It was often cloudy with occasional sunny intervals, light northerly winds and a high of 17 degrees C; conditions caused by a ‘high pressure loop’ that resulted in a great seawatch. A Great Shearwater flew north at 0930hrs and an adult Sabine’s Gull headed in a similar direction at 1745hrs. Five juvenile Long-tailed Skuas included individuals lingering off the Seawatch Observatory, while a northbound Balearic Shearwater added further interest. Other notable sightings included one Goosander, 18 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Grey Plovers, 72 Arctic Skuas, 14 Bonxies, two Pomarine Skuas, 612 Little Gulls, 41 Sooty Shearwaters, 28 Manx Shearwaters, 107 Red-throated Divers, 20,095 northbound Gannets, three Caspian Gulls, three Yellow-legged Gulls, 1706 Common Terns and a Black Tern. A Minke Whale and at least one Thresher Shark added further gloss to proceedings. Away from the sea, a total of 195 Pink-footed Geese flew south over the outer head. Two Mute Swans, two Egyptian Geese, another Grey Plover, one Pintail, a Hobby, a Mistle Thrush, one Whinchat and two Grey Wagtails were also in residence.
Notable records from RSPB Bempton Cliffs included 70 Pink-footed Geese south, three Grey Plovers, two Bar-tailed Godwits, a Hobby, two Ravens, 15 Chiffchaffs and two Goldcrests.
