Always leave them wanting less...

.... as a Mr Warhol once said, and in the spirit of shameless over-egging, here's more Little Gull action - from the Brigg this morning, in sunshine and with a brisk south-westerly blowing. It's great having them around.

Homing closer, tiny dancers

With howling gales persisting but the sun suddenly shining, yesterday morning Amity and I made for a wonderfully deserted Brigg, via the beach and the bay corner. Halfway along the exposed promontory and with the wind smashing the incoming tide against seaweed-covered boulders, a party of Little Gulls - beautiful, dainty, ephemeral to a bird - came gradually closer inshore, dip-feeding in the surf and dancing delicately into the swell.

What else could we do but position ourselves on said boulders, grit our teeth against the elements and enjoy a sublime spectacle as the gulls came ever closer, completely ignoring our unthreatening presence. With sunlight, shaking hands and lens and splattering spray all working against decent photographs, the results are surprisingly passable given the circumstances.... but either way, yet another wonderful experience in the backyard.

Winter fuel

Black-throated Diver ...... 

 
With a lingering hangover from another memorably weird Filey folk club, a free afternoon and five miles of deserted sandy beach effectively outside the front door, there was only one thing for it. Thus, the Mrs and I ambled contentedly along the shore all the way to Speeton Cliffs at the southern end of the bay, enjoying a wealth of wonderful wildlife and an almost complete lack of humankind in the process.

locally rare, remarkably tarty

 
In the bay, a minimum of ten Little Gulls danced above the swell, an omnipresence from the town's seafront southwards; Sanderlings entertained along the tideline, and the requisite cast of Great Crested Grebes, Common Scoters, Red-throated Divers, Shags and others occupied the waves. But a couple of unexpected highlights brightened a pleasantly grey day even further.

 
Unexpectedly, a Common Seal (much the rarer of the two seal species locally) hauled up briefly just in front of us, before thinking better of it and slipping back into the surf; at the very end of the beach, meanwhile, a diver materialised close inshore, clearly a Black-throated (again much the rarer of the three likely species) even with the naked eye, which then proceeded to entertain us until the fading light ushered us homeward bound.

 
Almost two years after moving here, it just seems to get better and better.

Common Seal - far from Common .....

...... and entertaining Amity no end

Little Gull, against a backdrop of the Brigg

Little treasures

After strong south-easterlies there's always a chance of Little Gulls in the bay or off the Brigg, and happily, I came across about seven this morning, of all ages and at all ranges. A couple, however, skirted the shoreline while actively dip-feeding in the surf, and so (despite the very poor light, strong winds and camera shake) here they are - as dainty as marsh terns, yet as hard as skuas, and always a joy to watch.

Filey, 1st - 25th July 2013

Avocets at the Dams, 24th

Leaving it this long since the last local round-up usually means there's been little of note to report, and the midsummer (or winter) doldrums have firmly taken hold. Not so this time, however; in fact quite the opposite - it's been such an entertaining few weeks, there's been plenty to post about outside of the chronological summaries and time has instead been dedicated to enjoying as many daylight outdoors as possible.



The start of July seems like a long, long time ago, but signalled the beginning of month two of our seasonal monitoring in the bay; beyond that, much spare time was often spent similarly looking out over the ocean (although usually on Carr Naze or the Brigg for more dedicated sea-watching). Throw in regular hits on The Dams and East Lea (our local wetland reserves), and the choices are enviable.

Arctic Skua, passing daily in modest numbers

The first week of the month saw good movements of Common Swifts (often in three figures), Curlews, and Sandwich Terns (and small numbers of Arctic and Common), and the odd Grey Heron in off the sea; in the bay, a sprinkle of non-breeders included Great Crested Grebes, Common Eiders, Red-throated Divers, and Common Scoters were beginning to move in their hundreds (with variable groups of a handful to a hundred also in the bay).

Adult Little Gull - always a joy on a seawatch

By the second week, subtly positive changes included a few more Manxies and Arctic Skuas coming through, the first Red-breasted Mergansers, Wigeon and decent Teal flocks on the move, Scoters consistently in three figures, Sandwich Terns numbers steadily increasing, and incoming Whimbrels starting to outnumber Curlews.

A small part of the 500+ strong scoter flock in the bay - spot the male Velvet (click to enlarge)

The first returning Sanderlings, Purple Sandpipers, Turnstone, Med Gull, Greenshank, and Little Egret stopped by, an early Sooty Shearwater cruised south and an unseasonal Red-backed Shrike at the Tip were all easily distraction enough, but the on the 9th, a single Minke Whale - at the time, exceptional - was the harbinger of an unforgettable fortnight to follow.

Some of the 56 Lapwings that dropped in to the Dams on 24th - spot the male Ruff

Which is something to be left for next time and deserving of more specific attentions, but lord, what a fortnight; more to follow on the subject soon (but plenty of photos here, here and here). By the third week, said cetacean-watching happily dominated daily proceedings but inevitably involved avian diversions; while watching multiple Minkes on the 18th for example, I'd single Little Tern and Little Gull north and a good cast of waders including summer-plumaged Knot and Black-tailed Godwits, while on the 22nd and 23rd, single Pomarine Skuas lolloped south beneath the vantage point.

A bit more Ruff, same time, same place

Little Gulls have graced several other days since, as have Crossbills, with several in off the sea and odd singles or couples knocking around on Carr Naze and elsewhere (sadly lacking nice stripey wings); most the action, however, has concerned waders. It's that time of year when possibilities increase with each day, and when the right conditions conspire, anything can happen.

Summer-plumage Knots heading south over Carr Naze

An early morning session at the Dams - quiet the evening before - in murky, drizzly, misty conditions on the 24th was excellent, with a trio of Avocets fresh in from the north, and then three Ruff (with no less than 56 Lapwings) suddenly dropping in out of the gloom. With five each of Green and Common Sandpiper also there, it was a timely reminder of the how enthralling a modest bit of mud can be at this time of year.

Sanderlings and Redshanks, ditto

At sea and on the Brigg it's mainly about the waders too, with shimmering flocks of Knot, Sanderling, Turnstone, Whimbrel, Redshank and various other species heading south or stopping by. A fine few weeks, and it's all set to get better and better from here....