A day of sunny intervals and frequent and occasionally heavy showers. During the seawatch, a Red-throated Diver and a Whimbrel flew south, whilst four Manx Shearwaters and ten Sandwich Terns headed north.
Away from the sea, a Shoveler, three Little Ringed Plovers and four Dunlin were on Thornwick Pools. Four Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper were on the beach between South Dykes and South Landing.
However, the main feature of the day were record-breaking numbers of Sand Martins: a minimum of 305 were recorded east of the Dykes, including 175 that flew ‘south’ past North Landing before 1205hrs. Even larger numbers were recorded at Bempton Cliffs RSPB, with 452 noted between 1230-1530hrs. A minimum of 100 Swifts also flew south at North Landing.
