Sightings February 2009

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1st The month began where January ended with plenty of gull interest and lots of Guillemots offshore and the weather becoming increasingly wintry with snow flurries from mid-afternoon.

The juvenile Iceland Gull and adult Glaucous Gull were showing very well around the Point and fishing boats throughout the day whilst other gulls of interest included an adult Mediterranean Gull, two Little Gulls, a third-winter Caspian Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Iceland Gull

Glaucous Gull

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2nd No snow overnight but constant light snow from mid-morning reduced visibility and resulted in limited observations after an early morning seawatch which produced 196 Red-throated Divers, 70 Gannets, an adult Mediterranean Gull and 2200 Guillemots flying east in 75 minutes. The juvenile Iceland Gull was still present and an adult Caspian Gull was roosting near the fishing boats but there was no sign of the Glaucous Gull.
3rd Gulls provided most of the days interest again with the juvenile Iceland Gull still present along with an adult Mediterranean Gull, four Little Gulls, a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull and a new bird in the form of a first-winter Caspian Gull, all around the Point and fishing boats.

Caspian Gull

Caspian Gull

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Iceland Gull

Iceland Gull

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In addition, the very cold weather brought a small increase in birds on the land with a couple of Lapwing on the beach, six Meadow Pipits and 11 Fieldfares around the Observatory. Offshore, 96 Brent Geese flew east, four Velvet Scoters flew west and there were still large numbers of Guillemots and a few Razorbills feeding offshore.

Iceland Gull

Lapwing

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4th The Iceland Gull and three Little Gulls were seen offshore. Ten Fieldfares were feeding in the moat and at least eight Long-tailed Tits were also noted.
5th Highlight of the day was a Bittern at the Long Pits. The Iceland Gull was still offshore along with four adult Little Gulls and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.
6th The Iceland Gull was seen again.
7th A Raven flew over the area at 1000hrs. The Iceland Gull was still present along with an adult Mediterranean Gull, a first-winter Little Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.
8th The Iceland Gull and a first-winter Little Gull were present.
9th The Iceland Gull and an adult Caspian Gull were seen at the Patch and a Firecrest was seen at the Long Pits.
10th The Iceland Gull and an adult Caspian Gull were seen at the Patch along with adult Little Gull and Mediterranean Gull. Two Woodcocks were also seen.
11th The Iceland Gull was still present.
12th The Iceland Gull was seen again.
13th Two Little Gulls were feeding at the Patch.
14th The Iceland Gull was at the fishing boats and three Little Gulls and an adult  Mediterranean Gull were feeding at the Patch. A Great Skua flew west and 340 Brent Geese passed east.
15th The Iceland Gull, three Little Gulls and an adult Mediterranean Gull were feeding at the Patch. 260 Brent Geese flew east.
16th The Iceland Gull was seen again.
17th The Iceland Gull was at the fishing boats and a first-winter Caspian Gull was at the Patch.
18th Two Sandwich Terns were feeding offshore and the Iceland Gull was still present. Two Black Redstarts were seen around the Power Station.
19th Little coverage.
20th The Iceland Gull was at the fishing boats again in the morning and an adult Mediterranean Gull was at the Patch in the evening. Three Sandwich Terns were also feeding offshore.

Two Black Redstarts were on the power station wall.
21st The Iceland Gull was still in the area and a Black Redstart was seen near the power station. A Chaffinch and a Siskin also flew over.
22nd The Iceland Gull was still in the area and large numbers of Gannets were seen offshore. A Firecrest was seen at the Long Pits.
23rd Five Black Redstarts on the power station wall were the only birds of note.
24th The Iceland Gull was on the beach again along with a near adult Caspian Gull and three Little Gulls. One Black Redstart was seen on the power station wall and ten Long-tailed Tits were seen in the trapping area.
25th  The Iceland Gull and a Little Gull were feeding at the Patch in the morning and 350 Brent Geese flew east. Four Stonechats were also seen.
26th There was an adult Caspian Gull along with the Iceland Gull and a Little Gull at the Patch in the morning and 155 Brent Geese flew east. Five Stonechats were also seen.
27th The Iceland Gull and an adult Mediterranean Gull were offshore. There was a hint of spring migrants on the land with a Grey Wagtail and a Mistle Thrush passing through. Two Black Redstarts were also seen at the Power Station.
28th A trickle of migrants on the land included 28 Wood Pigeons, six Chaffinches and a Bullfinch whilst 315 Brent Geese and two Pintails flew east at sea. The Iceland Gull was still present and two Black Redstarts were seen at the power station. Two Marsh Harriers also flew over the area.