With all these winds I decided to step up the seawatching today. I tried an hour off Cliad early afternoon with some success. An adult Pomarine Skua was the highlight but there were also five Arctic Skuas harrassing a migrating flock of 50+ "Commic" Terns.
This evening was much more rewarding. The first hour (1630-1730) saw two juvenile Long-tailed Skuas amongst a flock of over 300 Kittiwakes, Gannets moving SW at 15 birds per minute, Manx Shearwaters moving NE at 20 birds per minute and Fulmars at 10 birds per minute. Amongst the Manxies were 6 Sooty Shearwaters and one Balearic Shearwater. The second hour was even better with totals of 7 Leach's Petrels, 4 Storm Petrels, 1100 Fulmars, 600+ Gannets, 300+ Kittiwakes, 4000 Manx Shearwaters, 22 Sooties, another Balearic, a probable Great Shearwater, 11 Arctic Skuas and 34 Bonxies.
In summary then, the two hour session from 1630-1830 produced estimates of 1500 Gannets, 800 Kittiwakes, 1700 Fulmars, 5200 Manx Shearwaters, 28 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 1 probable Great Shearwater, 7 Leach's Petrels, 4 Storm Petrels, 2 Long-tailed Skuas, 11 Arctic Skuas and 34 Bonxies.
This evening was much more rewarding. The first hour (1630-1730) saw two juvenile Long-tailed Skuas amongst a flock of over 300 Kittiwakes, Gannets moving SW at 15 birds per minute, Manx Shearwaters moving NE at 20 birds per minute and Fulmars at 10 birds per minute. Amongst the Manxies were 6 Sooty Shearwaters and one Balearic Shearwater. The second hour was even better with totals of 7 Leach's Petrels, 4 Storm Petrels, 1100 Fulmars, 600+ Gannets, 300+ Kittiwakes, 4000 Manx Shearwaters, 22 Sooties, another Balearic, a probable Great Shearwater, 11 Arctic Skuas and 34 Bonxies.
In summary then, the two hour session from 1630-1830 produced estimates of 1500 Gannets, 800 Kittiwakes, 1700 Fulmars, 5200 Manx Shearwaters, 28 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 1 probable Great Shearwater, 7 Leach's Petrels, 4 Storm Petrels, 2 Long-tailed Skuas, 11 Arctic Skuas and 34 Bonxies.
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