Trick or treat.........

Pallid Swift and Great white Egret passed Whitburn Obs this pm. I had to cut short this mornings watch due to grandad duties and a fudge duck.I had no sign of the duck so when i finished my grandad taxi work decided to go back to the Obs for unfinished business, Was it going to be trick or treat. My obs list was on 163 and lots of birds were passing early on, i even saw another Bullfinch as i left the Obs, only my second ever, they are getting like buses. Conditions had deteriorated and little was passing over the sea when Magic Mark contacted me to say Kevin Duffy had reported a small swift in the area earlier.
So i looked inland instead and would you believe i picked up on 2 swifts feeding low down over the southern edge of Shearwater estate. I wasn't able to nail them on the views i had and soon lost them. I contacted Dave Foster who was looking for the reported Swift and it wasn't long before he confirmed one was defo a Pallid....get in
While scanning for the Swifts i noticed a white bird out of the corner of my eye drop into the overgrown pond by the viewing screen hm i thought Little Egret? but got on with Swift hunting.
I was chatting to Fos about the Swifts when i saw a Great White Egret flying straight toward me and told him it was coming his way as he was standing on the south side of the estate
2 Buzzards up over Whitburn rounded off a canny session

11.25-14.00
Red th Diver 3s
Common Scoter 3n
12.10 2 Swifts over Shearwater estate one at least confirmed as Pallid
12.35 Great White Egret south
13.00 ish 2 Common Buzzards over Whitburn village

Obs list now on 165 just 2 away from last years record 167.......that was a treat

Fudged Duck....

Red necked Grebe and 4 Little Gulls passed Whitburn Obs by 9am. It was a short watch for both Marks and myself and Skinny Dipper. Saint Marks off to Borneo, Magic Mark is off to work and i headed off to WWWT for them opening at 9.30. No Fudge Duck yet....

Saturday 31st October 06.40-09.00 S2 cloud cover

Common Gull 3n 28s
Black h Gull 25n 23s
Eider 3n 7s
Teal 31n
Red th Diver 9n 11s
Heron 1n
Common Scoter 154n 13s
Med Gull 1n ad
Arctic Tern 1s juv
Wigeon 31n
Bonxie 4n
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Arctic Skua 1s
Red necked Grebe 1n
Goosander 1n
Whooper Swan 2s
Knot 2s
Goldeneye 1s
Little Gull 4n

unlucky for some.....

Drake Scaup and 9 Velvet Scoter passed Whitburn Obs in 4 hours this morning. Then it all went downhill when unlucky Dave arrived, only saw one more Scoter after that, uncanny really
This is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 30th October 07.00-11.00 SSE2 rain

Eider 5n 4s
Common Gull 3n 20s
Black h Gull 13n 56s
Velvet Scoter 9n drakes
Gannet 4s
Shelduck 9n
Goosander 1n
Redshank 3s
Red th Diver 8n 2s
Wigeon 1n
Scaup 1n drake
Shag 4s
Turnstone 3s
Heron 1s
Curlew 1s
Rock Pipit 2n

SE or SW which is best....

Great northern Diver and 8 species of wildfowl passed Whitburn Obs in 4 hours this morning. Hoggie joined me eventually. In similar conditions to yesterday but with the wind SSE rather than SW a lot less birds passed and vis mig was non existent
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Monday 26th October 06.40-10.40 SSE 2-3 cloud cover

Common Gull 7n 39s
Black h Gull 5n 65s
Red th Diver 12n 4s
Eider 1n 1s
Wigeon 10n 55s
Common Scoter 32n 3s
Curlew 4n 2s
Goldeneye 1n 1s
Goosander 1n 4s
Sparrowhawk 1s
Teal 3n 12s
Great n Diver 1n
Mute Swan 2s yes Mute!
Shoveler 4s
Turnstone 1n
Grey Heron 1n
Bar t Godwit 1s
Kestrel 1s

Whoopers lead migration charge....

37 Whoopers and 85 Pink feet went south past Whitburn Obs this morning. I joined Magic Mark after sleeping in and immediately called 8 Whoopers south,  and it was migration all the way with Grey Wagtail south calling as i left.
Long tailed tit, Coal tit, Great Spot, Mistle and Song Thrush, these are scarce birds from the Obs. Long tailed Tit was a year tick. Sadly no Crossbill yet for me

Sunday 25th October 06.35-10.50 W2 mainly cloud cover

Great northern Diver 2n
Red th Diver 12n 25s
Shag 7s
Whooper Swan 37s
Pink footed Goose 85s
Shelduck 1s
Wigeon 1n
Teal 4n 2s
Common Scoter 5n 6s
Velvet Scoter 3n 5s
Eider 4n 8s
Goosander 3s
Knot 14s
Kingfisher 1n
Great spotted Woodpecker 1s
Long tailed Tit 19s
Coal Tit 1s
Mistle Thrush 3
Song Thrush 1
Redpoll 2s
Siskin 1s
Curlew 8n 1s
Black h Gull 11n 66s
Common Gull 7n 50s
Grey Wagtail 1s

bring on hurricane Patricia.........

Pom Skua and Velvet Scoter passed Whitburn Obs by 11am. Magic Mark joined me but was unable to conjure up a decent sea watch. Bring on that hurricane it might shake things up a bit
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 24th October 07.30-11.00 SSW3 cloud cover

Eider 4n
Common Gull 13n 37s
Black h Gull 5n 28s
Curlew 3n 2s
Common Scoter 8n 5s
Shag 1n
Red th Diver 1n 2s
Arctic Tern 1s juv
Grey Heron 1s
Kingfisher 1 below obs
Golden Plover 90s
Bonxie 1n
Pom Skua 1n ad
Velvet Scoter 1n
Brent Goose 2n db

Surfs up........not

2 Great northern Divers and an Arctic Tern passed Whitburn Obs by 11am today. Hoggie, unlucky Dave and Sir Ian contributed during the morning.
It was quiet after the usual early movement, this is what was seen in order of appearance

Friday 23rd October SW1-2 cloud cover

Black h Gull 15n 162s
Eider 8n 4s
Common Gull 11n 39s
Red th Diver 3n 8s
Common Scoter 9n 2s
Great n Diver 2n
Grey Heron 1n 1s
Curlew 7n
Shag 1n
Goldeneye 1s
Arctic Skua 1n
Redshank 2s
Pink footed Goose 95s
Goosander 2s
Ringed Plover 1s
Turnstone 1s
Arctic Tern 1s

Pallas's stops Shagfest....

7 Littls Gulls and a Bonxie passed Whitburn Obs by 10am this morning. Hoggie joined me (early for him) and he helped me see very little. He did explain to me at length why yesterdays OBP could only have been a tree pipit
He received a phone call and off we dashed to see the Pallas's Warbler in Sunderland , we arrived just as it showed well briefly
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Monday 19th October 07.30-10.00 NNE2 mainly cloud cover

Bonxie 1n
Curlew 32n
Red th Diver 6n 3s
Arctic Tern 1s
Little Gull 7n
Common Scoter 36n 3s
Common Gull 40n 6s
Eider 2n
Brent Goose 1n pb
Goldeneye 1n
Shag 15s
Sanderling 12s
Pallas's Warbler 1 nth dock Sunderland in OBP trees

OBP on the OYL........

6 Little Gulls and a Pom Skua passed Whitburn Obs by 11.30 this morning.We still have the northerly but it was a lot quieter than yesterday. The early morning Olive-backed Pipit was a mega addition to my Obs year list, many thanks to Magic Mark. We had an unexpected visitor when Skinny Dipper turned up, and yes she had been skinny dipping early morning in our uplands, she managed to get two lifers on today's watch.
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 18th October 07.15-11.30 NE3 cloud cover

Eider 5s
Fulmar 2n
Olive-backed Pipit 1s
Snow Bunting 1s
Red th Diver 2n 9s
Common Scoter 25n 7s
Mallard 2n 2s
Bonxie 6n
Manxie 2n
Goldeneye 1n 3s
Little Gull 6n
Porpoise 3n
Long tailed Duck 1n
Wigeon 17n 9s
Sooty Shearwater 6n
Arctic Skua 1n juv
Curlew 1n
Sparrowhawk 1n
Puffin 1n
Tufted Duck 2n
Redshank 1n
Pom Skua 1n

Comes in threes.....

Black throated and 2 Great northern Divers passed Whitburn Obs by midday. They say good things come in threes, and they did today,  three species of Diver, Shearwater, Auk, it was just the Skuas that let us down, couldnt find an Arctic for love nor....
The usual Saturday gang was in from before first light and we had fantastic views of some quality birds. The big Divers for me stole the show passing at a distance that gave quality and prolonged views, followed closely by the Long tailed Ducks and Velvet Scoters and the Shearwaters....
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 17th October 07.15-12.00 NE2-3 cloud cover and rough sea

Black h Gull 89n 15s
Common Gull 26n 18s
Eider 1s
Red th Diver 10n 19s
Fulmar 4n
Sooty Shearwater 10n
Velvet Scoter 5n 3s
Common Scoter 23n 7s
Goldeneye 14n 7s
Manxie 5n 1s
Wigeon 18n 3s
Bonxie 1n 6s
Teal 4n 1s
Brent Goose 7n pb
Red br Merganser 3n
Mallard 2n 2s
Black th Diver 1n adult
Long tailed Duck 3n all drakes
Great northern Divers 2n
Balearic Shearwater 1n
Little Gull 1n
Heron 1n
Short eared Owl 1s
Curlew 1n
Pom Skua 3s
Med Gull 1n
Goosander 1n
Shag 1s
Porpoise 1
Ringed Plover 1s
Puffin 1n

Any Shrike will do......

16 Sooty Shearwaters and 4 Pom Skuas passed Whitburn Obs by 1pm. Magic Mark joined me for first light to make the most of the northerly, we had a good selection of birds. Eventually Unlucky Dave and Pink Floyd joined us and Dave lived up to his name by missing all of the Poms.We were discussing the good birds on the east coast south of us and agreed that on the Durham coast just now any Shrike would do ....
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Friday 16th October 07.00-13.00 NE2-3 cloud cover

Black h Gull 234n 10s
Common Gull 73n 21s
Teal 8n
Wigeon 36n 3s
Kestrel 1n
Dunlin 2n
Lapwing 24n
Manxie 5n
Red th Diver 8n 11s
Common Scoter 21n 11s
Sparrowhawk 1n
Eider 3n
Grey Wagtail 1s
Pintail 3n
Velvet Scoter 1n
Sooty Shearwater 16n
Little Gull 4n
Goldeneye 4n 2s
Short eared Owl 3s
Curlew 4n 1s
Peregrine 1n
Bonxie 4n 2s
Arctic Skua 2n 5s
Tufted Duck 3n
Fulmar 1n
Brent Goose 3n pb
Red br Merganser 3n
Pom Skua 4s ads
Gannet 376n

Pom Pom Pom.......

3 Pom Skuas 16 Bonxies and 8 Little Gulls passed Whitburn Obs by 11.10 this morning. It was another fun filled watch with both Marks with me to enjoy it, we saw shed loads of birds but the star prize went to the cracking adult pale phase Pom Skua. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 11th October 07.00-11.10 SE2 cloud cover

Common Gull 190n 3s
Sparrowhawk 1s
Wigeon 240n 7s
Shelduck 5n
Curlew 7n 2s
Common Scoter 65n 25s
Black h Gull 195n 3s
Eider 14n 1s
Velvet Scoter 5n
Red br Merganser 5n 1s
Pom Skua 2n 1s int ad and imm north, adult south
Red th Diver 11n 18s
Arctic Skua 6n 1s
Tufted Duck 4n
Teal 4n 4s
Brent Goose 1n db
Bonxie 8n 8s
Porpoise 2
Fulmar 2n 1s
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Little Gull 8n
Turnstone 5s
Kingfisher 1 feeding on rocks below obs again
Goldcrest 3 in/off
Skylark 6 in/off
Great crested Grebe 1s
Redshank 1s

As we left a short shower dropped in loads of Crests, and Saint Mark found a Firecrest
Back tomorrow for more, i love this 3 day week lark

just when you thought it was safe.....

Sooty Shearwater and a Bonxie passed Whitburn Obs this morning but the star of the show was a Basking Shark. It went slowly north circa 800 yds offshore. Its triangular doral fin was not particularly impressive compared to the Dolphins we see locally and its tail fin wasnt always prominant. Its my first ever and i hope more people see it as it goes north as the sea is calm and flat.
Magic and Saint Mark joined me, sadly they left before the shark.
We had a decent variety of birds including a new Obs list year tick , Kingfisher, bringing my year list to circa 157
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 10th October 06.55-10.30 NW1-2 bright sun and light cloud

Grey Heron 1s
Eider 6n 5s
Red th Diver 4n 4s
Black h Gull 63n 69s
Common Gull 12n 2s
Curlew 3n
Common Scoter 24n 3s
Shag 2s
Porpoise 1
Med Gull 1n ad
Bonxie 1n
Kingfisher 1n
Red br Merganser 1s
Wigeon 5n
Redshank 1n
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Pink footed Goose 180s
Teal 2s
Basking Shark slowly north 09.20 until lost to view at 09.40 circa 800yds offshore

Just when you thought it was safe.......

Sooty Shearwater and a Bonxie passed Whitburn Obs this morning but the star of the show was a Basking Shark. It went slowly north circa 800yds offshore. Its triangular dorsal fin was not particularly impressive compared to the Dolphins we see locally and its tail fin wasn't always prominent. Its my first ever and i hope more people get to see it as it goes north as the sea is calm and flat
Magic and Saint Mark joined me sadly they had both left before the Shark. We had a decent variety of birds including a new Obs list year tick, Kingfisher, bringing my year list to circa 157
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 10th October 06.55-10.30 NW1-2 calm sea bright sun with light cloud
Grey Heron 1s
Eider 6n 5s
Red th Diver 4n 4s
Black h Gull 63n 69s
Common Gull 12n 2s
Curlew 3n
Common Scoter 34n 3s
Shag 2s
Porpoise 1
Med Gull 1n ad
Bonxie 1n
Kingfisher 1n
Red br Merganser 1s
Wigeon 5n
Redshank 1n
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Pink footed Goose 180sTeal 2s
09.20 Basking Shark slowly north when lost to view

Poppy does it again...

570 Pinkfeet went south past Whitburn Obs by 10.15 today. The Geese were the highlight on a very quiet watch. It was a dire start this morning but as last week when the Doc and Poppy arrived they brought a few birds with them. No sooner had they sat down when the Pinks started.This is what i saw in order of appearance

Friday 9th October 06.55-10.15 SW1-2 bright sun

Black h Gull 47n 83s
Common Gull 11n 9s
Eider 3s
Curlew 8n 1s
Common Scoter 3n
Sandwich Tern 3s
Red th Diver 3n 2s
Red br Merganser 1n
Peregrine 1n juv
Pink footed Goose 570s
Snipe 1s
Shag 1s
Arctic Skua 1n

Doc brings a Spoonful......

Black throated Diver and 4 Long tailed Ducks went south past Whitburn Obs by 10.30 this morning. It had started a mediocre watch and i was about to pack in with Arctic Skua my best bird when i saw the Doc and Poppy heading for the Obs. They brought a change of luck which was just the medicine i needed. In the end we had so much quality it was hard to choose the best birds but the Long tailed Ducks took the prize for passing under our noses not once but twice. This is what we saw in order of appearance

Monday 5th October 06.55-10.30 SE3 cloud mist rain

Kestrel 1s
Redwing a few were about an Obs year tick
Black h Gull 41n 69s
Wigeon 79n 4s
Eider 12n
Curlew 7n
Common Gull 67n 5s
Shag 2s
Red th Diver 7n 3s
Teal 16n 66s
Common Scoter 17n 30s
Fulmar 2n 4s
Arctic Skua 1n
Peregrine 1s
Golden Plover 130s
Doc and Poppy arrive
Red br Merganser 2n
Bonxie 2n
Brent Goose 4n pb
Black th Diver 1s
Long tailed Duck 4n 4s  2pr
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Barnacle Goose 89n
Grey Wagtail 1s

Doc and Poppy can call anytime they like if they bring luck like that

Bandits at 3 o'clock.......

Sooty Shearwater and a Great northern Diver passed Whitburn by 10am today. It was one of those days when the Ducks were coming at you from all directions due to the mist and low cloud. Add to that a few decent birds and you've got a canny sea watch
Saint Mark joined me as normal and this is what we saw in order of appearance

Sunday 4th October 06.55-10.05 W1-2 mist, low cloud

Eider 6n 11s
Common Gull 61n 17s
Sparrowhawk 1s
Curlew 23n
Goldcrest 1 flew into Obs
Black h Gull 105n 63s
Wigeon 229n 6s
Teal 100n
Common Scoter 44n
Mad Gull 1n ad
Great northern Diver 1n
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Shag 1n 5s
Lapwing 33s
Pied Wagtail 2s
Little Gull 1s ad
Red th Diver 4s
Fulmar 2n
Peregrine 1s juv
Turnstone 1s
Dunlin 2n
Sooty Shearwater 1s
Great crested Grebe 1n
Porpoise 1

Obs year list still on track...

Great northern Diver and 2 Little Gulls passed Whitburn Obs by 10 am this morning. Saint Mark joined me and we had to work hard for our birds with little wind and misty conditions. This is what we saw in order of appearance.

Saturday 3rd October 06.55-10.05 W1 fog/mist early on but clearing

Black h Gull 148n 90s
Common Gull 14n 8s
Lapwing 4n 13s
Curlew 7n
Common Scoter 14n
Goosander 4n
Eider 7s
Great n Diver 1n
Red th Diver 5n 11s
Teal 22n
Fulmar 3n
Wigeon 20n
Manxie 2n
Shag 9s
Sandwich Tern 6s
LBBGull 1s
Little Gull 2n ad and juv
Shoveler 5n
Pintail 1n

I put in 3 hours yesterday as well with similar results but a Mute Swan flew south then north again an Obs year tick. That brings my year list to 155 so far. I managed 161 species in 2013 and 167 in 2014 so I'm on track for a 160 plus total