There were blustery winds throughout, with the direction varying between due east and the south-south-east. It was a relatively overcast day with spells of mainly light rain, while temperatures peaked at 14 degrees C. The easterlies in combination with heavy overnight rain produced a sizeable fall, albeit mainly of thrushes.
A very busy seawatch witnessed a substantial wildfowl movement: three Shoveler, 616 Wigeon, two Pintail, 651 Teal, 18 Tufted Ducks, a Velvet Scoter, eight Goldeneye and a Red-breasted Merganser flew south. Wader interest involved 42 Golden Plovers and two Grey Plovers also flying south. Sixteen Little Gulls were offshore, the year’s first Black-throated Diver flew north, as did a Great Northern Diver. Yesterday’s adult White-billed Diver flew east along the South Cliffs early morning, but wasn’t relocated, while the Long-tailed Duck and two Velvet Scoters remained. Fourteen Brent Geese also flew ‘north’ along the South Cliffs/lighthouse. Late afternoon, a tardy Black Tern fed amongst Black-headed Gulls off Sewerby.
The lone Whooper Swan once again toured the outer head, where two Great White Egrets flew south. Raptor interest included a ringtail Hen Harrier hunting the outer head for much of the afternoon, the long-staying Merlin and a Red Kite.
The day’s highlight was the discovery of a Siberian Stonechat at North Marsh that unfortunately soon filtered further west. The fall featured waders making landfall and included counts of 49 Lapwing, 145 Golden Plovers, 11 Woodcock and six Jack Snipe. A lone Long-eared Owl graced Old Fall early evening, while three Short-eared Owls were scattered across the outer head. One of the day’s features was a significant movement of 514 Skylark, with many noted heading ashore over the sea and moving off south-west. A total of 3725 Starlings were recorded, while significant numbers of thrushes arrived off the sea. Although some counts are still to be received, provisional figures are: 6400 Redwings, 705 Blackbirds, 960 Fieldfare, 510 Song Thrush, three Mistle Thrush, four Ring Ouzel, one Northern Wheatear, one Firecrest, 45 Goldcrests, 14 Blackcap, two Lesser Whitethroats, six Chiffchaff and 220 Brambling.
A Great Grey Shrike briefly on the cliff top at RSPB Bempton Cliffs was an excellent find. A Great White Egret also overflew the reserve, where additional records included two Grey Plovers, two Woodcock, 800 Redwing, 100 Song Thrush, a Mistle Thrush, 200 Blackbirds, 30 Fieldfare, two Ring Ouzels, five Chiffchaffs, seven Blackcaps, five Chiffchaffs, 20 Robins and a Black Redstart.
