Weather: W force 7/8 WSW 4 late evening
A marathon sea watch for our single-manned observer brought an outstanding amount of scarce sea birds. Although the wind was lighter today the marginal difference in direction did the trick. The early tide coincided with the early daylight so things were off to a fine start. There were lots of Manx Shearwaters and Kittiwakes initially plus 3 Leach's Petrels.
Before midday there were 12 Leach's and 61 Manx Shearwaters logged, also 13 Arctic Skuas and a Pomarine Skua, arguably the best bird of the day.
A Great Skua completed a trio of skuas for today.
There were 6 Arctic Terns plus another special sea bird, a Black tern.
A gull only ever seen here in these conditions was a Sabines Gull, an adult flew down the estuary between Hilbre and Hoylake. A Great Northern Diver was a surprise, we normally look for them later in the autumn.
Numbers of birds trickled in throughout the day, then increased again as the evening tide approached. The final totals were 34 Leach's Petrels, 65 Manx Shearwaters, 14 Arctic Skuas, 50 Guillemots, 15 Razorbills, 65 Gannets, 38 Kittiwakes, 3 Red-throated Divers, 225 Sandwich Terns, 45 Common Terns and singles of Black Tern, Pomarine Skua, Great Skua, Sabines Gull, Fulmar and Great Northern Diver. During all this period a few things on the island were noted: a Wheatear was here, 2 Swallows flew in off the sea and just about all the normal waders were recorded, an immature Peregrine was logged, a male Eider was present and 45 Shelduck were seen, while 2 Ravens were on the east hoyle and 8 Little Egrets around the island. A single Painted Lady butterfly braved the weather.
Photos SRW
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