An overcast day, with mist/drizzle early morning only and temperatures reaching 15 degrees C in a light easterly wind. The undoubted highlight was the presence of two Humpback Whales several km offshore of the Fog Station mid-morning. One animal habitually breached for over an hour, providing those lucky enough to be present with an awesome spectacle. Other seawatch sightings included a dark-bellied Brent Goose and 103 Red-throated Divers flying south, 25 Wigeon, 87 Common Scoters, seven Sooty Shearwaters and 1000 Kittiwakes all north, together with 12 Bonxies, three Pomarine Skuas (two north, one south), 16 Arctic Skuas, an adult Mediterranean Gull and a first-winter Caspian Gull.
Three Little Egrets frequented the rocky shores on the southern side of the headland, ten Grey Plovers at South Landing represented an impressive tally locally and a first-winter Caspian Gull showed well there early morning. There was evidence of a small arrival of passerines during the afternoon, including four Yellow-browed Warblers, nine Goldcrests, five Redwing, five Redstarts, a Pied Flycatcher and four Lesser Redpolls. The juvenile Red-backed Shrike continued in residence on Chalet Hedge and the Red-breasted Flycatcher remained at RSPB Bempton Cliffs; other sightings on the reserve included a Yellow-browed Warbler and a Snow Bunting. A further two Yellow-browed Warblers made landfall at Buckton.
