Another day of light south-westerly winds, sunny intervals in the morning, with increasing amounts of cloud later, and temperatures again reaching 23 degrees C. Seawatch highlights included 119 Common Scoter, a Bar-tailed Godwit and 52 Sandwich Terns flying north, with nine Manx Shearwaters, three Balearic Shearwaters, a Great Crested Grebe, one Golden Plover, five Whimbrel, 20 Sanderling, 184 Dunlin, 81 Redshank, four Common Terns and an Arctic Skua flying south.
Two Shoveler remained on Stainforth’s Flash, but a Red Kite flew west along the cliff top at North Dykes and a Merlin over the outer head were new. Wader interest included 12 Dunlin at Thornwick Pools, three Dunlin at Stainforth’s Flash and a Green Sandpiper over the outer head. Passerine migrants included four Pied Flycatchers between Thornwick and North Landing, with another two Pied Flycatchers, eight Willow Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, two Lesser Whitethroats and two juvenile Treecreepers in the immediate vicinity of the Bay Brambles. A thorough search of South Dykes revealed the presence of five White-letter Hairstreaks, following the first ever Flamborough record of this butterfly earlier in the week.
West of the Dykes, sightings from RSPB Bempton Cliffs included a Marsh Harrier, seven Whimbrel flying east, a Grasshopper Warbler, 62 Yellow Wagtails and the reserve’s first record of an Emerald Damselfly.
