The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Yesterday ( 24th ) 2hrs seawatching at Chapel Pt almost sent me to sleep.

What a difference a day makes - today( 25th ) from 15:00 - 18:30 there was never a dull moment.

Gannet - 70+ passing all the time - mostly sub adult
Common Scoter - 21 - 11 ad male 10 female types no white/pale bellies
Oystercatcher - 27 several small groups
Knot - 18
Dunlin - 11
Whimbrel - 16 and 31
Redshank - 4
Pomarine Skua - 2 dp birds together then 2 pp and a dp together - the pp birds had very prominent breast bands. All ads
Arctic Skua - 40+ - mainly dp birds and individuals present all the time harrying the Terns. Many very close in - eye contact!
LBB Gull - 12
Little Gull - 3 - 2nd cal year
Kittiwake - 14 - passing in 1's and 2's
Samdwich Tern - several hundred - passing constantly and stopping to fish off the point
Common Tern - 22
Arctic Tern - 3
Commic Tern - 3
Guillemot - 17 present on the sea resting and fishing very close in - I have never seen so many so close here. 1 juv
Razorbill - 1 ad with a small juv with the Guillemots

The local fishermen tell me that there are unusually high numbers of Whitebait at the moment. Certainly the Terns were catching plenty of fish.

Sounds like a very interesting afternoon Ed. - wish I had been there !

Roy.

I couldn't resist having another look at the sea today as the weather conditions were pretty much as yesterday. However, much more rain developed and I was watching from under my brolly most of the time and because of the wet I couldn't write easily so some figures rounded of.

From 11:30 to 15:00 at Chapel Point
Fulmar - 1
Gannet - 60+ - 80% pianos
Knot - 7, 11, 8
whimbrel - 1, 4
Redshank - 6
Turnstone - 2,7,3,11,8 - some passage today
Arctic Skua - 26 - 16 dp, 10 pp
LBB gull - 6
Kittiwake - 1,1,1
Sandwich Tern - 200 + - very few juvs
Common Tern - 250+ - big increase from yesterday, passing all the time - all adults
Arctic Tern - 15 ads -
Commic Tern - 20+
Guillemot - 11 on sea around point
Razorbill - 1 on sea

There were plenty of small fish present again and many Terns and Gannets stopped off for a feed.

Not Lincs I know but over the 25th and 26th I spent about 16 hours sea-watching at Spurn. Much the same species but far fewer skuas, and no Poms at all. Excellent wader passage on the 25th included 130+ Whimbrel.
A Great White Egret flew south that aternoon and was watched past the Point heading towards Donna Nook area. The 26th was far quieter.

Steve

Had a couple of hours looking at the sea tonight from 18:00 - 20:00. Not alot about and interestingly nothing catching fish - local fishermen catching nothing all day either.

Only a few Gannets, Arctic Skuas,Sandwich and Common Terns passing but there was a steady passage of Arctic Terns - 31 passed S. Also, for the first time Little Terns were passing - 19 S.
The colour ringed Med Gull was also present but couldn't read the inscription.

Have spent a few hours over the past few evenings on the Theddlethorpe
beach, c 2500 mixed gulls coming in to roost along with c 300 terns,
inc common and arctic, first kittiwakes on mon evening, steady passage of waders but few skuas seen. John.

3 Artic Skuas over beach at Saltfleet Haven this morning.
geoff