Most of the day off, so, er, went birding (it being September and all). I kept it very local today and stuck to Filey; firstly checking the land for arrivals early doors - a few new warblers in, including this
Willow Warbler pit-stopping en route to sub-Saharan Africa - and then tucked myself into the undercliff for a seawatch, to shelter from the increasingly strong Southerly.
Lots happening, with a
Balearic, several
Sooty and good numbers of
Manx Shearwaters, plenty of
Arctic and two
Pomarine Skuas (although only a single
Bonxie...), two
Black Terns among strong Sterna passage, a
Little Gull, a few
Red-throated Divers, and waders on move: lots of
Dunlins, a
Greenshank, a few other common species, and these pristine
Bar-tailed Godwits.
Not the rarest of species by any means (or even the rarest species in that few minutes), but easily enough to give me a genuine buzz of excitement - we almost missed each other, with the flock of 20 appearing in off the sea over my head, only making themselves known when I heard their telltale chatter. Straight from the Arctic tundra, over the North Sea and me, and onto further destinations unknown.
A productive session at the Dams produced a healthy cast, including
Curlew Sandpiper, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwits and eight other wader species; pleasingly, a
Caspian Gull dropped in for a quick bathe, making it five in 48 hours for me of this (formerly?!) rare species here in Filey.
Teal over the sea
