A much-needed, unplanned and restorative day off (thanks Rich!), and so a relative lie-in followed by two three-hour plus seawatching sessions, morning and afternoon, from the end of Carr Naze here in Filey. Mild, stormy and with a light to moderate NW (swinging N in the afternoon), I was in the mood for bit of extended zen sea-staring, and I got more than I expected.
Highlights included a
Balearic Shearwater (the first of the year locally), which appeared among one of many scattered feeding frenzies offshore mid-morning - after a cosy ten minutes avoiding the flying knives of Gannet's bills hitting the surface, drifting off south; a juvenile
Yellow-legged Gull close and south; two
Minke Whales about a kilometre offshore late in the afternoon, again enjoying the sudden bounty on offer; and, wonderfully, this pristeen, sleek, gorgeous adult
Long-tailed Skua, which appeared high up and close-in just as I was packing up for the morning session - amazing views, and it even kindly looped back around (thanks, Kittiwakes) for a few hazy photos. Just what I needed.
