christmas Santa sent to me........

5 Velvet Scoter, Long tailed Duck and a Santa's sack full of quality birds passed Whitburn Obs by 11am. Magic Mark beat me in and had an Arctic Skua for his reward, we were joined by Stevie Makem and a welcome return to the Obs by Boy Wonder (RA). Santa sent us loads of birds, this is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 27th December 08.20-11.00 W1-2

Black h Gull 7n 16s
Common Gull 3n 10s
Gannet 2n
Red th Diver 15n 2s
Eider 10n 1s
Kittiwake 1s
Goldeneye 4n 1s
Guillemot 12n
Little Auk 3n
Shag 3s
Common Scoter 12n
Grey Heron 1n
Curlew 1s
Goosander 1n
Shelduck 7n
Pom Skua 1s
Fieldfare 1 in off
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Velvet Scoter 5s
Long tailed Duck 1n
Red br Merganser 1n

Good king Wenceslas looked out.....

A Long tailed Duck, 2 Velvet Scoter and 51 Godeneye passed Whitburn Obs this morning. Both my wing men were AWOL today and missed a good selection of birds passing for the feast of Stephen
A light westerly following a northerly at Whitburn often brings a good passage of wildfowl and today was no exception
This is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 26th December 08.15-10.40 SW1-2 calm sea moderate swell

Goldeneye 48n 3s
Tufted Duck 2n
Wigeon 20n 2s
Black h Gull 5n 13s
Common Gull 3n 20s
Eider 6n 1s
Curlew 1n
Cormorant 6n 14s
Common Scoter 9n 3s
Shoveller 2n
Gannet 2n 1s
Long tailed Duck 1n
Great n Diver 1n
Guillemot 7n
Little Auk 1n
Velvet Scoter 2n
Scan Herring Gull 1n 1s
Red th Diver 6n 1s
Shelduck 1s
Brent Goose pb 1n
Kittiwake 1s
Purple Sandpiper 1s

Do you feel lucky...........

A Little Auk went north past Whitburn Obs by 10.30 this morning. I was joined by Magic and Saint Mark on a slightly better day than yesterday but still few birds are moving. The Little Auk was feeling lucky, it was hotly pursued by Great black backed Gulls and dumped onto the sea and dived just in time to avoid being breakfast. Hoggie and Walter joined us late on but they were a day late for the Glauc they craved
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 21st December 07.45-10.30 SW2-3

Eider 3s
Common Gull 27s
Scan Herring Gull 6s
Common Scoter 15n 3s
Black h Gull 2n 1s
Cormorant 3n 2s
Guillimot 10n 33s
Gannet 3n 1s
Golden Plover 60s
Goldeneye 3n
Red th Diver 3n 1s
Shag 1n
Curlew 1s
Little Auk 1n phew....
Mallard 2s
Teal 5n

Bah Humbug.......

A juvenile Glaucous Gull went south past Whitburn Obs this morning but little else. Scrooge was handing out the birds today and he was miserly. Saint Mark joined me and this is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 20th December 07.45-10.15 WNW 3

Eider 2n 1s
Blk h Gull 13s
Common Gull 4n28s
Wigeon 2s
Red th Diver 5n 3s
Cormorant 1n 7s
Guillemot 2n 2s
Gannet 3n
Glaucous Gull 1s juv
Razorbill 1n
Scan Herring Gull 1n

gone shopping?..

A Great northern Diver went north past Whitburn Obs yesterday morning on a quiet winter sea watch. I was joined by Stevie Thunder and we wondered if all the birds had gone Xmas shopping as we couldn't find them. This is what we did see in order of appearance

Saturday 13th December 07.25-10.30 W2

Common Scoter 4n
Black headed Gull 30n 71s
Eider 3n 2s
Common Gull 2n 39s
Razorbill 1s
Rock Pipit 1s
Shelduck 1n
Cormorant 3n 6s
Red th Diver 1n 2s
Fulmar 9n 2s
Great northern Diver 1n
Gannet 2n
Scan Herring Gull 1n 8s
Redshank 1n 1s
Curlew 2n
Shag 2s
Guillimot 1s

Icing on the cake.......

2 Tundra Bean Geese,, 2 Great northern Divers and 4 Long tailed Ducks were just a few of the highlights that passed Whitburn Obs this morning bringing to a close a fantastic weekend of sea watching
I was joined by Magic and Saint Mark and later by a bunch of reprobates, Hoggie, Walter, Pink Floyd and the Birtley Bishop. We had 18 species of wildfowl today but none of yesterdays Skua's on another busy watch. The two Sandwich Terns that @whitleybirder sent us were the icing on the cake! even tho they took two hours to reach us.. The Bean Geese brought my obs year list to 166 species.
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 30th November 07.25-11.00 WNW2-3 early cloud clearing

Black h Gull 31n 49s
Peregrine 1s
Cormorant 1n 18s
Common Gull 4n 74s
Fulmar 28n
Lapwing 40n
Eider 18n 12s
Canada Goose 5s
Guillemot 19n
Purple Sandpiper 4n
Curlew 3n 110s
Common Scoter 18n 5s
Red th Diver 33n 22s
Pochard 2s
Goldeneye 4n 2s
Shag 7s
Razorbill 1n
Velvet Scoter 4n
Teal 3n 3s
Great n Diver 2n
Gadwall 1n
Pinkfeet 315s
Greylag Goose 1n
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Shelduck 7n
Red br Merganser 1s
Long tailed Duck 4n
Merlin 1s
Med Gull 1s ad
Goosander 2s
Tufted Duck 1s
Sandwich Tern 2s
Tundra Bean Goose 2n and in at 10.25
Turnstone 4n
Wigeon 1n 3s

Sadly i will miss next weekend as im off to Goa for some sunshine curry and birds, back soon......

Its all about the Poms, bout the Poms, Pom Skua's........

19 Pom Skua's, Iceland Gull, 2 Little Auks and 2 Long tailed Ducks passed Whitburn Obs this morning. I was joined by Saint Mark and right from the off  large Gulls were streaming south and they did not stop all morning. We had a first winter Iceland Gull moving with them and a Med Gull. As the watch got going so did the Skua's with an unexpected total of 19 Poms plus supporting cast
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 29th November 07.35-12.00 SE3 cloud cover rain at times

Cormorant 4s
Black h Gull 1n 71s
Common Gull 1n 37s
Med Gull 1s ad
Curlew 90s
Velvet Scoter 6n
Common Scoter 184n 3s
Teal 47n 40s
Eider 22n 3s
Iceland Gull 1s first winter
Mallard 2s
Fulmar 3n 6s
Goldeneye 5n 3s
Long tailed Duck 2n
Kittiwake 7s
Pink feet  5n
Red th Diver 9n 2s
Wigeon 7n 21s
Razorbill 1n 1s
Shag 1n 1s
Brent Goose 6s pb
Pom Skua 19n
Guillemot 8n 5s
Bonxie 1n 2s
Little Auk 2n
Golden Plover 150s
Arctic Skua 1n
Lapwing 15s
LBBGull 1s
GBBGull circa 1000s
Herring Gull circa 5000s
Scan Herring Gull 4s
We left the Obs happy birders

Its too late the old man cried..

2 Little Gulls and a Med Gull were the best we could find on another quiet Sunday on a westerly. Yesterdays Smew pulled in a couple of part time sea watchers in the hope of a repeat performance but Stevie Thunder and Stevie Makem were disappointed the horse had already bolted. Also present were Saint Mark , Hoggie and Walter
This is what we did manage to see in order of appearance,  little reward in excellent conditions

Sunday 23rd November 07.25-10.30 WSW 2 cloud cover

Black h Gull 56n 70s
Cormorant 3n 12s
Common Gull 5n 24s
Red th Diver 23n 18s
Eider 7n 10s
Shag 4n 16s
Common Scoter 32n 22s
Porpoise 2 feeding
Fulmar 5n
Curlew 1n 1s
Redshank 7n 1s
Med Gull 1s ad
Scan Herring Gull 4s
Teal 3s
Rock Pipit 1s
Guillimot 1n 1s
Little Gull 2n
Redwing 1 over
Grey Heron 1n

Gentlemen prefer blondes, i like Redheads..........

Smew, Goldeneye and Scaup passed Whitburn Obs by 11am a canny selection of ducks. Saint Mark joined me today back from his trip to Peru with tales and pics of Inca Terns and Franklin's Gull's. He more than made up for the absence of Magic Mark who is away this weekend when he called the Smew going south close inshore. It was a  new Obs year tick bringing my total to 166.  Hoggie and Pink Floyd were late arrivals
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 22nd November 07.20-11.00 S2-3 cloud cover

Black h Gull 1n 55s
Eider 14n 8s
Common Gull 24s
Shelduck 27n
Wigeon 11n 3s
Mallard 9n 1s
Red th Diver 6n 14s
Common Scoter 18n 4s
Teal 5n 40s
Curlew 1n 1s
Golden Plover 92s
Redshank 3n
Knot 1n 1s
Snipe 1s
Turnstone 1n
Goldeneye 1n 3s
Razorbill 1s
Guillimot 2s
Tufted Duck 1n 1s
Fulmar 2n 1s
Scaup 1n
Smew 1s redhead circa 09.05
Little Gull 1s ad
Bonxie 1n

Its all about the birds, about the birds, no............

2 Velvet Scoters and 18 Brent Geese passed Whitburn Obs early morning. I joined Magic Mark for a short watch today and we had a good selection of birds, we were hoping for a few more Poms and Little Auks but not today, maybe this weekend. This is what we did see in order of appearance

Friday 21st November 07.30-09.10 SW then SE2

Black h Gull 1n 48s
Common Gull 27s
Teal 25n 20s
Red th Diver 1n 10s
Common Scoter13n
Velvet Scoter 2n
Mallard 3s
Shelduck 1n
Curlew 1n
Wigeon 6s
Little Gull 2n
Eider 3n
Goldeneye 1n 2s
Shag 1s
Goosander 2s
Brent Goose db 18s

I left Mark in the obs..........

Sloppy Seconds.........

4 Pom Skuas and a Great northern Diver passed Whitburn Obs early morning. Disappointed that work got in the way of sea watching yesterday so i was determined to have a look see today. The only Auks i saw were Guillimots but Little Auks can be slow to get going. A few Skuas were moving but straight easterlies are not the best winds to watch on. Stevie Thunder arrived as i left for work so lets hope he gets a few decent birds. This is what i saw in order of appearance

Tuesday 16th November 07.30-09.10 E2 broken cloud rain then bright sun.....

Common Scoter 6n
Black h Gull 5n 23s
Common Gull 2n 22s
Fulmar 6n
Velvet Scoter 1s
Red th Diver 5n 11s
Eider 3n
Pom Skua 4n juvs
Teal 3n
Little Gull 8n 5s
Great n Diver 1n
Shelduck 1n
Shag 1s

Thank heaven.......... for Little Auks

8 Little Auks and a Pom Skua passed Whitburn Obs early morning. Magic Mark and Stevie Thunder were my company today and a bit like yesterday few birds were moving, but we managed to find a bit of quality in the form of Little Auks. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 16th November 07.15-10.00 WSW 1 cloud cover

Fulmar 27n
Cormorant 9s
Wigeon 13n 2s
Black h Gull 24n 95s
Common Gull 4n 22s
Little Gull 3n
Little Auk 7n 1s
Red th Diver 3n 10s
Eider 6n 10s
Shag 29s including 1 flock of 20
Porpoise 3
Common Scoter 5n
Pom Skua 1n juv
Teal 1n 3s
Greylag Goose 1n
Grey Wagtail 1s
Brent Goose db 1n

After the sea watch i was birding locally and saw 3 separate groups of Pink feet going south circa 300 birds in all

calm after the storm....

Great northern Diver, Pom Skua and a Med Gull passed Whitburn Obs this morning. Magic Mark and I were back on a calm quiet morning following yesterdays stormy weather. We had hoped for some leftovers as birds relocated but in truth few birds were moving so we had to work hard to eek out a few decent birds and we did ok
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 15th November SW1 cloud cover calm sea with moderate swell

Black h Gull 16n 70s
Common Gull 7n 30s
Curlew 2n
Little Gull 10n 10s
Eider 6n 1s
Wigeon 5n 3s
Fulmar 6n 1s
Red th Diver 1n 19s
Porpoise 5
Knot 1n
Med Gull 1s ad
Great n Diver 1n close inshore a beast of a bird
Cormorant 11n
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Shag 5s
Pom Skua 1n juv
Common Scoter 2n
Grey Heron 1n
Dunlin 1n
Long t Duck 1n
Redshank 1n

We headed off to look for the Water Pipit at Whitburn Steel and found two
I then eventually saw the Siberian Stonechat at the Academy Pools and found a Snow Bunting so all in all a canny days birding

Stormy Friday Sea Watch

2 Poms 2 Velvet Scoters and an adult Little Gull were amongst the birds that passed Whitburn Obs early morning. Magic Mark and myself were in position at first light to enjoy the stormy conditions and see what birds it produced. Numbers were low but we thoroughly enjoyed what we got which was mainly close inshore
This is sort of what we saw in order of appearance

Friday 14th November 07.05-09.30 SE5 cloud cover

Black h Gull 22n
Red th Diver 2n 2s
Eider 9n 1s
Common Gull 8s
Scaup 8n
Fulmar 4s
Pom Skua 2s juvs
Velvet Scoter 2n
Bonxie 2n
Common Scoter 1n 2s
Golden Plover 33s
Goldeneye 1n
Little Gull 1s
Teal 5s

Eyes down for another full house...

A Long tailed Skua and 5 Little Auks were the star birds on another fun packed Whitburn bird watch. It was another full house with loads of birds and a canny few birders. I was joined by Magic Mark, Stevie Makem and StevieThunder (nice to see he chose birding over running) with Hoggie and Walter later. We also had a special guest visit by Richard Crossley with Cookie. He didn't bring any free Crossley guides so we wouldn't let him look through our scopes at a Puffin on the sea
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 9th November 06.50-10.30 SW mainly cloud cover

Black h Gull 23n 65s
Eider 6n 11s
Woodcock 1 in/off and 1s
Common Gull 5n 73s
Little Gull 10n 3s
Red th Diver 15n 36s
Porpoise 3
Teal 24n
Bonxie 3n
Shag 1n 5s
Golden Plover 16s
Dunlin 3s
Red br Merganser 2n
Velvet Scoter 3s
Pink footed Goose 243s
Snow Bunting 1s
Great n Diver 1s
Grey Heron 2n
Wigeon 6n
Little Auk 2n 3s
Med Gull 1n 1s ads
Turnstone 1s
Redshank 1n
Puffin 1 on sea
Mallard 1s
Long t Skua 1n

Game of two halfs...........

95 Pink feet, 30 Little Gulls and a Med Gull passed Whitburn obs by 10.30 this morning. After the mega Little Auk passage it was business as usual with only 2 passing for DL to get his year tick. Derek joined me briefly this morning then later Hoggie and it turned out to be a decent sea watch despite a slow start. The early bright sun didn't help but as cloud cover moved in the birds improved. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 8th November 06.45-10.30 SW2-3 bright sun then cloud cover

First half

Black h Gull 24n 59s
Common Scoter 78n 32s
Common Gull 3n 68s
Red th Diver 15n 8s
Turnstone 2n
Mallard 1n 11s
Eider 3n 9s
Curlew 40n 1s
Goldeneye 4n
Wigeon 8n 19s
Woodcock 3 in/off
Meadow Pipit 9s
Teal 7n 17s
Little Auk 2n
Shoveler 2s
Little Gull 2n 28s
Golden Plover 110s
Shag 10s
Pink footed Goose 95s
Snipe 1s
Med Gull 1s ad
Shelduck 1s

At half time i went to see the Grey Phal at Hartlepool

Second half 14.00-16.15

I joined Magic Mark for a couple of hours
He had had some good birds on his afternoon watch including Long tailed Duck before i arrived . I managed to see the following with him
Great crested Grebe 1n
Tufted Duck 1n
Scaup 4s
Wigeon 4sTeal 2s
Pom Skua 3n juvs
Common Scoter 5s
Shag 2s
Woodcock 1 in/off

Not a bad day

Remember Remember the 5th ..............

644 Little Auks 2 Sootys and a Slav Grebe passed Whitburn by 10.30 this morning. Yes its bonfire night today and things started with a bang! the first three species called were Little Auk, Slav Grebe and Velvet Scoter. The Little Auks just kept coming some in the surf. I was joined by Magic Mark, Pink Floyd and Stevie Makem and more later, I left a full Obs to go to work. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Wednesday 5th November 06.40-10.30 N2-3
Velvet Scoter 2n 1s
Slav Grebe 1n
Little Auk 644n
Red th Diver 13n 84s
Wigeon 25n
Common Scoter 105n 48s
Red br Merganser 2n 1s
Goldeneye 13n 3s
Eider 2n 2s
Little Gull 10n 2s
Sooty Shearwater 2n
Manxie 1n
Great n Diver 3n 1s
Pink footed Geese 16s
Mallard 3n
Shag 1n 4s
Brent Goose 5s
Teal 8n 10s
Arctic Skua 4n
Fulmar 2n
Bonxie 5n
Curlew 2n
Grey Heron  1n
Short eared Owl 2 in off
Pom Skua 1s

Deja Vu.......

14 Whooper Swans a Great northern Diver and 112 Little Gulls passed Whitburn Obs by 11 this morning. It was a case of same times, same place, similar birds and similar observers.Only today the female interest came in the form of an old friend Ed, she was looking good on her jog past, and the mystery blonde was a no show. Sea Watching was enjoyable in good light if not spectacular but not bad for a south westerly in November. Magic Mark was in along with Hoggie and Walter and this is what we saw today in order of appearance

Sunday 2nd November 06.40-11.00 full cloud cover

Black h Gull 5n 145s
Common Gull 107s
Wigeon 11n 1s
Red th Diver 9n 10s
Eider 8n 1s
Meadow Pipit 8s
Starling 10 in/off
Little Gull 10n 102s
Mallard 3s
Common Scoter 14n 9s
Curlew 1n 1s
Goosander 4n 2s
Turnstone 2n
Greylag Goose 1n
Teal 4n 8s
Woodcock 1 in/off
Whooper Swan 14s
Redshank 1n
Great n Diver 1s
Bonxie 1n
Velvet Scoter 1n
Shag 3s
Goldeneye 3s
Great crested Grebe 2n
Sanderling 2s

i want it all and i want it now........

4 species of Skua, 5 Whoopers and close to a hundred Little Gulls passed Whitburn Obs this morning along with a good variety of wildfowl. As the queen song says i want it all and today we got it all. Magic Mark joined me at first light and we filled our boots as a great variety of birds passed the obs, Pink Floyd, Hoggie and a mystery blond were late arrivals.
All this and two new obs year ticks bringing my year list to 165
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 1st November 06.40-11.00 SW3 early cloud clearing to bright sun

Manxie 1n 1s
Red th Diver 14n 10s
Eider 30n 4s
Common Gull 6n 36s
Meadow Pipit 5s
Black h Gull 6n 36s
Curlew 1n 1s
Brent Goose 1n db
Golden Plover circa 1000s
Goldeneye 1s
Common Scoter 20n 5s
Lapwing 1s
Little Gull 94n
Teal 1n 8s
Arctic Skua 1n
Pom Skua 1n juv
Bonxie 4n
Wigeon 6n 3s
Red br Merganser 1s
Siskin 1s
Long t Skua 1n
Great n Diver 2s
Gadwall 2s
Trush sp 6 in off
Pink footed Goose 295s
Twite 1s
Yellow browed Warbler calling nearby
Redpoll 1s
Velvet Scoter 3s
Shag 2n
Woodcock 1 in off
Grey Wagtail 2s
Whooper Swan 5n
Grey Heron 1s
Redshank 3n
Merlin 1s

Tystie, very Tystie

37 Little Gulls and 30 Red th Divers passed Whitburn Obs this morning but the star bird was a Black Guillemot. Magic Mark was in and he was at his best calling the bird as it went south close in then 6 minutes later calling it as it went back north giving good prolonged views. Very Tystie indeed
On a quieter day for birds than yesterday this is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 26th October 06.30-10.00 SW3 cloud cover

Common Gull 1n 59s
Golden Plover 258s
LBBGull 1s
Common Scoter 27n 11s
Red th Diver 22n 6s
Black h Gull 6n 38s
Turnstone 9s
Meadow Pipit 4s
Black Guillemot 1s 07.03 then north at 07.09
Eider 1n 2s
Little Gull 17n 20s
Porpoise 2n
Manxie 2n 5s
Rock Pipit 1s
Common Gull 1n 59s
Redshank 1n 6s
Grey Wagtail 1s
Curlew 2s
Grey Heron 1n

Ravens set new Obs year list record.................

2 Great northern Divers, 11 Whooper Swans and 8 Brent Geese passed Whitburn Obs by 10am. News of Ravens yesterday flying from Tynemouth into South Tyneside gave a glimmer of hope that they might be seen from the Obs. In truth it was a long shot and i was on a short leash with grandad duties from 10, so it was exciting news that they had been seen heading south again. We managed to see all three of them and bingo they are on the Obs list and species 162 of the year, a new record. Thanks for all the Raven news guys
I was joined by Magic and Saint Mark for another remarkable Whitburn Obs sea watch, this is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 25th October 07.25-10.00 SW2-3 mainly bright sun after early cloud


Eider 6n 1s
Turnstone 5s
Black h Gull 13n 38s
Common Gull 13n 12s
Common Scoter 11n 4s
Red th Diver 20n 6s
Curlew 2n
Grey Heron 1n
Golden Plover circa 320s
Little Gull 49n 4s
Red br Merganser 2s
Pied Wagtail 1s
Common Tern 1n
Whooper Swan 11s
Wigeon 1s
Great northern Diver 2s
Brent Goose 8n db
Pink footed Goose 194s
Raven 3 over Souter
Canada Goose 3s

Magic Mark continued the watch as i headed off on grandad duties...back tomorrow

Sawbill Sunday....

55 Little Gulls, 2 Whooper Swans and 6 Bonxies passed Whitburn Obs by 11am along with a good selection of other species on a windy westerly day. I was joined by Magic and Saint Mark and Hoggie late on
We saw a movement of Sawbills with 19 going south, but missing the one we really wanted...Smew
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 19th October 07.15-11.05 SW6 broken cloud

Black h Gull 8n 91s
Common Gull 11n 46s
Chaffinch 1s
Teal 2n 2s
Wigeon 29n 2s
Eider 5n 1s
Pied Wagtail 1s
Curlew 2n 2s
Dunlin 1s
Little Gull 55n
Common Scoter 16n 14s
Meadow Pipit 10s
Golden Plover 106s
Turnstone 1n 1s
Red br Merganser 8s
Red th Diver 4n
Starling 8 in off
Song Thrush 1 in off
Goldeneye 1n
Grey Heron 2s
Fulmar 1s
Goosander11s
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Manxie 1n
Redshank 6s
Bonxie 6n
Merlin 1s
Whooper Swan 2s

Duckin n Divin ...the return

7 Great northern Divers, a Pom Skua and 26 Whoopers passed Whitburn Obs by 12.30. A flock of Great northerns and 13 species of Wildfowl were just some of the highlights on this duck and diver day. A Curlew Sandpiper was a new Obs year tick and brings my Obs list to 161 equalling last years total!
I was joined by Saint Mark, DL,Pink Floyd and a guest birder Brummie Gary. Magic Mark brought up the rear.
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 18th October 07.15-12.30 S3 cloud cover

Common Gull 27n 38s
Black h Gull 14n 60s
Red th Diver 7n 8s
Common Scoter 35n 33s
Eider 8n 5s
Mallard 3s
Wigeon 104n 28s
Shoveler 1n
Pom Skua 1n
Teal 34n 7s
Velvet Scoter 5n
Curlew Sandpiper 1s
Curlew 2n
Little Gull 2n 3s
Bonxie 2n
Golden Plover 32s
Pintail 3n
Redwing 124 in off
Brent Goose 1n db
Lapwing 25s
Whooper Swan 26s inc flock of 24
Goldeneye 2n 2s
Red br Merganser 1n 3s
Turnstone 1n
Great northern Diver 7n inc 1 flock of 6 a new obs record
Dunlin 2s
Long tailed Duck 1s
Goosander 1n
Med Gull 1n ad

wot no phal-fest

2 Poms and a load more Little Gulls were the highlights of a short sea watch today. I headed for Whitburn in the hope of seeing the Pallas's Warbler found by Dave Foster and it wasn't showing, seems like a good excuse for a sea watch. Grey Phals were being reported up the east coast and we haven't had one from the obs yet, Magic Mark suggested i might have a phal-fest...........
This is what i did see in order of appearance

Thursday16th October 13.35-16.00 ESE 2 cloud cover

Great crested Grebe 1 on the sea
Med Gull 1n ad
Little Gull 97n
Black h Gull 38n
Common Scoter 25n
Teal 2n
Red th Diver 3n 1s
Common Gull 43n 1s
Goldeneye 2n
Arctic Skua 3n
Pom Skua 2n
Tufted Duck 1n

Skua surprise........

2 Long tailed and 20 Pom Skuas passed Whitburn Obs today. I didn't get to the obs till 10 this morning and was just going to have a look see....I left at 05.30. I was joined by Sir Ian and Fos and later Mr WWWT. This is what we saw today in order of appearance

Monday 13th October 10.00-17.30 NE3-4 cloud cover

Shag 1n
Red th Diver 3n 13s
Manxie 20n 1s
Med Gull 1n 2s all ads
Eider 7n 5s
Common Scoter 25n
Black h Gull 12n 4s
Common Gull 38n 5s
Arctic Skua 26n 1s
Pom Skua 19n 1s
Teal 10n
Fulmar 1n
Tufted Duck 1n
Grey Heron 1s
Bonxie 33n 2s including one flock of 15
Velvet Scoter 2n
Sooty Shearwater 3n
Great crested Grebe 1n
Long t Duck 4n
Long tailed Skua 3n juvs
Little Auk 1n
Wigeon 4n
Common Tern 3n
Arctic Tern 2n

Goose fest at Whitburn Obs...

2255 Pink footed Geese went south past Whitburn Obs by 11.30 today. Other highlights included Whooper Swans, Garganey, and Med Gull, not a bad mornings sea watch. I was joined by Magic and Saint Mark we were discussing what the day might bring and we all thought Swans and Geese would be nice...we couldn't have predicted a County record day passage of Pink feet. There are not many more uplifting sights in birding than a skein of Pinks going overhead calling
Yesterday afternoon i met up with Saint Mark to try and boost my Obs year list. We saw Buzzard Short eared Owl and Jack Snipe. Today the Garganey south put my Obs year list on 158, only three short of last years total. It was down to magic Mark he called the Duck going south and when it landed on the sea was able to nail its id. I might pop back later.....
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 12th October 06.50-11.30 W1-2 bright sun calm sea

Black h Gull 74n 87s
Meadow Pipit 27s
Common Tern 14n 4s
Common Scoter 23n 7s
Red th Diver 18n 20s
Little Gull 7s
Wigeon 1n 3s
Lapwing 85s
Eider 9n
Curlew 1n 1s
Common Gull 5n 44s
Greylag Goose 11s
Canada Goose 23s
Velvet Scoter 1s
Pied Wagtail 2s
Turnstone 1n 3s
Redshank 3s
Grey Heron 4n 1s
Redpoll 1 in off
Teal 3n 1s
Whooper Swan 13s
Arctic Skua 1n
Reed Bunting 2s
Manxie 4n
Pink footed Goose 2255s (a new obs day record)
Shag 14s
Garganey 1s
Arctic Tern 1n 1s
Med Gull 1s ad
porpoise 2
Jay 1n
Red br Merganser 1n1s
Brent Goose 1s pb
Puffin 1 on the sea
Grey Wagtail 1s
Coal and Long tailed Tits were in the bust next to the Obs

All quiet on the Whitburn front....

Adult Med Gull and 4 Little Gulls were the best past the Obs this morning on a very quiet day. Lots of Gulls were moving south with a good count of Black headed but sadly the Farnes have nicked our Little Gulls. Only Saint Mark made it in and this is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 11th October 06.55-10.30 W1-2

Black h Gull 15n 429s
Whimbrel 1n
Common Scoter 4n 5s
Curlew 34n
Red th Diver 12n 12s
Teal 3n
Meadow Pipit 38s
Turnstone 15n
Redshank 1n
Red br Merganser 1s
Common Gull 2n 59s
Eider 3n 1s
Common Tern 4n 4s
Dunlin 5s
Little Gull 4s
Arctic Skua 1n
Shag 1n 2s
Sandwich Tern 2n 2s
Fulmar 1s
Golden Plover 57s
Tree Sparrow 23s
Med Gull 1s ad
Grey Heron 2n
Wigeon 5s
Kittiwake circa 2000s

Little Gulls swarm south...

540 Little Gulls went south past Whitburn Obs in 3 hours this afternoon. Derek Charlton started the watch at 2.30 and i finished it at 5.30. This is what we saw

Manx Shearwater 9s
Brent Goose db 56n 22s pb 9s
Wigeon 116n 150s
Teal 121s
Common Scoter 21n 42s
Eider 5s
Ringed Plover 6s
Dunlin 2s
Curlew 8s
Common Gull 2s
Black h Gull 6n 26s
Little Gull 540s
Arctic Tern 2s
Arctic Skua 10n

Duckin n Divin

2 Red necked Grebes a Great northern Diver and a Scaup passed Whitburn Obs this morning. It was a day for the ducks with 12 species of wildfowl passing and another good day for divers. Saint Mark joined me with Hoggie later. This is what we saw on a cracking sea watch

Sunday 5th October W2 broken cloud

Black h Gull 18n 104s
Turnstone 1s
Common Scoter 21n 11s
Whimbrel 1n
Eider 2n 9s
Wigeon 501n 3s
Teal 171n 10s
Curlew 4n 2s
Red th Diver 9n 17s
Great n Diver 1n
Greylag Goose 23n
Little Gull 353n and 100 plus feeding offshore
Common Tern 4nGrey Heron 2n
Arctic Tern 1s
Gadwall 2n
Common Gull 5n
Manxie 3n 1s
Pink footed Goose 12s
Pintail 1n
Porpoise 1
Redshank 2n 7s
Goosander 1n
Golden Plover 32s
Puffin 1n
Shag 2s
Red necked Grebe 2n
Tufted Duck 4n
Scaup 1n drake
Mallard 1n
Stonechat 1 by the obs

Big Divers on the move...

2 Great northern Divers and a Slav Grebe were the highlights past Whitburn Obs this afternoon. I had to leave the watch early this morning due to grandad duties,  but it felt like unfinished business so i went back for a second look. While i was away a further 3 Great northern had passed including a bird that was found preening on the sea. That's at least 6 past today!, My afternoon started with a Slav Grebe north only the second past the obs this year. They always look like they want to land, and this one did for a while. This prompted St Mark to join me. We had a bit of a shock when a large diver coming south appeared to have a pale face and ivory bill, but as it went past and the light changed it was only a white face...almost but
this is what we saw in order of appearance

12.55-16.10
Common Scoter 4n 5s
Teal 35s
Black h Gull 17n 71s
Arctic Skua 1n 2s
Slav Grebe 1n 1pm
Common Gull 15n 8s
Little Gull 13n 18s
Red th Diver 4n 5s
Bonxie 2n 4s
Manxie 2n 3s
Porpoise 3s at speed
Puffin 1 on the sea
Grey Heron 1s
Arctic Tern 1n 1s
Wigeon 20s
Great n Diver 2s
Fulmar 1n

Big feet big.....

Great northern Diver, Long tailed Skua and a Med Gull passed Whitburn Obs by 10am this morning. Normally big feet = big diver but this big diver had little feet, we enjoyed superb views of this still sum plumish bird fairly close in. It was an exciting watch with lots of close birds and loads of Gulls but we failed to get the hoped for Sabs Gull amongst the Little's and Kitts. I was joined by Saint Mark and Stoney was in the house (and not on his was to Scilly)
Early on Mark called a Petrel going south but failed to get me on it, he couldn't nail the i.d. so nothing lost
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 4th October 06.45-10.00 S3-4 then variable winds and some rain

Black h Gull 27n 67s
Common Gull 9n 43s
Eider 2n 2s
Shelduck 4s
Common Scoter 16n 13s
Little Gull 18n 60s and 100 plus feeding offshore all watch
Petrel sp 1s 07.25
Red th Diver 3n 5s
Curlew 6n 4s
Manxie 1n 14s
Arctic Skua 14n 7s
Dunlin 1s
Sandwich Tern 1n 2s
Wigeon 30n 37s
Fulmar 5s
Teal 38n 48s
Golden Plover 1n 4s
Shag 3s
Dolphin sp 1 south at 8.15
Long tailed Skua 1n juv
Pintail 1s
Great northern Diver 1n
Meadow Pipits circa 30n
Starling 1 in off
Med Gull 1n ad

easy like sunday morning.....

White beaked and a Bottlenosed Dolphin were off shore this morning along with a few Porpoise but the hoped for Whale didn't show. I still haven't seen Minke from the Obs this year. It was a decent enough sea watch today in good light and a calm sea but it was all a bit laid back and Sunday morning ish. I was joined by Magic and Saint Mark, Stevie Thunder with CD and Stevie Makem.We said our goodbyes to CD who promised us free bed and board anytime in Kansas! Hoggie came in late on and helped me id some of the moths id caught and Red-line Quaker was a garden tick.
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 28th September 06.30-10.25 SSW2
Eider 31n 7s
Ringed Plover 2n 37s
Black h Gull 201n 127s
Red br Merganser 1s
Fulmar 1n
Curlew 13n
Porpoise 3n
Meadow Pipit 5s
Common Scoter 44n 2s
Manxie 52n 17s
Common Gull 7n 5s
Red th Diver 20n 18s
Golden Plover 11s
Common Tern 27n 7s
Puffin 1n
Arctic Skua 10n 5s
Teal 8n 11s
Wigeon 12n
Little Gull 64n 35s
Greylag Goose 2s
Bonxie 4n
07.45 Bottlenose Dolphin moving south
Grey Wagtail 2s
Sooty Shearwater 3n 5s
Sandwich Tern 6s
08.00 White beaked Dolphin 3s (and a more distant 5s were probably White beaked)
Pink footed Goose 90s
Grey Heron 1n 1s
Redshank 1n 3s
LBBGull 1s
Pintail 1n
Velvet Scoter 2n
Jay 1s a new obs tick and yet another mega following on from the recent Fea's, Parakeets and Bridled Tern!

Lttle and Large

3 Red necked Grebes 259 Little Gulls a Great n Diver and a Marsh Harrier passed Whitburn Obs this morning. I was joined by Saint Mark and Stoney was in the house (CW,SMc,BS later). Magic Mark was away but i needn't have worried my wing men were on top form. Little Gulls dominated again but poor light made it very difficult to pick a Sabs out, maybe tomorrow. A Marsh Harrier south completed the little and large feel. This is what we Saw in order of appearance

Saturday 27th September 06.30-11.10 SW2 bright sun

Black h Gull 157n 128s
Eider 4n 1s
Red th Diver 12n 20s
Curlew 79n
Puffin 4n
Common Scoter 82n 10s
Manxie 7n 5s
Sandwich Tern 16s
Common Tern 49n 23s
Little Gull 200n 59s
Arctic Skua 2n
Turnstone 3n 3s
Red necked Grebe 2n 1s
Pom Skua1s
Porpoise 4s
Arctic Tern 2n 2s
Meadow Pipit 49s
Common Gull 14n 9s
Grey Wagtail 2s
Ring necked Parakeet 5s
Red br Merganser 3s
Pink footed Goose 150s
Goose sp 28s
Bonxie 1n
Marsh Harrier 1s juv
Great n Diver 1n
Wigeon 1n
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Swallow 2n
Teal 6s
Redshank 1n
Golden Plover 3s

Humpback takes the biscuit...........

A magnificent Humpback Whale was the star of today's sea watch with a cetacean supporting cast of Bottlenose Dolphin and Porpoise. I was joined by Magic Mark, Stevie Thunder and CD our Kansas birder pal, Stevie Makem and Chivs. We had another busy watch with the star bird found by Stevie Thunder a juv Sabs Gull, i only just got on it. Steve has a history of finding them at Whitburn. I was looking at the DFDS ferry as it went past when the Humpback fully breached off the stern, and just in case you missed it it did it again. Gannets were diving in to feed indicating lots of fish in the area so you never know it may still be about. I had a Yellow browed Warbler calling as i left the Obs probably the same bird thats been seen on a number of occations
This is what we saw sort of in order of appearance

Friday 26th September 06.30-09.30 W2-3 cloud cover and calm sea

Black headed Gull 195n 29s
Turnstone 3n
Common Scoter 12n 1s
Red th Diver 19n 24s
Pink footed Goose 16n 30s
Redshank 2s
Puffin 3n
Shelduck 3n
Little Gull 118n 4s
Eider 4n 1s
Arctic Skua 8n
Arctic Tern 7n
Common Tern 25n 4s
Manxie 8n
Golden Plover 265s
Bonxie 2n
Sabs Gull 1n juv
Sooty Shearwater 2n
Wigeon 12n 1s
Common Gull 6n 4s
Porpoise 1 or 2 feeding
Pom Skua 1s
08.05 Bottlenose Dolphin 1 south
Ring necked Parakeet 5s (again)
Sandwich Tern 3n 3s
08.25 Humpback Whale 1 fully breached twice then a few partial breaches we watched its blows moving south and it was probably re seen moving north again later
Curlew 2n
Grey Wagtail 2s
House Martin 3s

Whats that going over the hut......is it a flock of Parakeets

3 Long Tailed and 10 Pom Skua's passed Whitburn Obs by 09.45 this morning. It was the pull back of the year. Ive been busy with work and couldn't get into the obs for the Little/Sabs Gull fest and was gutted to hear about the 5 Ring necked Parakeets that passed the Obs, a new tick missed. That was until 5 went south over the hut this morning, I'm still smiling and punching the air
I was joined by Magic Mark, Stevie Thunder(living up to his name) and his yank mate CD all the way from Kansas. We had a cracking watch and i hope our American friend doesn't think its like this everyday. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Thursday 24th September 06.40-09.45 WSW 1-2 cloud cover, calm sea

Black h Gull 140n 25s
Common Scoter 39n 15s
Little Gull 84n 1s
Puffin 15n
Golden Plover 2n 4s
Common Gull 15n 4s
Curlew 31n
Common Tern 41n 5s
Manxie 28n
Pom Skua 8n 2s
Arctic Skua 7n 6s
Arctic Tern 17n 2s
Brent Goose pb 1n
Red th Diver 10n 17s
Ringed Plover 1s
Velvet Scoter 5n
Red br Merganser 1n
Sandwich Tern 2s
Eider 2s
Wigeon 19n 7s
Porpoise 3
Snow Bunting 1
Canada Goose 23n
Turnstone 1n 1s
Scaup 1n duck
Teal 53n 2s
Bonxie 3n
Long tailed Skua 2n 1s all juvs
Shag 1s
Sooty Shearwater 2n 4s
Grey Wagtail 2s
Rock Pipit 2s
Ring necked Parakeet 5s yeaaahhhh
Pink footed Goose 4n

The Fea's journey north

Out of interest I've noted the times the Fea's was reported passing coastal sites on its passage north as reported on birdguides

Flamborough 8.15-8.25
Filey Brigg 09.00
Long Nab 9.43-9.47
Cowbar Nab 11.25
Seaham 2.00
Whitburn 14.15-14.35
Tynemouth 15.00
St Marys 3.15
Newbiggin 15.51
Snab Point 16.06
Druridge 16.25
Beadnell 17.25
Sea Houses 17.36
Farnes 17.53
Holy Island 18.15

The second bird was seen at Whitburn 16.45 by reliable birders was closer in than the first bird, but unfortunately wasn't seen again
Its fantastic when birds are tracked up the coast, will we all get the Great Sheawater today?

Whats that coming over the hut.......is it a Fea's

Fea's Petrel passed a packed Whitburn Obs today plus 72 Sootys and a Long tailed Skua. We were enjoying a canny sea watch when news came through of a Fea's past Flamborough 8.15-8.25, we didn't get too excited as in the past we haven't done well connecting with Fea's coming from Nth York's. Then it passed Filey at 9.00 we started to get interested and when it passed Long Nab 9.45-9.47 phones started to ring. Birders were turning up at the Obs who hadn't been seen sea watching all year, a twitch was on. No news came for ages and it became apparent the bird hadn't passed Hartlepool. Then we got a call from Ando to say he had the bird at Seaham at 2pm.We didn't have long to wait, it came fairly close inshore past the obs at 14.15-14.35 and even dropped into a flock of feeding birds and hung around awhile before heading off north.20 birders in the Obs and another 20ish outside the obs got the bird.
Suffice to say a lot of happy birders enjoyed this hard to catch up with Petrel. The audiance was too large for me to name them all but congrats folks!
This is what we saw today in order of appearance

Sunday 21st September 06.30-15.00 NNW2-3 cloud cover
Black h Gull 299n 15s
Red th Diver 15n 33s
Curlew 10n 2s
Common Gull 17n 3s
Common Scoter 13n 2sPuffin 14n
Sooty Shearwater 72n
Arctic Skua 10n 24s
Whimbrel 1n
Manxie 103n 13s
Teal 10n
Common Tern 105n 16s
Redshank 16n
Grey Wagtail 3n 3s
Shag 4n 27s
Bonxie 16n
Wigeon 54n
Brent Goose 14n db, 3n pb
Velvet Scoter 5n
Sparrowhawk 1n
Eider 2s
Arctic Tern 1n
Golden Plover 7n
Knot 28n
Sandwich Tern 1n 12s
Goose sp 50s
Swallow 8n
Grey Heron1n
Long tailed Skua 1s ad
Red br Merganser 3n
Kestrel 1n
Tufted Duck 3n
Purple Sandpiper 2n
Pintail 1n
Porpoise 2n
14.15 Fea's Petrel nth till 15.35
Yippeeeeeee

I see no ships......

9 Velvet Scoter and 157 Red th Divers passed Whitburn Obs in 41/2 hours this morning plus a large supporting cast. Yes we could see no ships in the misty conditions and we couldn't see many birds either, but with patience the birds came. I was joined by Magic Mark, Saint Mark, The Sheriff, Pink Floyd, and Hoggie bringing up the rear. Also a guest appearance by Aggie Gordon
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 20th September 06.30-11.00 N2 mist drizzle low cloud

Curlew 4n 2s
Black h Gull 53n 20s
Common Scoter 38n 28s
Wigeon 119n 14s
Velvet Scoter 15n
Red th Diver 19n 138s
Arctic Skua 4n
Shag 6s
Common Gull 31n2s
Redshank 1n 3s
LBBGull 3n
Meadow Pipits 6s
Grey Plover 1s
Grey Wagtail 4s
Golden Plover 3n 39s
Common Tern 82n 6s
Grey Heron 5s
Manx Shearwater 3n
Eider 3s
Knot 10n
Kestrel 1s
Bonxie1n
Teal 11n
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Reed Bunting 1s
Tufted Duck 3n
Turnstone 1s
Arctic Tern 1n
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Porpoise 1n
Pintail 2n
Sand Martin 2n
Swallow 28n

Shear delight

27 Sooty Shearwaters and 101 Brent Geese passed Whitburn Obs today. I was in the Obs for two sessions and the following contributed, Stevie Thunder, Hoggie, Adam Ant, DC
Visibility was difficult at times due to mist,  but the Sooty's put on a good show with some passing close inshore. This is what we did manage to see over 7 hours 40 mins

Wednesday 17th September N2-3 cloud, mist, drizzle

Red th Diver 2n 9s
Black th Diver 1 on sea then flew north
Manx Shearwater 108n 1s
Sooty Shearwater 27n
Brent Goose 100 pb and 1db nth
Wigeon 47n
Teal 156n
Common Scoter 109n 19s
Velvet Scoter 2n
Pintail 1n
Sandwich Tern 2n
Common Tern 16n 2s
Arctic Tern 3n
Arctic Skua 15n 7s
Bonxie 16n
Puffin 9n
Knot 7n
Dunlin 5n
Grey Wagtail 1n

all white now baby its all white now..........

An Albino Fulmar went north past Whitburn Obs this afternoon. I joined Magic Marks afternoon watch and was blown away by this pure white Fulmar. Mark reminded me we have seen Albino Great northern Diver and Kittiwake before so a niceway to bring up the hat trick. I was only in for part of the session and this is what i saw

Velvet Scoter 1n
Arctic Skus 4n 1s
Teal 50s
Albino Fulmar nth @ 15.25
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Red th Diver 2n 2s
Puffin 2n
Manxie 7n
Common Gull 6n
Long tailed Skua 2n juvs
Shag 1n

The Longtails were distant and hard to nail,  thanks to Mark for his help
I left the watch early to enjoy great views of Cookys Red Br Flycatcher

Now thats what i call a sea watch volume.......

Black throated and 51 Red throated Divers, and a Little Gull passed Whitburn by 12.30 today on a mega sea watch. Only Saint Mark joined me on a day we expected to be dashing up to the ringers hut for our first Yellow browed of the year but didn't need to as all the action was in the Obs
This is what we saw in no particular order

Sunday 14th September ENE2-3 cloud cover

Common Gull 7n 1s
Black h Gull 26n 54s
Curlew 15n 6s
Ringed Plover 1n
Common Scoter 609n 69s
Red th Diver 12n 39s
Redshank 3n
Wigeon 203n 10s
Gannet 630n
Manxie 39n 1s
Petrel sp 1 north flying with 3 Manxies possible Leach's?
Bonxie14n 1s
Velvet Scoter 2n drakes
Puffin 62n
Teal 273n 86s
Gannet 630n
Dunlin 13n 5s
Arctic Skua 32n 1s
Sandwich Tern 2n 39s
Common Tern 14n
Whimbrel 1n 1s
Grey Wagtail 1s
Bar t Godwit 1s
Knot 1s
Mallard 5n
Shag 1n 7s
Pom Skua 2n 1 ad
Pintail 4n
Turnstone 6s
Black th Diver 1s
Sooty Shearwater 6n
Brent Goose 3n pb
Golden Plover 4n
Swallow 6n
Little Gull 1n ad
Wood Pigeon 39n
Eider 1n 2s

Gone fishing......

4 Arctic Skuas and 20 Red throated Divers passed Whitburn Obs early morning. I might as well have gone fishing for all the luck i had. Even two of the county's hot new birders couldn't conjure up something special. I was joined by Saint Mark and Stoney was in the house. It was a full week since i last sat in the Obs due to work etc .I was looking forward to today's watch and it was full of variation but just lacked a couple of decent birds. My Obs list grew to 147 with Coal Tit. Sadly i didn't see or hear the 5 Ring necked Parakeets that went south through Shearwater per John Chapman.
This is what we did see in order of appearance

Saturday 13th September 06.05-10.30 SW1 cloud cover at first then hazy sunshine

Black h Gull 82n 200s
Common Scoter 15n
Teal 67n 3s
Common Gull 3n 4s
Curlew 45n
Whimbrel 1n
Tufted Duck 5n
Shag 1n 13s
Redshank 12n 1s
Wigeon 8n
Ringed Plover 10s
Dunlin 20s
Sanderling 11s
Red th Diver 4n 16s
Common Tern 4n 2s
Sandwich Tern 2n 55s
Arctic Tern 1s
Porpoise 2
Manxie 6n
Arctic Skua 4s
Grey Wagtail 6s
Puffin 2n
Turnstone 3n 4s
Red br Merganser 1s
Swallow 16s
Eider 6s
Knot 17s
Meadow Pipit 5s

vis mig was increasing when i left so back later for more

shag fest at Whitburn.......

Balearic, 2 Sooty and 33 Manx Shearwaters went north past Whitburn Obs by 11am. Yes it was a Shag fest with birds constantly moving south. Saint Mark joined me and we had a good variety of birds later Pink Floyd, Hoggie et al turned in when news of the Long tail past Hartlepool filtered through, sadly we didn't connect. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 6th September 06.00-11.00 NNE2-3 cloud cover

Eider 4n
Black h Gull 18n 14s
Red th Diver 3n 10s
Curlew 4n 1s
Arctic Skua 7n 5s
Common Scoter 8n 39s
Turnstone 5n 8s
Redshank 11n 9s
Manxie 33n
Puffin 2n
Common Gull 2n 4s
Shag 5n 57s
Balearic Shearwater 1n 07.05
Swallow 171n 19s
Sooty Shearwater 2n
Red br Merganser 1n
Common Tern 20n
Whimbrel 1n
Sandwich Tern 3n 1s
Sand Martin 1s
Goldfinch 80s
Teal 1n 54s
Bonxie 2n 1s
LBBGull 1n
Whinchat 1 behind obs
Lapwing 9s
Little Gull 1n juv
Wigeon 20n
Goose sp 14n distant i thought Greylag but we couldn't agree

More duck tales...........

2 Arctic Skuas and 2 Manxies went past Whitburn Obs early morning and then the Teal started passing again...
Stoney was in the house and i was grateful for his help as the ducks came from every direction. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Wednesday 3rd September 06.05-07.50 SSE2

Shag 9n 5s
Curlew 4n
Black h Gull 10n 57s
Shelduck 1n 6s
Teal 361n 70s
Sandwich Tern 2n 1s
Common Scoter 98n
Common Tern 7n 23s
Wigeon 35n
Manxie 2n
Red th Diver 2s
Dunlin 6s
Arctic Skua 1n 1s
Turnstone 3n
Common Gull 1s
Porpoise 1

Your County Needs You......

704 Teal went north past Whitburn Obs by 07.35 today. It looks like its going to be another big Teal movement day but sadly its back to work for me today after a lovely week in Ibiza, so if you can make it into the obs please do, keep your eyes on the sky as most are moving high up, good hunting!
I wasn't expecting much today and i only have a short time to watch as the darker mornings get in the way but this is what i saw in order of appearance

Monday 1st September 06.10-07.35 S2 then SW2

Shag 17s
Black h Gull 56n 85s
Teal 704n 18s
Common Tern 1n
Shelduck 3n
Common Scoter 23n
Common Gull 2s
Arctic Skua 1n
Sandwich Tern 9n
Red th Diver 2n

wot no long tails.....

4 adult Little Gulls and 29 Arctic Skuas passed Whitburn Obs on our early morning watch today. I was joined by Saint Mark, the Sheriff of Nottingham and Stevie Mackem. The light was good and it was an enjoyable first watch for me since my holiday in Ibiza. Looks like i missed some good sea watches in my week away but no obs year ticks, phew!
Not many star birds today but a nice variety. We couldn't turn any of the Arctics into Long tails or Poms. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 31st August 06.15-10.35 NW2 full cloud cover, calm sea

Black headed Gull 321n 8s (yes 321)
Red th Diver 4n 7s
Arctic Skua 11n 18s
Common Gull 3n 4s
Common Tern 14n 5s
Redshank 14n 8s
Eider 6s
Teal 10n 4s
Sandwich Tern 42n 11s
Turnstone 3n
Peregrine 1n juv
Arctic Tern 1n
Common Scoter 4n 5s
Bar t Godwit 2n
Porpoise 3
Bonxie 2n
Shelduck 6s
Shag 3n 2s
Little Gull 4n adults

Whimbrel 1s
Curlew 1s
Ringed Plover 5n
Widgeon 5n

 Meadow Pipits circa 30s

Whats that coming over the hut....is it a Grey Squirrel?

A Roseate Tern and 5 Arctic Skuas passed Whitburn Obs early morning. A northerly is blowing and it looks interesting not many birds yet but watch this space. Stoney was in the house and we were joined by Pink Floyd. This is what we saw by 07.30 when i had to go to work

Monday 18th August 05.30-07.30 N2-3 cloud cover
Curlew 1n 3s
Arctic Tern 12n
Common Tern 11n 5s
Mallard 4n
Manxie 24n 6s
Redshank 6n
Turnstone 1n
Arctic Skua 1n 4s
Sandwich Tern 28n
Common Scoter 1n 1s
Roseate Tern 1n
Porpoise 1
Fulmar 63n
Ringed Plover 6n
Grey Squirrel 1n
Teal 10n
Oystercatcher 10n 5s
Black h Gull 1n
Knot 2n
Whimbrel 1n 1s
Common Gull 1n 1s
Puffin 2n
Dunlin 2s

whats that coming over the hut...is it an Egret

The Little Egret gave us a fly past the Obs this morning, on a quiet westerly sea watch. Stevie Thunder joined me and we had a right old mixed bag of birds. News of a Bullfinch in the country park got me excited but its not on the obs list yet. Willow Warblers and Blackcap were nearby and a Whinchat was on Jackie's Beach (John Chapman). Adult Med Gull was on the Obs field. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 16th August 05.15-09.15 W2 calm sea with cloud cover

Black h Gull 11n 6s
Common Gull 7n 3s
Common Tern 80n 32s
Curlew 4n
Common Scoter 58n 9s
Velvet Scoter 1n
Turnstone 4s
Sandwich Tern 30n 12s
Arctic Skua 4n 3s
Manxie 55n 20s
Knot 1n 1s
Arctic Tern 5n 2s
Little Egret 1n
Grey Heron 1n
Puffin 2s
Red th Diver 1s
Bonxie 1n
Dunlin 13s
Grey Plover 1n
Tufted Duck 1n
Whimbrel 2s
Teal 1n
Redshank 3n
Eider 1n
Willow Warbler 2
Blackcap 1
Med Gull adult in obs field

Cure for the blues...

3 Roseate and 2 Black Terns went south past Whitburn Obs on my early morning watch today . And the White beaked Dolphin's were showing on a flat calm sea. Yes it was a cure for my blues. It was a slow start and i wondered had the Terns moved on already but they did get going and the juvenile Black Terns were a real bonus, this is what i saw in order of appearance

Wednesday 13th August 05.25-07.25 WNW 2 calm flat sea full cloud cover

Sandwich Tern 26n 117s
Curlew 6n
Common Tern 26n 31s
Arctic Tern 2n 2s
Common Gull 13s
Redshank 10n 17s
Dunlin 2s
Black h Gull 35n 4s
Common Scoter 8n 3s
06.25 White beaked Dolphins 3 distant adults full breaching
Porpoise 1
06.35 White beaked Dolphin 1 smaller animal fully breaching
Manx Shearwater 7n
06.45 Black Tern juv south
Roseate Tern 3s adults
07.00 White beaked Dolphin 6 plus much closer in south through the flags
07.15 Black Tern 1 south juv

Sunday Rosy Sunday....

A Roseate Tern 3 Bonxies and 4 Arctic Skuas passed Whitburn Obs on a short sea watch this afternoon. It never stopped raining bur the birds kept coming....
14.45-17.35 
Sandwich Tern 35n 42s
Common Tern 11n 13s
Common Scoter 5s
Manx Shearwater 39n
Bonxie 3n
Sparrowhawk 1 landed on the wall in front of obs
Swallow 19n
Redshank 2n 17s
Whimbrel 1s
Arctic Skua 4s
Arctic Tern 2n 1s
Roseate Tern 1n ad
Common Gull 1n 1s

Whats that coming over the hut is it a Sooty...no its a Cory's

Cory's Shearwater a Pom Skua and 3 Little Gulls were the headline birds past Whitburn Obs this morning on a busy sea watch. Saint Mark, Stevie Thunder and better late than never Magic Mark joined me today, Ratty was a late addition. Saint Mark called a distant probable Sooty which on closer inspection was nailed by Magic Mark as a Cory's, it was never easy but did shear up occasionally and showed its bowed wings and hooded head, The Pom was the first for the obs this year but wont be the last. This is what we saw in no particular order as my note book was a mess!

Sunday 10th August 05.15-11.00 SE2 then 3 cloud cover

Arctic Tern 3n 8s
Little Gull 3s (juv, 2nd sum and ad)
Sandwich Tern 19n 128s
Black h Gull 2n 18s
Common Scoter 13n 7s
Common Tern  106n 58s
Common Gull 13s
Dunlin 37s
Oystercatcher 3n 25s
Redshank 78s
Arctic Skus 1n 1s
Manxie 90n 9s
Teal 8n 3s
Curlew 2n 4s
Pom Skua 1n 07.40
Bar t Godwit 3n 1s
Porpoise 1
Bonxie 3n
Knot 1n 4s
Common Sandpiper 2s
Puffin 2n
Whimbrel 3s
Ringed Plover 1n
Turnstone 3s
Little Tern 6s
Med Gull 1n juv
Red th Diver 1n

Think i got everything, as you can see it was a canny sea watch, back later weather permitting

Some like it hot...

A Roseate Tern went north past Whitburn Obs early morning and i heard another later in my watch but couldn't pick it up in my bins. As the early cloud moved off it was a bright hot sun, its going to be a scorcher.
It was a mixed bag today and this is what i saw in order of appearance

Thursday 7th August 05.05-07.15 NW1-2 cloud then bright sun

Redshank 6n 5s
Common Tern 7n 26s
05.20 2 White beaked Dolphins north, only saw them briefly today
Sandwich Tern 10n 49s
Manxie 1n
Black h Gull 2s
Turnstone 1n 1s
Arctic Tern 1s
05.45 2  Dolphins north more distant may have been the same ones but they didn't give much away
Common Scoter 1n
Gadwall 3n
Bar t Godwit 1n
Common Sandpiper 1n
Yellow Wagtail 1s
06.30 Porpoise 1n
Roseate Tern 1n ad
Golden Plover 12n
Teal 9n

Bog standard sea watch no 57

A Bonxie and an Arctic Skua passed Whitburn obs on a quiet early morning sea watch. I was joined by Saint Mark and an obs rarity Stevie Thunder, which is probably why we didnt see many birds
This is what we did see in order of appearance

Sunday 3rd August 05-10-09.00 SSW 2-3 later 3-4

Common Tern 20n 22s
Curlew 2s
Black h Gull 3s
Common Scoter 148n 125s
Oystercatcher 4n 19s
Arctic Tern 9n 11s
Sandwich Tern 86n 57s
Swift 1n 2s
Arctic Skua1n
Common Gull 1n 1s
Bonxie 1n
Bar t Godwit 5s
Knot 10s
Teal 19n 17s
Eider 1n
Whimbrel 10s
Mallard 1s
Turnstone 1n
Manxie 1n

The Little and Large show...

A Little Gull,  22 Little Terns and 3 Bonxies passed Whitburn Obs in 5 hours on a busy sea watch this morning. I was joined by Magic Mark and Saint Mark on a misty morning and as the rain cleared the birds started moving. I had a new obs year tick when a Grey Plover went north bringing my list to 141 just 20 short of last years total. None of yesterdays Dolphins were seen so far today but the obs is manned most of the day and i expect more to be seen
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 2nd August 05.00-11.00 S2 rain at first clearing cloud cover
Oystercatcher 4n 16s
Redshank 25n 27s
Common Scoter 634n 16s
Common Tern 252n 70s
Black h Gull 5n 5s
Teal 46n 21s
Shag 1s
Manxie 58n
Knot 2n 348s
Grey Plover 1n
Turnstone 5n 11s
Little Tern 3n 19s
Sandwich Tern 34n 129s
Arctic Tern 35n
07.25 Porpoise 1 south
Common Gull 2n 3s
Bonxie 3n
Eider 2n
Dunlin 15s
Bar t Godwit 1s
LBBGull 1s
Common Sandpiper 3s
Whimbrel 2s
Ringed Plover 1s
Puffin 2n
Shelduck 1n 10s
Shoveler 1n
Little Gull 1n

Dolphins at last!

13 White beaked Dolphins passed the Obs this afternoon our first on National Whale and Dolphin watch week, at last...
6 Arctic Skuas a Bonxie and loads of waders made for an exciting afternoon watch. I left Magic Mark in the obs so anything can happen. This is what we saw in order of appearance
Friday 1st August 11.45-15.45
Manx Shearwater 8n 4s
Arctic Tern 3n 1s
Oystercatcher 13s
Curlew 5n 8s
Sanderling 9s
Redshank 11s
Dunlin 5s
Knot 15s
Whimbrel 17s
Turnstone 10s
Common Scoter 5n 3s
Black h Gull 2s
Arctic Skua 5n 1s
Bonxie 1n
Swift 12s
LBBGull 1s
13.50 White beaked Dolphins 3 north (1 ad) till 13.57
13.50 White beaked Dolphins 8 south till 13.55
15.10  White beaked Dolphin's 2 north adult males till 15.15

Ramble on.....

2 Arctic Skuas and a Bonxie went north past Whitburn Obs this morning. Autumn has arrived the obs field has been harvested and Lapwing and Golden Plover will start to build up in numbers, wont be long now till the big shearwaters come past
This is what i saw today in order of appearance

Friday 1st August 05.00-07.15 SSW2 cloud cover calm sea

Sandwich Terrn 53n 117s
Puffin 12n
Common Tern 11n 72s
Common Scoter 21n
Oystercatcher 70n 33s
Redshank 14n 24s
Common Gull 1s
Manxie 45n
Curlew 1n
Black h Gull 3s
Arctic Tern 38n 5s
Turnstone 3n
Dunlin 1n 12s
Arctic Skua 2n
Ringed Plover 1s
Whimbrel 1s
Golden Plover 2n
Bonxie 1n

Summer's Over..........

6 Porpoises were on show on a flat calm sea off Whitburn today. Its still National Whale and Dolphin watch week so it was nice to get a few scores on the doors. Its the last day of summer and Magic Mark and myself enjoyed a peaceful watch dreaming of busier autumn days ahead, this is what we saw in order of appearance

Thursday 31st July 05.05-07.30 S1 cloud cover dead calm sea

Redshank 1n 20s
Sandwich Tern 15n 336s
Common Gull 2n 4s
Oystercatcher 12s
Common Tern 11n 110s
Common Scoter 9n
Kittiwake 30 juvs drifted south
Manx Shearwater 61n 14s
Teal 3s
Mallard 1s
Arctic Tern 7n 4s
Eider 2n
Curlew 1n
Dunlin 4s
Black h Gull 2s
06.10 Porpoise 3
LBBGull 1s
Puffin 9n 1s
06.30 Porpoise 2n and 1s
Goosander 5n

Cetaceanless zone...

2 Med Gull an adult and juv passed Whitburn Obs by 10 this morning along with a good selection of birds but we couldn't even muster a Porpoise between the three of us today. Magic and Saint Mark were both in the Obs and this is what we did see in order of appearance
,
Sunday 27th July 05.15-10.05 W2-3bright sun then broken cloud

Sandwich Tern 32n 408s
Manxie 17n 10s
Puffin 5n
Common Tern 18n 30s
Black h Gull 6n 15s
Curlew2n 1s
Common Scoter 438n 17s
Shelduck 9s
Great crested Grebe 1n
Arctic Tern 13n 1s
Teal 1n 1qs
Common Gull 5s
Oystercatcher 15n 9s
Ringed Plover 3n
Bar t Godwit 2s
Red th Diver  1n
Golden Plover 2s
Redshank 3n 20s
Dunlin 15s
Kestrel 1s
Med Gull 2s 1ad 1 juv
Eider 4n
Turnstone 6n

What Cetaceans part 2

2 Little Gulls and an Arctic Skua passed Whitburn Obs this afternoon. A close inshore Porpoise was the only other Cetacean we saw today but disturbance from the Airshow armada wasn't helping. Saint Mark beat me back to the Obs and had an Obs mega....Green Woodpecker south, gulp!.This is what we saw in no particular order

14.15-16.30
Green Woodpecker 1s
Manxie 2n
Common Scoter 4n 11s
Curlew 2n 1s
Redshank 56n
Dunlin 2n 2s
Turnstone 12n 4s
Oystercatcher 14s
14.55 Porpoise
Common Sandpiper 1s
Sandwich Tern 36n 126s
Common Tern 49n 36s
Little Gull 2n (1ad)
Common Gull 2s
Arctic Skua 1s
Arctic Tern 4n 7s
Mute Swan 6n
Black h Gull 2s

Cetaceans what Cetaceans

Its National Whale and Dolphin Watch week but nobody told them. On a perfect flat calm sea i only managed to find one very distant Porpoise. Suffering a bit from Airshow over indulgence I've come home for a rest and left Saint Mark in charge, i will be back looking later and hopefully other observers will call at the Obs through the day. This is what Mark and i saw in order of appearance

Saturday26th July 05.05-09.30 W1 bright sun and distant mist dead calm sea

Sandwich Tern 11n 433s
Common Tern 32n 79s
Common Gull 1s
Arctic Tern 57n 10s
Puffin 5n 4s
Turnstone 4s
Manx Shearwater 26n 7s
Gropper 1 reeling
Teal 12n 13s
Black h Gull 2n
Curlew 6s
Redshank 10n 13s
Dunlin 2n 14s
Ringed Plover 2s
Kestrel 1n
Arctic Skua 1n
Common Scoter 198n 18s
Oyster Catcher 21s
07.52 Porpoise distantly
Eider 3n
Shag 1n

Waders in the mist...

2 Arctic Skuas and a Greenshank passed Whitburn Obs in the easrly morning mist. It was bins only, no scope required as the mist and fog refused to budge. Star wader from the 9 species i saw was Greenshank one went south, we only record half a dozen a year. The weather is not what the doctor ordered as its Airshow weekend and the National Whale and Dolphin Watch!
This is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 25th July 05.05-07.05 N1-2 fog/mist

Curlew 1n 3s
Knot 4s
Black h Gull 14n 5s
Gannet 107n
Sandwich Tern 14n 137s
Oystercatcher 21n
Common Tern 4n 13s
Turnstone 3n 15s
Common Gull 3n 1s
Arctic Skua 2n
Dunlin 3s
Arctic Tern 2s
Redshank 5s
Greenshank 1s
Golden Plover 2n
Whimbrel 1s

Whats that going over the hut....is it a Turnstone

A Roseate Tern and Velvet Scoter passed Whitburn Obs early morning. The wader passage continued but this time i had Magic Mark to help me and we were joined by Pink Floyd. I had to leave for work so this is what we saw till then in order of appearance

Thursday 23rd July 05.20-07.30 N2 cloud cover

Sandwich Tern 14n 325s
Velvet Scoter 1n 1s
Common Tern 6n 38s
Black h Gull 2n 3s
Common Gull 2n 3s
Whimbrel 2s
Common Scoter 47n
Puffin 13n
Manxie 16n 6s
Redshank 13s
05.50 White beaked Dolphin 2 seen briefly
Dunlin 8s
Gropper 1 reeling
Turnstone 7s
Bar t Godwit 2n
Bonxie 1n
06.20 White beaked Dolphin 5n
Curlew 3n
Mallard 1n
Arctic Tern 3n
Roseate Tern 1s

Wader Wonderland.....

5 Whitebeaked Dolphins and a family of Porpoise put on a show off Whitburn Obs early morning.Its the National Whale and Dolphin Watch from the 26th July to 3rd August so it was nice to see some Cetaceans as we approach it. Yesterday on a sea like glass i didn't glimpse a fin but today was much better. A family of Porpoise were feeding off the obs 2 adults and a youngster, unusually it fully breached, not something I've witnessed very often
Then i noticed the White beaked Dolphins feeding distantly they hung around for a while and one was spy hopping!
I didn't know where to look as waders started to move south in numbers....help. They come through close in and fast its murder trying to id them and get a count in the blink of an eye. Thankfully Magic Mark is in the obs tomorrow. This is what i saw today in order of appearance

Wednesday 23rd July 05.20-07.20 SE1 cloud cover dead calm sea

Bar tailed Godwit 1n
Common Tern 4n 17s
Sandwich Tern 15n 185s
Common Scoter 12n
05.30 Porpoise 3 feeding (2 ad 1 juv)
Manx Shearwater 2n
Redshank 46n
Gropper 1 reeling
Goosander 1s
Common Gull 1s
Dunlin 69s
Arctic Tern 14n
Red th Diver 1n
06.20-06.50 White beaked Dolphin 5s
Whimbrel 2s
Puffin 2s
Turnstone 19s
Oyster Catcher 18s
Arctic Skua 1s
Curlew 2s
Sanderling 18s
Black h Gull1n

Lazy Sunday Sea watch...

A Blue Fulmar and 3 Arctic Skuas passed Whitburn Obs on my early morning sea watch. I only had the birds for company today and i was late in after the Storm Petrel ringing session last night. It was a very successful session 14 birds trapped and ringed, the BBQ earlier in the evening organised by the Coastal Conservation Group was a huge success, thanks to all involved its becoming a real highlight of the birding calendar. With little wind to encourage movement it was a quiet watch which is what i needed after 4 hours sleep. This is what i saw today in order of appearance

Sunday 20th July 05.55-09.15 NW1-2 cloud cover calm sea

Manx Shearwater 29n 25s
Gannet 30n 293s
Sandwich Tern 19n 190s
Common Tern 16n 63s
Arctic Tern 15n 5s
Curlew 3s
Common Gull 3s
Whimbrel 3s
Puffin 2n 2s
Common Scoter 73n 3s
Arctic Skua 1n 2s
Ringed Plover 8s
Blk h Gul 1n 2s
Blue Fulmar 1s D almost a double D
Turnstone 2n
Peregrine 1s
Kestrel 2s
Grey Heron 2s

Never mind the qualiy feel the width

14 Arctic Skuas 2 Bonxies and 146 Arctic Terns passed Whitburn Obs by 09.15 when fog stopped play.
We were like busy bees with loads of birds passing we hardly had time to discuss last weekends Bridled Tern....
I was joined by Saint Mark, New Mark and Stoney was in the house. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 19th July 04.50-09.15 SE2 cloud cover and mist

Gannet 57n 160s
Common Gull 1n 16s
Sandwich Tern 145n 75s
Common Tern 61n 39s
Manx Shearwater 34n 235s
Common Scoter 513n 31s
Oyster Catcher 105s
Arctic Skua 7n 7s
Puffin 6n 11s
Black h Gull 7n 2s
Whimbrel 4s
Arctic Tern133n 13s
Tufted Duck 4s
Turnstone 1s
Redshank 3n
Teal 10n 15s
Bar t Godwit 2n
Bonxie 2n
06.20-06.25 White beaked Dolphin 8s
Red br Merganser 3n
Mallard 1n
Curlew 2n 3s
Dunlin 1n 8s
06.50 single Dolphin sp nth
Porpoise 2s
Eider 3n
Swift 1s
Knot 5s

Tits............

An Arctic Skua and 38 Manxies passed Whitburn Obs early this morning on a quieter day. I don't get many Tits passed the obs but today i had Great and Blue, the Coal Tit still alludes me, don't even mention Long tailed and Willow
This is what i did see in order of appearance

Thursday 17th July 05.05-07.10 SW2 broken cloud

Sandwich Tern 29n 255s
Common Tern 18n 43s
Puffin 5n 2s
Whimbrel 1s
Curlew 2n 1s
05.10 Porpoise 4s
Redshank 2n 19s
Manxie 12n 26s
Swift 1s
Common Scoter 212n 6s
Teal 3n
Black h Gull 1s
Gropper 1 reeling Common Gull 1s
Bar tailed Godwit 4n
Arctic Skua 1n
Arctic Tern 3n
Grey Wagtail 2s
Red th Diver 1n
Tree Sparrow 8s

Autumn migration boosts Obs year list

A Spotted Redshank went south past Whitburn Obs early morning with a general movement of Redshank. My Obs year list hasn't moved much lately except for the Bridled Tern (Yeeaahhh) so it was good to see some migration today. Spotted Redshank and Grey Wagtail brought my 2014 list to 140. A Coal Tit has been seen around the obs on a number of occasions recently and i hope to nail it soon. This is what i saw today in order of appearance

Wednesday 16th July 05.00-07.30 SW2

Sandwich Tern 11n 419s
Curlew 1n 1s
Teal 3s
Common Tern 6n 83s
Manx Shearwater 3n 10s
Arctic Tern 2s
Porpoise 1s
Swift 6s
Whimbrel 1n
Redshank 46s
Red th Diver 1n
Puffin 4n
Common Scoter 25n 6s
Dunlin 2s
Spotted Redshank 1s

No dogs allowed...

2 Roseate Terns and an Arctic Skua passed Whitburn Obs early this morning. It was business as usual today after a day off on Monday due to world cup excesses. I didn't expect much on a strong westerly with bright sun and i didn't get much except for a couple of quality birds. A passing birder? called into the obs with his dog in tow, a Red Setter type which pounded towards me and my expensive optics on a retractable lead. My heart was in my mouth. He asked if he could join me but i politely said his dog could not and he moved on
This is what i managed to see in order of appearance

Tuesday 15th July 04.45-07.00 W2-3 bright sun

Sandwich Tern 28n 89s
Common Tern 2n 10s
Swift 40s
Common Gull 1s
Manx Shearwater 2n
Black h Gull 5s
Common Scoter 35n
Curlew 2n
Arctic Tern 7n 1s
Redshank 2s
Roseate Tern 2n
Eider 1n
Bar t Godwit 1n Arctic Skua 1s
Gropper reeling

Lucky for some....

5 White beaked Dolphins and circa 10 Porpoise went south past Whitburn Obs this morning and the Bridled Tern!. Yes it is the13th today but who says its an unlucky number. Stevie Howart beat Magic Mark and myself into the obs today, New Mark joined us and will henceforth be known as Saint Mark in this blog after calling the Bridled Tern as it came south. It wasn't far out and we all managed to get on it without much fuss as it slowly moved south feeding. It was good to see that observers to the south of us managed to connect with it after the news had been put out. I dipped it last year when it was at Saltholme briefly due to the A19 being closed so am relieved to get it on my county list at last and from the best possible location, the obs.
We had a cracking watch today in poor conditions with rain and mist, this is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 13th July 05.15-10.00 SW1 rain drizzle mist etc

Manx Shearwater 46n
Puffin 47n 1s
Common Scoter 1599n 104s (includes one flock of 440n)
Sandwich Tern 36n 372s
Little Tern 1s
Common Tern 25n 45s
Redshank 8n 5s
06.00 Whit beaked Dolphins 5 south, last seen at 08.05
Arctic Shua 2n
Porpoice 5s at 06.50 and 5 plus feeding around most of the watch
Black h Gull 4n 6s
Eider 19n
Teal 2n
Shoveler 1n
Swift 4s
Arctic Tern 30n
Red th Diver 2s
Bonxie 1n
Gadwall 4s
Curlew 5n 1s
Dunlin 4s
08.10 Bridled Terns
Knot 5s
Bar t Godwit 1n
Common Gull 1s
Gropper 2 reeling
Common Sandpiper 1s

to sea watch or not?........

2 Red necked Grebes a Little Gull and 95 Manxies went north past Whitburn by 07.15 this morning. Yes to sea watch or not that is the question... local birders are scratching their heads should i go to the obs or not, well we have had northerlies for a few days now and if you look at what has passed the Obs ........you choose
It was a little quieter than yesterday but i got the feeling its still all to happen today. This is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 10th July 05.05-07.15 N1-2 calm sea cloud cover

Common Scoter 82n 16s
Gannet 450n 10s
Arctic Tern 35n
Common Tern 32n
Puffin 47n 4s
Curlew 2n
Manxie 95n
Red th Diver 1n
Red necked Grebe 2nRed br Merganser 5n
Little Gull 1n adult
Porpoise 1n
Sandwich Tern 2n
Black h Gull 1s

Now thats what i call a good sea watch vol 2

Storm Petrel, 8 Bonxies and a Velvet Scoter went north past Whitburn Obs by 08.30. I was joined by Magic Mark and Stoney was in the house. It was northerly overnight and it was one of those sea watches you don't want to miss. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Thursday10th July 04.50-08.30 NW2-3

Common Tern 79n
Gannet 856n
Manxie 81n
Arctic Tern 58n
Puffin 53n 2s
Curlew 7n
Red th Diver 1n
Bonxie 8n
Redshank 12n
Common Gull 2n
Bar tailed Godwit 10n
Sandwich Tern 2s
Stormie 1n 06.10
Porpoise 1n
Common Scoter 4s
Velvet Scoter 1n
Wigeon 1n
Blue Fulmar 1n
Whimbrel 1n
Blk h Gull 1n
Teal 13n

It was quiet but better thasn watching Brazil

A blue Fulmar and an Arctic Skua went north past Whitburn Obs by 07.30 this morning. It was quiet despite the northerly wind even the Terns slept in, the Sandwich Terns didnt get going till well into my watch. Sadly no mouse for company today, this is what i saw in order of appearance

Wednesday 9th July 05.05-07.30 N2 broken cloud choppy sea

Gannet 197n 35s
Black h Gull 5n 3s
Curlew 7n 1s
Puffin 21n 9s
Sandwich Tern 16n 318s
Manxie 11n
Common Tern 4n 15s
Common Scoter 5n
Arctic Tern 3n 2s
Red th Diver 1n
Eider 3n
Arctic Skua 1n
Redshank 2n
Blue Fulmar 1n D
Dunlin 2s
Whimbrel 1s

There's a moose in the hoose

Great northern Diver and an Arctic Skua went north past Whitburn Obs early morning. A field mouse was my only companion this morning and we had a busy watch. Good to see another Minke Whale was recorded north past the obs yesterday by the late shift
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Tuesday 8th July 05.00-07.00 N1-2 cloud cover calm sea

Sandwich Tern 19n 408s
Common Scoter 545n 58s
Common Tern 12n 81s
Manxie 90n 12s
Puffin 8n
Redshank 4n
Arctic Tern 1n 7s
Red th Diver 1n
Black h Gull 3n2s
Greylag Goose 2n
Great northern Diver 1n
Curlew 3n 1s
Arctic Skua 1n
Porpoise just one today

Happy Mondays.....

2 adult Little Gulls and a Great northern Diver went south past Whitburn Obs early morning .I nearly didn't bother and was struggling to get out of bed. The prospect of a westerly wind and bright sun wasn't motivating me. Add in the onset of post world cup traumatic stress.....
I was glad i did make it when those quality birds went south. This is what i saw in order of appearance

Monday 7th July 05.30-07.10 W2 bright sun then broken cloud

Sandwich Tern 21n 294s
Common Tern 1n 21s
Puffin 4n 4s
Common Scoter 2n 12s
Manxie 8n 2s
Redshank 3s
Swift 2s
Little Gull 2s adults
Black h Gull 2n 1s
Red th Diver 1s
Great northern Diver 1s 06.30
Curlew 1s
Arctic Tern 2s
Dunlin 1s

Autumn arrives....

A Red necked Grebe and 360 Manxies went north past Whitburn Obs by 9 am this morning. The chill in the air and the first Red necked Grebe of the autumn confirmed summer is waning. I was joined by New Mark and Magic Mark on a busy watch with record counts for the year of Manx Shearwaters and Sandwich Terns. Juvenile Sandwich, and Arctic Terns were seen as well as our first juv Black headed Gulls
We managed to connect with some White beaked Dolphins on a calm sea, not bad for early Sunday morning. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 6th July 04.55-09.00 W1 cloud cover and early heat haze

Sandwich Tern 70n 708s inc 1 juv
Common Tern 15n 86s
Puffin 14n 23s
Common Gull 3s
Black headed Gull 2n 10s inc 2 juvs
Manx Shearwater 360n
Common Scoter36n 9s
Red th Diver 1n 4s
Curlew 1n 4s
Porpoise 1n 1s
Redshank 19s
Dunlin 1s
07.50 White beaked Dolphin 4 slowly south till 08.30 at least
Ringed Plover 1n
Arctic Tern 1n juv
Red necked Grebe 1n

Whats that coming over the hut...is it a Pratincole

819 Common Scoter went north past Whitburn Obs by 9 am. New Mark beat me in this morning, we had a canny watch with a good variety of birds. Mark was just saying how the Pratincole hadn't been seen again since it flew south from Saltholme when we got the news that Chris Bell had found it or another at Hurworth Burn. Well done Chris, so we had the grip back of the year, and i must stop leaving my mobile in the car luckily no harm done. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 5th July 05.45-09.00 NW 2

Sandwich Tern 57n 318s
Common Tern 17n 13s
Redshank 6n 2s
Manxie 1n 3s
Puffin 31n 11s
Common Scoter 819n 21s
Black h Gull 5s 1juv
Red br Merganser 1n
Bar t Godwit 6n
Curlew 15n
Porpoise 2
Blue Fulmar 1n L
Eider 2n
Shoveler 1n
Red th Diver 1s
Wigeon 2n

more Dolphin hide and seek antics off Whitburn....

5 White beaked Dolphins went slowly south past Whitburn Obs today. I was joined by Magic Mark and we were enjoying the lovely calm conditions with good light when we picked up on some fins, 3 at first or was it 4? we eventually saw 5 and they did show so we could identify them as White beaked. We watched them for fifteen minutes then they became more distant but we did pick them up again further south just as ii was leaving
I left Mark in the Obs which is always dangerous but sadly work awaited. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Thursday 3rd July 05.00-07.15 NW1 rain at first then good conditions with a flat calm sea

Sandwich Tern 32n 207s
Common Tern 29n 22s
Black h Gull 16n 3s
Black tailed Godwit 2n
Puffin 8n 5s
Gropper 1 reeling
Common Gull 2n 4s
Manxie 5n 2s
Common Scoter 53n 21s
LBBGull 1n
Arctic Tern 2s
06.10 White beaked Dolphin 3 at first but soon 5 off going slowly south till 07.20 at least
Turnstone 2n
Eider 1s
Whimbrel 1s
Porpoise 1 feeding
Curlew 2s

White beaked or Bottlenose.....that is the question?

Balearic and 24 Manx Shearwaters passed Whitburn Obs by 07.00 this morning. Our first Balearic of the year, lets hope its the first of many
Yesterday a couple of Dolphins were feeding along the flag line but wouldn't show well enough for me to confirm the species. Well the same happened today when i picked them up at 05.35 and it took multiple sightings before at 06.24 they gave themselves up and it was 3 White beaked Dolphin which eventually headed north by 06.45
This is what i saw today in order of appearance, wish i could have stayed longer

Tuesday 1st July 05.05-07.00 N1-2 cloud cover calm sea

Golden Plover circa 100 over the firing range
Gannet 198n34s
Sandwich Tern 39n 57s
Puffin 70n
Common Scoter 253n 20s
Manxie 24n
05.20 Balearic Shearwater north
Red th Diver 1n
Common Tern 8n 7s
05.35 White beaked Dolphin 3 off were eventually identified and headed off North at 06.45
Curlew 1n
Arctic Tern 5n
Black h Gull 1s
Swift 2n

Where Eagles Dare.........

Little Gull and 7 Bonxies passed Whitburn Obs by 09.30 this morning. Magic Mark was back from Mull with tales of Eagles, Corncrakes and Minkies. We had a canny watch with the highest Manxie count of the year(just). This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 29th June NNW2-3 cloud cover at first then broken

Manx Shearwater 109n
Gannet 640n
Sandwich Tern 22n 28s
Gadwall 3n
Puffin 213n 12s
Bonxie 7n
Common Tern 10n 5s
Common Scoter 77n 58s
Arctic Tern 2n
Curlew 12n
Teal 5n
Little Gull 1n 1st sum
Redshank 4n
Golden Plover 2s
Whimbrel 1s
Common Gull 1n 5s
Black h Gull 1n 3s
Bar tailed Godwit 3n
Porpoise 2n

Summer breeze!..........

6 Arctic Skuas and 54 Manxies passed Whitburn Obs by 09.15 this morning. A northerly is blowing and it was chilly in the obs, i was joined late on by Pink Floyd who wished he'd brought his gloves. The birds were a little disappointing but maybe later today or tomorrow morning we might see a few more Skuas moving
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 28th June 04.55-09.15 N2-3 broken cloud

Gannet 230n 27s
Puffin 97n 3s
Sandwich Tern 13n 33s
Manxie 54n
Common Scoter 35n 37s
Eider 2n
Black h Gull 4n 1s
Arctic Tern2n
Arctic Skua 6n
Red th Diver 1n
Puffin 97n 3s
Teal 15n
Common Tern 1n

Scoter Swarm.......

817 Common Scoter passed Whitburn Obs by 07.30 this morning as the healthy June passage continued. Not sure if anyone else will be in the obs today to log further movement. Otherwise it was a fun packed watch on what started out as an easterly and ended up as a light southerly. This is what i saw in order of appearance

Thursday 26th June 04.45-07.30 E2 then S1 broken cloud

Eider 3n
Common Scoter 817n
Puffin 18n 3s
Common Gull 7n 3s
Manxie 36n
Sandwich Tern 1n 11s
Gannet 278n 16s
Black h Gull 3n 1s
Porpoise 1s
Bonxie 1n
Common Tern 2n
07.08 Bottlenose Dolphin 3s (sadly lost the Dolphins counting Scoter and wasn't able top locate them)
Arctic Skua 2n
Curlew 2n

Duck Tales............

347 Common Scoter went north past Whitburn Obs by 07.30 bringing the total for June to 3101. Coverage is minimal away from the regular 3 or 4 observers so please do your best to get in your obs. This is what i saw this morning in order of appearance

Tuesday 24th June 05.15-07.30 W1-2 full cloud cover and calm sea
Common Scoter 347n
Gannet 337n 8s
Black h Gull 4n 3s
Common Tern 3s
Puffin 24n 13s
Curlew 14n
Common Gull 4n
Manxie 1n 1s
Porpoise 2s
Bar tailed Godwit 1n
Tufted Duck 1n
Whimbrel 1n
Sandwich Tern 2n 4s
Swift 2n

Scoter Surprise.

806 Common Scoter went north passed Whitburn Obs by 10.00am. New Mark was in charge today as i had to do my Breading Bird Survey on the moors early doors. He did a good job and I've told him if he keeps this up he will probably get his competent sea watchers certificate by the end of the year!
We had an decent Scoter passage and a nice mix of birds on a very calm sea 
This is what we saw today

Sunday 22nd June 05.30-10.00 NE1 cloud cover dead calm sea
Gannet 493n 52s
Puffin 95n 52s
Sandwich tern 29n 19s
Manxie10n 2s
Common Scot808n 15s
Arctic Skua 4n
Tufted Duck 1n
Red br Merganser 1n
Swift 3n
Black h Gull 5n 1s
Bar t Godwit 1s
Porpoise 1 @ 05.50 and 1n @ 09.20
 Bottlenose Dolphin pod of 8-10 north @ 06.30

wot no Bridled Tern

7 Arctic Skuas a Bonxie and an adult Med Gull passed Whitburn Obs by 08.45 this morning. new Mark joined me this morning on a pleasant sea watch sadly the Bridled Tern and the Black Scoter failed to show, the sum plum Med Gull was a stunner
This is what we did see in order of appearance

Saturday 21st June 04.55-08.45 NW2 full cloud cover good conditions

Common Scoter 152n 1s
Gannet 880n 10s
Curlew 13n
Puffin 48n 44s
Sandwich Tern 11n 18s
Common Gull 6n 2s
Manxie 18n
Black headed Gull 9n
Swift 20n
Shelduck 4n
Canada Goose 11n
Arctic Skua 6n 1s
Red th Diver 1s
Common Tern 11n 4s
Med Gull 1n adult
Arctic Tern 1n 1st sum
Bonxie 1n
07.30 Dolphin sp breached but distant and not seen again

Hi Ho Silver Lining.......

A pod of 12 plus White beaked Dolphins went slowly south past Whitburn Obs this morning. A perfect way to wipe away my world cup blues, every cloud has a silver lining. I missed the Minke Whale seen off Whitburn yesterday by Ian Mills but the return of White beaked Dolphins for the summer was a welcome sight. They were spread over a large area and my best estimate is 12-20. Some were fully breaching and showing the white bands on the flanks to differentiate them from the Bottlnose Dolphins that have been about for a while. Plenty of birds were passing as well including my first Sooty Shearwater of the year. Hear is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 20th June 04.50-07.10 NW1-2 full cloud cover calm flat sea with moderate swell

Gannet 962n
Manx Shearwater 14n
Common Gull 2n 3s
Puffin 78n 2s
Sandwich Tern 4n 4s
Arctic Tern 4n
Black h Gull 9n 2s
Swift 2n
Common Scoter 63n 2s
Bonxie 1n
Common Tern 5n 1s
06.05-07.10, 12 plus White beaked Dolphins slowly south distantly
Grey Heron 1s
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Shag 1n

now thats what i call a good sea watch vol 1

4 Bonxies and 2 Arctic Skuas passed Whitburn by 07.10 this morning. It was an enjoyable short sea watch this morning. The roar of the sea on a rising tide, a northerly with good light and lots of birds passing.
Sadly work didnt allow me to stay long, this is what i saw in order.............

Tuesday 17th June 04.55-07.00 NNW 2-3 full cloud cover

Bonxie 4n
Puffin 85n 1s
Gannet 1533n 32s
Curlew 12n
Common Gull 16n 1s
Manx Shearwater 8n
Common Scoter 5n 4s
Arctic Skua 2n
Black h Gull 4n
Sandwich Tern 2n 2s
Red th Diver 1n
Common Tern 8n
Whimbrel 1n
Tufted Duck 1n
Shag 1n

whats that coming over the hut is it a red throat, no its a black throat

Roseate Tern 3 Bonxies and 2 Arctic Skuas passed Whitburn obs in 5 hours this morning on a busy sea watch. I was joined by New Mark and Magic Mark with Hoggie and Walter much later. Conditions were excellent and with the northerly continuing we were looking forward to a good watch and were not disappointed. The sum plum Black th Diver was at first called as a Red throated when we only gave it a passing glance but Magic Mark thankfully was more carefull and we got good views of it
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 15th June 05.30-10.30 NNW 2 full cloud cover

Puffin 205n 36s
Sandwich Tern 23n 18s
Gannet 1367n 113s
Manxie 33n 2s
Common Scoter 228n 24s
Common Tern 24n 5s
Red br Merganser 6n
Common Gull 29n
LBBGull 1n
Curlew 21n
Arctic Skua 2n
Porpoise 2s
Swift 2n
Black h Gull 6n 1s
Arctic Tern 1s
Shag 1n
Bonxie 3n
Grasshopper Warbler 1 reeling
Shelduck 2n
Red th Diver 2n
Black th Diver 1n sum plum
Whimbrel 1s
Roseate Tern 1n 1st sum

prat...what prat, owch!

2 Arctic Skuas a Bonxie and 19 Manxies passed Whitburn Obs by 09.15 this morning.New Mark beat me into the obs as i was delayed chasing moths around my trap. I only missed Little Tern, we were joined later by Pink Floyd.The main discussion point this morning was yesterdays county mega Black winged Pratincole which i missed by 5 minutes, some discussion on twitter seemed to be suggesting  the news was delayed but it cant have been by much, i know a lot of people missed out shame the bird didn't hang around. This is what we saw by 09.15 when i left Mark in the obs

Saturday 14th June 04.45-09.15 NE 2 early mist and rain clearing full cloud cover and calm sea

Gannet 663n 147s
Sandwich Tern 12n 152s
Puffin 109n 78s
Common Scoter 88n 4s
Common Tern 26n 17s
Little Tern 1n
Red th Diver 1s
Arctic Skua 1n 1s
Great crested Grebe 2s (an obs mega and year tick for me)
Shag 1n
Arctic Tern 1n
Curlew 1n
Teal 7s
Bonxie 1n

The Mounties are coming......

The June movement of Canada Geese continued today with a skein of 41 north bringing the June totals so far to 206 north and 62 south. It was a quiet sea watch as it has been all week, but birds were feeding offshore with Gannets diving into shoals of fish giving me hope that our first Minke Whale is on its way.
I sea watch everyday but only tend to do my blog if something of note happens. All of the Whitburn sightings are recorded on Trektellen so if you are desperate to see the daily data check it out
This is what i saw today in order of appearance

Wednesday 11th June 05.00-07.00 SW1-2 bright sun with broken cloud

Arctic Tern 2n 4s
Sandwich Tern 32n 125s
Canada Goose 41n
Common Tern 11n 27s
Gannet 68n 35s
Greylag Goose 2s
Common Scoter 32n 44s
Swift 8s
Swallow 6s

close encounters of the Dolphin kind.......

12 Bottlenose Dolphins went south past Whitburn obs today, its becoming a regular occurrence to see Dolphins passing. The birds were quiet but 11 Manxies is an improvement. Magic Mark joined me today and this is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 7th June 04.35-09.30 SE2 bright sun with light cloud

Common Tern 11n 18s
Gannet 170n 149s
Sandwich Tern 235n 277s
Common Scoter 190n 17s
Puffin 18n 2s
Canada Goose 14n 18s
Arctic Tern 2n 3s
Manxie 7n 4s
Shelduck 2n 6s
Red th Diver 5n
Blk h Gull 3s
Curlew 1n
Eider1s

Grasshopper Warbler in the hand was a bonus bird thanks to Jason and Kieran

Now I'm busy trying to identify the moths in my trap.....could take a while

What's that coming over the hut.......is it a Dolphin

8 Bottlenose Dolphins went north past Whitburn Obs this morning on a quiet day for the birds.
After complaining yesterday about the lack of cetaceans, bingo!. The Dolphins showed well this morning i will get the video on to youtube later today. As usual when Dolphins turn up everything else has to take a back seat so I'm not sure what birds i missed, i heard some waders....... This is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 6th June 05.05-07.10 W2-3 bright sun

Gannet 43n 38s
Sandwich Tern 11n 57s
Common Tern 3n 2s
Common Gull 4s
Canada Goose 66n 4s
Common Scoter 9n
05.55-06.10 Bottlenose Dolphins 7 or 8 north
Black h Gull 1n 11s
Arctic Tern 1n
Shelduck 2n
Puffin 2n
Dunlin 20n

nearly my 5 a day

4 Roseate Terns and an Arctic Skua passed Whitburn on my early morning watch today. Its been a bog standard week so it was nice to get a bit of quality for a change. Conditions were superb with a calm flat grey sea it was crying out for a Minke Whale but so far its a no show at Whitburn this year. Its been a good sea for cetaceans all week but no fins so far
Little Tern let me down on reaching my 5 a day, yes that's right 5 tern species a day is good for your health
This is what i did manage to see in order of appearance

Thursday 5th June 05.05-07.05 SW1-2
Common Scoter 12n
Sandwich Tern 15n 245s
Puffin 22n
Common Tern 3n 9s
Gannet 251n 39s
Arctic Skua 1n
Arctic Tern 1n 4s
Black h Gull 2s
Roseate Tern 4s
Shelduck 6s
Greylag Goose 5n 4s
Red th Diver 1n
Canada Goose 8s

bottle up and go......

8 Bottlenose Dolphins went north past Whitburn Obs early morning then 5 went south again in case i missed the the first time video link attached.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9x-aaZdfvg . The John lee Hooker song title seemed apt. The sea watch was quiet otherwise. New Mark joined me at the end of my watch and i did see a Bonxie when i had to return to the obs to collect my mobile id left on the seat!
This is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 30th May 05.00-07.00 NW1-2 SE1 later calm sea mainly cloud cover
Gannet 22n 30s
Sandwich Tern 9n 21s
Red th Diver 1n
Common Tern 9n 21s
Common Scoter 30n
Puffin 6n 4s
Whimbrel 1s
05.20-05.35 Bottlenose Dolphins 8 north
Manx Shearwater 1n
Shag 1n
Eider 2n
05.45-05.50 Bottlenose Dolphin 5 south
Arctic Tern 1n
Canada Goose 2n

its a kinda magic.........

Long tailed Skua, 2 Roseate Terns, and a Velvet Scoter passed Whitburn obs this morning. Magic Mark was back after having gone AWOL yesterday.and showed why we call him Magic. He called the Long tailed Skua going north and managed to get me on it, phew. Sadly New Mark had already left the obs!
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 25th May 05.15-10.15 ESE1-2 part cloud calm sea

Gannet 230n 34s
Shag 4n
Arctic Tern 9n
Puffin 58n
Red th Diver 10n 3s
Sandwich Tern 36n 186s
Manxie 27n 1s
Common Scoter 41n 9s
Common Tern 50n 10s
Ringed Plover 1n
06.10 Dolphin sp fully breaching on a number of occasions but distant
Black h Gull 2n 5s
LBBGull 4n 1s
Sanderling 2n
Roseate Tern 2s
Swift 1n
Willow Warbler 1 on the hut
Little Tern 3s
Wheatear 1 on the hut
Greylag Goose 4n
08.40 Long tailed Skua north
Bar t Godwit 1n
Shelduck 2n
Med Gull 2n ad and 1st sum
Velvet Scoter 1n
Eider 1n

snap!

2 Great northern Divers and 5 Velvet Scoter went north past Whitburn obs in 4 hours this morning. The star birds were a repeat of yesterday. New Mark joined me and Stoney was in the house, conditions were good and the second great northern was close inshore but none of us reached for a camera we were all enjoying the bird!, this is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 24th May 05.10-09.10 ENE2 cloud cover calm sea

Sandwich Tern 22n 192s
Puffin 275n
Gannet 451n 39s
Manxie 36n
Red th Diver 7n
Common Scoter 57n 41s
Shag 3n
Common Tern 4n 10s
Velvet Scoter 5n
Kestrel 2n
Great n Diver 2n 07.00 and 08.55
Arctic Tern 1n
Porpoise 1
Auks circa 2000 n 

another one bites the dust......

2 Great northern Divers and a Little Gull went north past Whitburn obs by 09.00 this morning. Magic Mark joined me again and Stoney was in the house. Expectations were high with a good northerly blowing. Purple Sandpiper was a new obs year tick for the year bringing my total to 127, as they say another one bites the dust
this is what we saw in order of appearance

Friday 23rd May 05.10-09.05 NNE3-4 great light perfect sea watching conditions

Gannet 310n 10s
Puffin 99n
Common Tern 92n 1s
Manx Shearwater 56n
Common Scoter 22n 40s
Grey Heron 1n
Sandwich Tern 48n 8s
Purple Sandpiper 13n
Sanderling 15n
Knot 2n
Red th Diver 4n 1s
Ringed Plover 1n
Arctic Tern 10n
Bar t Godwit 2n
Shoveler 2n
Little Gull 1n 1st sum
Black h Gull 1n
Great n Diver 2n 07.53 and 08.14
Dunlin 2n

heading back to obs now