A gusty northerly airflow and overcast skies in the morning delivered promising seawatching conditions which didn’t disappoint. Highlights included a Great Shearwater that slowly flew north at close range past the Seawatch Observatory from 0746-0750hrs and then moved past RSPB Bempton Cliffs at 0817hrs. The following shearwater totals referred to birds heading north: two Balearic Shearwaters, 1709 Manx Shearwaters and 40 Sooty Shearwaters; a lone Blue Fulmar was also caught up in the movement. Skuas were also on the move with 15 Bonxies and 37 Arctic Skuas southbound, while a juvenile Long-tailed Skua typically tracked north late afternoon. Wader passage included 311 Oystercatchers south and nine Bar-tailed Godwits and a Grey Plover moving north. A juvenile Caspian Gull flew north during the morning, two Mediterranean Gulls also flew past the outer head, while 27 Arctic Terns and 194 Commic Terns tracked north.
Thornwick Pools hosted three Greenshank, four Green Sandpipers, a Ringed Plover, one Ruff, a Redshank and six Dunlin. Passerine migrants included two Common Redstarts and a Pied Flycatcher. The Red-tailed Shrike continued to entertain visitors at Bempton throughout.
