Sunday 23 May 2021

Pomarine Skua

The fresh breeze oscillated between SSE to SSW. Mainly overcast with some protracted showers.

Seawatch report from Pete (M)
Sea 0603-0803.  Slow but some quality in first hour - 20 mins of second hour in poor vis and rain and zilch seen: 
Pomarine skua - one out 0608 then landed possibly next to another ‘bird spp’ (a dark wing appeared to be raised), then floated in with tide
Arctic Skua 1 dark morph mid range heading in at 0658 
10 Gannet
1 Sandwich Tern
9 Guillemot
c15 Common Scoter
22 Dunlin
1 Swift

Pete Crooks checked a little later:

Heysham North Harbour Wall (8.20 – 10.50 am) – Just about enough interest to persevere given that I’d missed PJM’s early morning Pom and Arctic Skua.

5 Gannet (flying out of the Bay)

7 Common Scoter (flying in, landing on the sea, then continuing into the Bay)

1 Red-throated Diver (flying out)

6 Razorbill (5 + 1 flying out)

29 ‘auk sp’ (5 + 11 + 3 + 10 flying in very distantly)

20 Kittiwake (10 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 3 flying out, mostly distantly)

3 Sanderling (flying out)

4 Sandwich Tern


Not much else today
Whimbrel 1 on Red Nab
Linnet 5 Red Nab + 3 near lighthouse 
Rock Pipit - it was strangely quiet near the lighthouse, just the ringed male silent on the harbour wall. Still no birds seen carrying food.
Even a metal ring is easily seen, if not read.