Winter is coming......

White-beaked Dolphins put on a show for us from the Obs today hope you enjoy the video, and it is just as well because the birds let us down. Winter is coming, the farmer has scattered the mountain of horse manure over the Obs field and the Terns are all but gone. Westerlies rule and we have hardly seen a Shearwater all week tho today Saint Mark saw one go north from his house while we were Dolphin watching. He thinks it was a Balearic...bugger
This is what we did see today in order of appearance

Thursday 7th September 06.00-09.00 SW2 7/8

Black h Gull 211n 90s
Eider 1n 3s
Shag 2n 9s
Gannet 307n 39s
Cormorant 7n 208s
Common Gull 2n 7s
Red th Diver 2n 6s
Sandwich Tern 7n 9s
Turnstone 2n 4s
Redshank 6n 10s
Fulmar 19n 4s
White-beaked Dolphin 3ad 1juv 06.33-06.55 moving slowly north feeding distantly
Common Tern 11n 15s
Common Scoter 3s
Pied Wagtail 3s
White-beaked Dolphin same four back south 07.10-08.10
White-beaked Dolphin larger pod of 10 plus viewed through the north shutter. They were feeding with lots of gulls over head 08.10-08.50

Wigeon3n
Sand Martin 3s
Meadow Pipit 3s
Dunlin 11s
Sanderling 1n
Curlew 1n
Ringed Plover 1s

Shag Fest......

Balearic Shearwater and Red-necked Grebe passed Whitburn Obs today as migration got into full swing. We had our biggest day count of Teal so far this year fully testing Prof's counting skills. Waders and Terns were on the move and Magic and Saint Mark kept me busy with the log..Pink Floyd adding to the mayhem when he eventually arrived. The annual Shag movement got underway on the 1st and continued today, wonder if we will see the white bird this year
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 2nd September SW2 4/8

Cormorant 32n 307s
Gannet 532n 49s
Common Scoter 169n
Black h Gull 130n 2s
Common Gull 10n 1s
Sandwich Tern 7n 13s
Common Tern 88n 20s
Shag 15n 41s

Curlew 6n 4s
Teal 829n 2s
Wigeon 1n
Pintail 2n
Red th Diver 5n 9s
Redshank 3n 11s
Eider 3s
Puffin 1n
Golden Plover 160s
Sparrowhawk 2n
Meadow Pipit 10
Manx Shearwater 38n
Pied Wagtail 1n
Sanderling 2n
Whimbrel 1s
Shoveler 1n
Knot 1n
Arctic Skua 7n
Grey Heron 1n
Brent Goose 2n pb
Porpoise 1
Bar t Godwit 2s
Bonxie 4n
Red necked Grebe 1n
Little Gull 2n
LBBGull 1n
Arctic Tern 2n
Balearic Shearwater 1n

Back in Black......

Balearic Shearwater and 3 plus Black Terns passed Whitburn Obs on this mornings early watch. Yesterdays Black Terns were back and they brought some friends. It's hard to say how many we had in total as some birds may have moved both ways but we logged three north and four south, the maximum we saw at any one time was three and we had one on show for the majority of the watch. Stoney was in the house and we enjoyed the full cloud cover as waders and terns were on the move. Our Balearic Shearwater flew in, dropped on the sea and didn't move again for the third day running.
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Wednesday 30th August 05.45-09.15 W1 8/8

Common Gull 2n 14s
Gannet 354n 75s
Common Tern 196n 28s
Arctic Skua 3s
Porpoise 5 plus
Redshank 5n 156s
Common Scoter 6n 2s
Teal 8n 4s
Balearic Shearwater 1s then on the sea
Manx Shearwater 3n 3s
Black h Gull 14n 7s
Dunlin 22s
Shag 9s
Red th Diver 1n 2s
Black Tern 3n 4s juvs

Knot 8s
Meadow Pipit 3s
Sanderling 1n
Whimbrel 1s
Curlew 2s
Sandwich Tern 5n 8s
Eider 1s
Ringed Plover 2n

Blackout.....

 4 Roseate and 6 Black Terns passed Whitburn Obs by 10.15 this morning. Magic Mark picked up the first Black Terns feeding distantly and i suspect we missed a few as many Terns were moving north this morning. I called a distant Shearwater as a Sooty but it was on closer inspection a nice dark Balearic as Saint Mark pointed out. The black theme continued as Cormorants started to pour south eventually giving a new day passage record total.  Pink Floyd and Boy Wonder arrived late but soon joined the party. We commented how two days are never alike, yesterday in similar conditions we saw very few birds...today it was none stop a cracking watch
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 26th August 05.30-10.15  W1 4/8

Common Gull 2n 8s
Black h Gull 150n 31s
Cormorant 457s 60n
Gannet 614n 71s
Fulmar 24n
Common Tern 512n 10s
Black Tern 6n

Oystercatcher 7s
Curlew 4s
Manx Shearwater 24n 13s
Sandwich Tern 61n 16s
Balearic Shearwater 2n
Common Scoter 71n 4s
Porpoise 4
Arctic Skua 2n 10s
Redshank 7n 9s
Red th Diver 2n 2s
Teal 9n 2s
Puffin 2n
Bar t Godwit 2s
Pied Wagtail 1s
Grey Heron 1n 1s
Kestrel 1s
Goosander 12n
Black th Diver 1s
Whimbrel 1n 3s
Shoveler 1n
Wigeon 1n
Eider 1s
Shag 1s
Roseate Tern 4sSanderling 3n 6s
Knot 1s
phew......

5 Tern day....

2 Roseate and a Black Tern passed Whitburn Obs in three hours early this morning. It's not often we i get to see five species of Tern so i was happy to get a brief view of a juvenile Black Tern as it fed south very early morning. Stoney was in the house later but had to leave for work, still he's put a few hours in of late with great reward. Not a Shearwater to be seen today...but Goosanders put on a show trying to fly into the Obs. The video is from a bird that is hanging about on the sea below the Obs recently(sorry youtube wont let me load it)
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Thursday 24th August 05.30-08.30 W2 2/8

Black h Gull 30n 33s
Common Gull 1n 25s
Gannet 153n 9s
Redshank 25s
Common Tern 199n 77s
Fulmar 32n 9s
Dunlin 1n 3s
Sandwich Tern 58n 17s
Puffin 1n
Common Scoter 16n 2s
Arctic Skua 1n 3s
Whimbrel 1s
Black Tern 1s juv
Red th Diver 3n
Oystercatcher 9s
Knot 6s
Shag 1n 1s
Porpoise 1
Arctic Tern 2n 1s
Curlew 1n
Bonxie 1n
Roseate Tern 2n ad and juv
Canada Goose 6s
Eider 1n
Sand Martin 3s
Teal 26n
Shelduck 1n
Grey Heron 1n
Goosander 13n

Play misty for me....

Pom Skua, 2 Roseate Terns and a Velvet Scoter were the cream of a good crop at Whitburn Obs today. A bit of mist can be a big help pushing birds close inshore and disorienting them so i was happy enough when i saw today's conditions. Pink Floyd joined me late on and unlucky Dave, Wal kindly gave me a crab sandwich...time to leave
A Cuckoo in the Obs field was a bonus as i left, shhh...dont tell or the poor bird will get no peace
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Tuesday 22nd August 05.25-09.45 SE1 mist 8/8

Black h Gull 33n 39s
Gannet 150n 18s
Sandwich Tern 8n 80s
Common Gull 6n 13s
Common Tern 68n 154s
Whimbrel 1n 3s
Teal 48n 2s
Fulmar 74n
Shag 4n 1s
Mallard 1n
Curlew 9n
Oystercatcher 32n
Arctic Skua 1n 3s
Redshank 6n 14s
Arctic Tern 1s
Swallow 1s
Ruff 1s
Golden Plover 42s
Goldeneye 1n
Common Scoter 202n
Pom Skua 1n ad dp
Turnstone 1s
Roseate Tern 2s ad and juv
Velvet Scoter 1s
LBBGull 1s
Scaup 2n
Cuckoo 1 in obs field

Dazzling Rosies....

12 Roseate Terns went south at Whitburn Obs by 10am today, bringing this weeks total to 28 south. I was joined by Saint Mark and Boy Wonder and it all started a bit quiet but as ever Whitburn Obs did not disappoint. Most memorable was an adult Roseate feeding its youngster which was sat on the sea just below us. Another three Little Egrets south brought my sightings this year to at least 8, poor Saint Mark was AWOL and still needs it for the year as well as Rosy Tern. I didn't manage any video again so another old vid attached
This is what we saw in order of appearance

Saturday 19th August 05.20-10.00 W3 4/10

Whimbrel 1n 3s
Sandwich Tern 6n 86s
Black h Gull 31n 23s
Curlew 2n 1s
Gannet 182n 4s
Common Gull 2s
Common Tern 123n 52s
Oystercatcher 54s
Redshank 12n 125s
Knot 3s
Common Scoter 6n 1s
Dunlin 7s
Arctic Skua 1n 2s
Sparrowhawk 2s
Grey Heron 1s
Great crested Grebe 1s
Roseate Tern 12s inc at least 2 juvs
Turnstone 1s
LBBGull 2s i juv
Little Egret 3s close inshore
Kestrel 2n
Swift 2n
Mallard 1s
Red th Diver 21n
Manx Shearwater 3n