Saturday 21 October 2017

A fairly quiet days birding, but Storm Brian did bring a few interesting seabirds. The highlight was another Leach's Petrel, but quite a diverse supporting cast were also seen. 470 Kittiwakes, 450 Auk sp., 173 Razorbills and 40 Gannets were the commonest species, while also of note were a Great Northern Diver, four Fulmars (amazingly the first sightings in October!), eight Manx Shearwaters, one Teal, 36 Common Scoters and a Great Skua. Meanwhile large increases in several waders were noted, with 83 Oystercatchers, 19 Purple Sandpipers, 33 Redshanks, a Whimbrel, 68 Curlews and 27 Turnstones. Two Mediterranean Gulls and two Common Gulls were also around the Narrows.

Unsurprisingly, the land was very quiet, although a Black Redstart on the rocks on the North End, our first of the year, was quite a surprise in the conditions. Otherwise 23 Goldcrests and a Firecrest remained at the Plantation, where there were also four Coal Tits today. Other migrants were just two Skylarks, a Song Thrush, a Blue Tit, a Starling and a Lesser Redpoll

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