127 Barnacle and 25 Brent Geese passed Whitburn Obs by 11am this morning. The old saying goes an East wind blows no good and i wasn't expecting much i have experience of sea watches on an easterly. I was pleasantly surprised at the number and variety that i did see but disappointed when the cloud lifted early on. I kept a sharp eye out for the Bonaparte's but no luck this morning, bet its still about tho
So if easterlies are no good we are in for another few great days like this over the weekend
This is what i saw in order of appearance
Thursday 6th October 06.45-11.00 E2 cloud6/8 then 2/8
Common Gull 77n 88s
Black h Gull 40n 65s
Teal 35n 17s
Wigeon 118n 85s
Red th Diver 6n 24s
Common Scoter 78n 10s
Eider 18n 3s
Brent Goose pb 22n
Med Gull 1s ad
Shag 3n 2s
Bonxie 4n 1s
Brent Goose db 3n
Arctic Skua 6n 2s
Fulmar 2s
Barnacle Goose 127s
Velvet Scoter 4n
Curlew 1n
Pintail 1n
Grey Heron 2s
Redshank 1s
Sky Lark 3 in off
Red br Merganser 1n
Long tailed Duck 1n
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Wednesday, 5 October 2016
All the B's
Bonaparte's, Barnacles and Brents passed Whitburn Obs in over 10 hours today. The three B's and the Bonaparte's was the star. Hoggie and myself were in the obs this afternoon enjoying the Barnacle passage when Fos came in for a rest from birding the bushes. No sooner had he sat down and put his scope up when he leapt in the air shouting 'Bonapartes' and sure enough it was right under our noses dip feeding just beyond the surf. I had just got my camera onto my tripod when it headed off north fast and gone
Peter Bell arrived for some goose action and was a bit disappointed he had missed out, i said you never know it might come back and bloody hell a few minutes later i called it heading south close in. It came back for a third time and we were loving it. Video on Twitter later
The sea watching today includes over 10 hours of records and this is what was seen in order of appearance, sort of
Wednesday 5th October 06.45-16.50 SE 2-3 cloud 7/8 early on and 2/8 later
Black h Gull 63n 23s
Common Gull 249n 16s
Wigeon 631n 16s
Common Scoter 142n 3s
Velvet Scoter 3n
Curlew 5n 2s
Teal 159n 2s
Eider 26n 12s
Red th Diver 8n 3s
Little Gull 6n
Brent Goose 8n 2s pb 1n db
Shag 2s
Sandwich Tern 1n
Bonxie 2n
Puffin 6n
Manxie 3n
Pintail 3n
Arctic Skua 13n
Shelduck 2s
Barnacle Goose 212s
Pom Skua 3n 1 ad w/spoons
Pochard 2n
Sooty 1n
Long tailed Skua 2n juvs
Mallard 1n
Bonaparte's Gull 1n 14.57-15.00 then south 15.20-15.25 then nth/sth 15.55-16.00 hat trick
Shoveler 2n
Peter Bell arrived for some goose action and was a bit disappointed he had missed out, i said you never know it might come back and bloody hell a few minutes later i called it heading south close in. It came back for a third time and we were loving it. Video on Twitter later
The sea watching today includes over 10 hours of records and this is what was seen in order of appearance, sort of
Wednesday 5th October 06.45-16.50 SE 2-3 cloud 7/8 early on and 2/8 later
Black h Gull 63n 23s
Common Gull 249n 16s
Wigeon 631n 16s
Common Scoter 142n 3s
Velvet Scoter 3n
Curlew 5n 2s
Teal 159n 2s
Eider 26n 12s
Red th Diver 8n 3s
Little Gull 6n
Brent Goose 8n 2s pb 1n db
Shag 2s
Sandwich Tern 1n
Bonxie 2n
Puffin 6n
Manxie 3n
Pintail 3n
Arctic Skua 13n
Shelduck 2s
Barnacle Goose 212s
Pom Skua 3n 1 ad w/spoons
Pochard 2n
Sooty 1n
Long tailed Skua 2n juvs
Mallard 1n
Bonaparte's Gull 1n 14.57-15.00 then south 15.20-15.25 then nth/sth 15.55-16.00 hat trick
Shoveler 2n
Monday, 3 October 2016
Ducks in the mist....
2 Little and a Med Gull went south past Whitburn Obs early morning along with a load more Ducks.The Duck movement was the main feature as mist and bright sun made scope work hard work. Is it heat haze or cold haze when its 4 degrees...
A large Raptor going north low down was hard to nail in the haze and heavy swell but it was possibly an Osprey
I was joined by Steely the shrew who is not great company as he doesn't say a lot
It was an early finish for me today as my new Swaro ATX95 is being delivered today so lets hope they come early and i can go back for more, in the mean time Hoggie is counting the Ducks
Monday 3rd October 06.35-09.00 SW2 cloud 2/8 mist heavy swell
Common Gull 41n 26s
Black h Gull 141n 135s
Eider 20n 2s
Common Scoter 53n
Teal 149n 5s
Wigeon 248n
Red th Diver 5n 8s
Cormorant 6n 242s
Meadow Pipit 12n
Dunlin 3s
Curlew 3n 1s
Pintail 8n
Grey Heron 1s
Shag 1n 1s
07.45 large raptor north low down
Shrew x 1
Red Breasted Merganser 2n
Shoveler 4n
Little Gull 2s ad
Arctic Skua 1s
Fulmar 1s
Med Gull 1s
Manxie 6n
A large Raptor going north low down was hard to nail in the haze and heavy swell but it was possibly an Osprey
I was joined by Steely the shrew who is not great company as he doesn't say a lot
It was an early finish for me today as my new Swaro ATX95 is being delivered today so lets hope they come early and i can go back for more, in the mean time Hoggie is counting the Ducks
Monday 3rd October 06.35-09.00 SW2 cloud 2/8 mist heavy swell
Common Gull 41n 26s
Black h Gull 141n 135s
Eider 20n 2s
Common Scoter 53n
Teal 149n 5s
Wigeon 248n
Red th Diver 5n 8s
Cormorant 6n 242s
Meadow Pipit 12n
Dunlin 3s
Curlew 3n 1s
Pintail 8n
Grey Heron 1s
Shag 1n 1s
07.45 large raptor north low down
Shrew x 1
Red Breasted Merganser 2n
Shoveler 4n
Little Gull 2s ad
Arctic Skua 1s
Fulmar 1s
Med Gull 1s
Manxie 6n
Saturday, 1 October 2016
Mile high club....
23 Little Gulls and 2 Bonxies passed Whitburn Obs by 10 this morning. Saint Mark was back from the jungle with tales of high speed car wrecks and kept the rest of us entertained with holiday snaps.A high flying bird turned out to be a Shag, someone commented the highest shag they had ever had...
Most exciting bird was a Tern going north that i said was flying oddly, but no one took any notice of me, too busy chattering, by the time i insisted they check it out it was well north. Ross got on it and mentioned a white rump because of the poor light i hadn't picked that up earlier but it did have a pale rump. He mentioned could it be a WWBT, well if it was one it got away.
The expected Pinks didn't happen and with the light deteriorating we left early, too early by the sound of it with Pinks and Swans moving later this morning
Saturday 1st October 06.35-10.00 SW1-2 then N1-2 cloud 3/8
Black h Gull 180n 279s
Common Gull 39n 24s
Eider 13n 30s
Common Scoter 20n 9s
Cormorant 21n 134s
Red th Diver 12n 22s
Curlew 4n
LBBGull 1n
Manxie 12n
Porpoise 5n
Little Gulls 15n 8s
Shag 2n 9s
Pink footed Goose 13s
Redshank 2s
Golden Plover 30s
Shelduck 2n
Brent Goose 1s
Mallard 1s
Swallow 2s
Fulmar 3n
Sandwich Tern 2n 1s
Bonxie 1n 1s
Common Tern 2n
Redpoll 20 plus north
Knot 4n
Most exciting bird was a Tern going north that i said was flying oddly, but no one took any notice of me, too busy chattering, by the time i insisted they check it out it was well north. Ross got on it and mentioned a white rump because of the poor light i hadn't picked that up earlier but it did have a pale rump. He mentioned could it be a WWBT, well if it was one it got away.
The expected Pinks didn't happen and with the light deteriorating we left early, too early by the sound of it with Pinks and Swans moving later this morning
Saturday 1st October 06.35-10.00 SW1-2 then N1-2 cloud 3/8
Black h Gull 180n 279s
Common Gull 39n 24s
Eider 13n 30s
Common Scoter 20n 9s
Cormorant 21n 134s
Red th Diver 12n 22s
Curlew 4n
LBBGull 1n
Manxie 12n
Porpoise 5n
Little Gulls 15n 8s
Shag 2n 9s
Pink footed Goose 13s
Redshank 2s
Golden Plover 30s
Shelduck 2n
Brent Goose 1s
Mallard 1s
Swallow 2s
Fulmar 3n
Sandwich Tern 2n 1s
Bonxie 1n 1s
Common Tern 2n
Redpoll 20 plus north
Knot 4n
Friday, 30 September 2016
After the storm......
727 Pink feet went south past Whitburn Obs by 10.45 this morning. After yesterdays gale i was expecting a nice easy gentle sea watch....no chance it went mad
The Geese started moving from first light but sadly most were distant though one skein was overhead with the distinctive call, always a joy to hear
An unexpected Jack Snipe went past close inshore and later a male Marsh Harrier so not quite the quiet day then, Sir Ian and Hoggie joined me late on and enjoyed the Harrier when i called it, a nice way to end the month.
This is what i saw in order of appearance
Friday 30th September 06.35- 10.45 SW1-2 then 2-3 cloud 6/8
Cormorant 23n 306s
Common Gull 24n 84s
Grey Heron 1n 2s
Pink footed Goose 33n 727s
Black h Gull 103n 251s
Eider 6n 5s
Common Scoter 2n 10s
Curlew 4n 1s
Red th Diver 2n 24s
Dunlin 1n 4s
Shag 2n 8s
Redshank 1s
Goosander 1n 1s
Med Gull 1s 2nd sum
Sandwich Tern 14s
Common Tern 3s
Knot 4n
Arctic Skua 2s
Jack Snipe 1s 08.37
Shelduck 2n
Arctic Tern 3n
Redpoll 1s
Marsh Harrier 1s male 09.40
Golden Plover 6s
Puffin 1n
Swallow 1n 6s
Meadow Pipit 150s
Skylark 1s
Brent Goose 1s pb
Grey Partrige 7 in obs field
The Geese started moving from first light but sadly most were distant though one skein was overhead with the distinctive call, always a joy to hear
An unexpected Jack Snipe went past close inshore and later a male Marsh Harrier so not quite the quiet day then, Sir Ian and Hoggie joined me late on and enjoyed the Harrier when i called it, a nice way to end the month.
This is what i saw in order of appearance
Friday 30th September 06.35- 10.45 SW1-2 then 2-3 cloud 6/8
Cormorant 23n 306s
Common Gull 24n 84s
Grey Heron 1n 2s
Pink footed Goose 33n 727s
Black h Gull 103n 251s
Eider 6n 5s
Common Scoter 2n 10s
Curlew 4n 1s
Red th Diver 2n 24s
Dunlin 1n 4s
Shag 2n 8s
Redshank 1s
Goosander 1n 1s
Med Gull 1s 2nd sum
Sandwich Tern 14s
Common Tern 3s
Knot 4n
Arctic Skua 2s
Jack Snipe 1s 08.37
Shelduck 2n
Arctic Tern 3n
Redpoll 1s
Marsh Harrier 1s male 09.40
Golden Plover 6s
Puffin 1n
Swallow 1n 6s
Meadow Pipit 150s
Skylark 1s
Brent Goose 1s pb
Grey Partrige 7 in obs field
Tuesday, 27 September 2016
Shearwater pick and mix.....
Balearic, Sooty and Manx Sheawaters were all off Whitburn Obs today in a feeding flock which included Little Gulls. Sir Ian joined me today and i mentioned id seen a few Little Gulls in a distant feeding flock, he said he had seen a similar flock yesterday so we set about finding it. The feeding flock was distant and you needed the Hubble telescope to look at it, fortunately Ian had brought it he was trying out the 95mm Swarovski courtesy of Chipshop Steve.
He called a Shearwater in the flock and on closer inspection we could see it was a Balearic. A Manxie was in the flock as well so when Hoggie arrived who needed Balearic he had to borrow the Hubble to nail it. A Sooty joined the flock and it was like a pic n mix even Wal had a dip
When unlucky Dave arrived we knew the fun was over so i headed off, 2 large Pipits flew south low over the Obs field toward the Range as i headed back to my car but i could not relocate them. The fields south of the obs had Skylarks and Pipits and need watching
This is what we saw in order of appearance
Tuesday 27th September 06.30-10.15 S3-4 cloud 7/8
Cormorant 9n 265s
Common Gull 20n 25s
Grey Heron 1n 2s
Common Scoter 86n 20s
Black h Gull 4n 28s
Golden Plover 600 plus went south
GBBGull 115s
Curlew 12n 1s
Arctic Skua 6n 4s
Scan Herring Gull 3s
Teal 4n 1s
Redshank 13s
Shag 1s
Fulmar 1n
Little Gull 16s (7 ad) this is an under estimate as birds were moving south from the feeding flock often
Dunlin 3s
Red th Diver 3n 7s
Wigeon 14n 3s
Sooty Sheawater 3n
Puffin 3n
Manxie 1s
Balearic Shearwater 1s
Brent Goose 1n
He called a Shearwater in the flock and on closer inspection we could see it was a Balearic. A Manxie was in the flock as well so when Hoggie arrived who needed Balearic he had to borrow the Hubble to nail it. A Sooty joined the flock and it was like a pic n mix even Wal had a dip
When unlucky Dave arrived we knew the fun was over so i headed off, 2 large Pipits flew south low over the Obs field toward the Range as i headed back to my car but i could not relocate them. The fields south of the obs had Skylarks and Pipits and need watching
This is what we saw in order of appearance
Tuesday 27th September 06.30-10.15 S3-4 cloud 7/8
Cormorant 9n 265s
Common Gull 20n 25s
Grey Heron 1n 2s
Common Scoter 86n 20s
Black h Gull 4n 28s
Golden Plover 600 plus went south
GBBGull 115s
Curlew 12n 1s
Arctic Skua 6n 4s
Scan Herring Gull 3s
Teal 4n 1s
Redshank 13s
Shag 1s
Fulmar 1n
Little Gull 16s (7 ad) this is an under estimate as birds were moving south from the feeding flock often
Dunlin 3s
Red th Diver 3n 7s
Wigeon 14n 3s
Sooty Sheawater 3n
Puffin 3n
Manxie 1s
Balearic Shearwater 1s
Brent Goose 1n
Sunday, 25 September 2016
Sunday best.....
45 Little Gulls and 14 Arctic Skuas passed Whitburn Obs by 11 o'clock this morning. The light was good but the birds were slow to get going till after the rain had stopped. Its been great catching up with Magic Mark after his Californian adventure and good to have his long distance skills back.
I called the first 2 Little Gulls going south at a reasonable distance then Mark picked up the first of the distant birds going north high up. It was enjoyable with plenty of birds but no super star, Kits were moving and we could smell a Sabs...still would take this any day of the week
This is what we saw in order of appearance
Sunday 25th September 06.20-11.00 SW2 cloud 8/8 till late on
Black h Gull 66n 51s
Cormorant 11n 279s
Common Gull 46n 17s
Common Scoter 45n 12s
Grey Heron 1n 2s
Red th Diver 5n 25s
Curlew 1n 2s
Shag 5s
Eider 1n 7s
Tufted Duck 5n
Common Tern 35n 7s
Arctic Tern 8n
Little Gull 40n 5s
Bonxie 2n
Puffin 5n
Teal 31n 23s
Manxie 6n 19s
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Arctic Skua 13n 1s
Sandwich Tern 8n 2s
Yellow legged Gull 1s 1st w
Wigeon 1n 3s
Dunlin 34n 9s
Sanderling 7n
Turnstone 1n 3s
Ringed Plover 5n
Peregrine 1n
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Bar t Godwit 2n
I called the first 2 Little Gulls going south at a reasonable distance then Mark picked up the first of the distant birds going north high up. It was enjoyable with plenty of birds but no super star, Kits were moving and we could smell a Sabs...still would take this any day of the week
This is what we saw in order of appearance
Sunday 25th September 06.20-11.00 SW2 cloud 8/8 till late on
Black h Gull 66n 51s
Cormorant 11n 279s
Common Gull 46n 17s
Common Scoter 45n 12s
Grey Heron 1n 2s
Red th Diver 5n 25s
Curlew 1n 2s
Shag 5s
Eider 1n 7s
Tufted Duck 5n
Common Tern 35n 7s
Arctic Tern 8n
Little Gull 40n 5s
Bonxie 2n
Puffin 5n
Teal 31n 23s
Manxie 6n 19s
Scan Herring Gull 1s
Arctic Skua 13n 1s
Sandwich Tern 8n 2s
Yellow legged Gull 1s 1st w
Wigeon 1n 3s
Dunlin 34n 9s
Sanderling 7n
Turnstone 1n 3s
Ringed Plover 5n
Peregrine 1n
Sooty Shearwater 1n
Bar t Godwit 2n
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