Goring

I almost stayed in to get some work done this morning but thought I'd head out and have a go at a seawatch. I'm glad I did! Joined my Martin P and Nick B at the George V Avenue shelter, Bonxies were the feature of the day with 46 passing by 11:00 (including flocks of seven and five). Three species were patch ticks for me, with nine Arctic Skuas and a party of six Manx Shearwaters going by, plus an Arctic Tern was feeding offshore for a while. A lone Little Tern went through early on and 85 Sandwich Terns, six Common Terns and 23 'Commics' were recorded. Two Whimbrel flew past and Mediterranean Gulls were still on the move, with 41 birds logged mostly moving east. Later in the watch an adult Little Gull flew the same way. 54 Common Gulls and 18 Black-headed Gulls were also logged. 182 Common Scoters moved through, three Velvets among them, and 62 Dark-bellied Brent Geese were counted. Other species included a Red-breasted Merganser, 28 Red-throated Divers, 14 Fulmars, 64 Gannets, three Dunlin, three Kittiwakes, a Swallow in-off and four Linnets along the beach.