26th October 2015

Moderate/strong south-easterly winds were a feature of a generally overcast morning, with sunny intervals predominating later. Seawatching highlights included two Great Northern Divers flying south, a Sooty Shearwater moving north, with three Shelduck, 23 Wigeon and 14 Knot heading south. Three Pomarine Skuas flew north, along with single Mediterranean Gull and Sandwich Tern.

A total of 272 Shags left the cliff roost early morning and 31 Turnstones and 12 Purple Sandpipers were in residence. Thornwick Pools hosted single Knot and Dunlin and two Short-eared Owls were recorded; an individual flying in off the sea early morning and another near North Marsh.

An arrival of passerines was headlined by a Pallas’s Warbler at Old Fall, the seventh on the wider Flamborough Headland this autumn. In addition, 550 Redwing and 175 Fieldfare arrived during the day, along with 26 Fieldfare, a male Stonechat that came in off the sea, 17 Goldcrests and 48 Brambling.

West of the Dykes, two Lapland Buntings were at Buckton.

Pallas's Warbler, Old Fall, by Mark Robinson
Pallas’s Warbler, Old Fall, by Mark Robinson