| Sightings | January 2005 |
| 1st |
Four Firecrests
were seen in the moat and there was a Black
Redstart at the power station.
Early morning seawatching produced 35 Red-throated Divers, 125 Wigeon, singles of Pintail and Red-breasted Merganser, three Velvet Scoters and 150 Guillemots. There was also an adult Mediterranean Gull offshore. The drake Lesser Scaup saw the New Year in at Scotney. |
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| 2nd |
The Mediterranean
Gull was still offshore but little else was seen
except for a few Red-throated Divers and Guillemots.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 3rd |
Fairly quiet at sea
although there were three Mediterranean Gulls
feeding off the fishing boats.
There were three Firecrests and a Black Redstart in the moat during the morning. The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 4th | 700 auks flew west during the first hour of daylight and a Little Gull was seen off the Point. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th |
The highlight of the day
was an adult Caspian Gull on the beach at low
water. A flock of 200 Knot flew west, 120 Wigeon
came in from the south-east and 120 Red-throated
Divers passed through.
There were two Firecrests in the moat. |
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| 6th |
Three Firecrests
were seen in the moat and there was an adult Mediterranean
Gull at the Patch.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 7th |
Six Fulmars, 80 Kittiwakes
and 700 auks flew west during the first hour
or so of daylight.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 10th |
Little to be seen on a
miserable day.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 11th |
Little change on another
miserable day.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 12th |
The highlight of the day
was a party of about 80 Tundra Bean Geese
which flew south along the coast and out to sea at
0930hrs. Two Peregrine Falcons were flying
over the power station and there was a Firecrest
in the moat.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 13th |
A flock of 65 White-fronted
Geese arrived from the east and headed inland
and 89 Common Scoters were seen offshore.
There were three Firecrests in the moat. The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 14th |
A fairly quiet day until
the wind increased in the late afternoon and
resulted in a huge movement of auks, with
5650 birds west, (almost entirely Guillemots)
in just 75 minutes before dark. Five Velvet
Scoters and a few Black-headed Gulls and Kittiwakes
were also passing through and there was an adult Mediterranean
Gull at the Patch.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 15th |
There were about 50 Red-throated
Divers and 400 Guillemots this morning
and there was an adult Mediterranean Gull at
the Patch.
There was a Firecrest in the moat. The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 16th |
Large numbers of Guillemots
offshore and an adult Mediterranean Gull at
the Patch were the only birds of note in the area.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 17th | Still large numbers of Guillemots and a few Gannets and Razorbills offshore and an adult Mediterranean Gull at the Patch but little else of note in rapidly deteriorating weather. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th |
Little change with
several hundred Guillemots and a few Razorbills
offshore and a Yellow-legged Gull at the
Patch.
There were three Firecrests in the moat. The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 19th |
Three Firecrests
in the moat were the only birds of interest despite
there being thousands of gulls at the Patch.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 20th | Little coverage on a very windy day. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21st |
Huge numbers of gulls at
the Patch again included two Mediterranean Gulls
and about 500 Kittiwakes. About 250 Razorbills
were moving west but most of the 1000+ Guillemots
seemed to be feeding/loafing offshore. There was
also some wader movement with 230 Knot and
120 Dunlin flying west.
A Peregrine Falcon flew over the Power Station and there was a Firecrest in the moat. |
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| 22nd | Plenty of Guillemots offshore again and 120 Wigeon were seen but little else of interest was noted. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23rd |
Masses of birds at sea
with at least 100 Great Crested Grebes, 120 Gannets,
5000 Black-headed Gulls, 500 Common Gulls,
6000 Herring Gulls, 300 Kittiwakes,
1000 Guillemots and 200 Razorbills
feeding offshore and a surprising arrival of
wildfowl from the south with 1430 Wigeon, 17 Shoveler,
four Gadwall and 12 Pintail during the
morning. There was also an adult Mediterranean
Gull at the Patch.
There were three Firecrests in the moat. The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 24th | Still lots of birds offshore but no sign of anything out of the ordinary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 25th |
There was an adult Mediterranean
Gull at the Patch and seawatching produced 136 Red-throated
Divers, 43 Wigeon, 70 Common Scoters
and 800 auk sp during the morning.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 26th |
Most of the coverage was
at sea in bitterly cold weather. The most
significant event was an arrival of Mediterranean
Gulls with at least eight birds feeding at the
Patch and an additional four birds passing east.
Other birds passing east included 132 Red-throated
Divers, 73 Great Crested Grebes, eight Shelduck,
21 Wigeon, a Grey Plover, 90 Kittiwakes
and 2500 auks (mainly Guillemots).
Two Firecrests were also seen near the Observatory. The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 27th |
Two hours seawatching
from first light produced 100 Red-throated Divers
and 800 auks but very little else. There was
only one adult Mediterranean Gull at the
Patch.
A party of 11 Long-tailed Tits were found in the bushes at the Long Pits. |
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| 28th |
2.75 hours seawatching
from first light produced another 68 Red-throated Divers
and 1300 auks flying east but very little else.
An adult Mediterranean Gull was roosting
near the New Lighthouse.
The Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 29th |
Red-throated Divers
and auks continue to move east and there was
a third-winter Yellow-legged Gull at the
Patch.
Two Firecrests were seen in the moat. |
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| 30th |
2.75 hours seawatching
from first light produced 110 Red-throated Divers
and 3000 auks flying east and a Great
Skua and 40 Gannets flying west.
The three Firecrests were still in the moat and there was a Black Redstart near the seawatch hide. A Grey Phalarope and a first-winter Caspian Gull were found at Lade Pit and the Lesser Scaup was still at Scotney. |
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| 31st |
Seawatching was
dominated by auk passage again with at least
2500 birds passing east in less than an hour this
morning. A Shag roosting on the beach with
the Cormorants was an unusual sighting.
The three Firecrests were still in the moat and the Black Redstart was near the seawatch hide again. |
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