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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Hoylake Bird Observatory (1 Viewer)

Final totals - 1st light to 12:30 then 13:30 to 15:00, bad visibility hampering much of the time. This was frustrating because the brief clear paches were punctuated with groups of Kittiwakes and skuas!


Scoter 266 - westward passage, in addition there were several rafts - so >500 I would guess, Kittiwake 109, steady passage, after the tide mostly frustratingly on the limit of viision (which wasn't very far out much of the time) skua spp 9 including a probable intermediate juvenile long-tailed skua at 09.44 - too far to see any useful plumage to go with the jizz. Arctic Skua 19 mostly before the tide, including a party of 7 and a party of 3. Leach's Petrel 15, with 5 on view when I came back to sea watching after the tide,suggesting I'd probably missed a good few. Guillemot 14, Golden plover 13 in 3 small groups. Wigeon 9, Barnacle Goose 9 along the tide edge - presumably feral birds, but would be an addition to the house list. I'll probably add it when I get to 199 properly. Auk spp 8,Arctic tern 4 Razorbill 3, Sandwich tern 17, Long-tailed Duck 2 west at 8.45, one appeared to be adult male. Razorbill 2, Gannet 2, Common Tern 47 strong passage after the tide, Great crested Grebe 40, PUFFIN 1 west 8.45 close in. Had to lookhard to make sure it wasn't a Little Auk - but it was too long winged. Great Skua, 1 early. Velvet Scoter drake west at 9.30 - on its own rather than associated with the 100s of Common SCoter that were flooding through. Black-tailed godwit 1, Manx Shearwater 1 red-breasted merganser 1 , red-throated diver 1, Sabine's gull 1 juv at10.30 picked up feeding by he3 then flew out out into mist - I didn't see it arrive from the east, so it was either on the sea or came from the west. Little gull 1 juv, Fulmar 1
 
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Perfect conditions for overhead passage this morning. Unfortunately the birds did not agree. 3 Siskins north, 4 Meadow Pipits south and a flock of Chaffinches that I couldn't see were the result of 45mins on the balcony with a cup of tea.

I did however smash the existing Little Egret record (2) with a flock of 5 followed shortly by a flock of 2, all flying NE. There was also a Grey Heron in off a Chiffchaff in the garden and a raptor which I failed to see since it went behind the house (but caused pandemonium in the Starling and Blackbird populations). I'm guessing Merlin or Sparrowhawk.
 
what's the chances of something decent, in the form of skua or petrel from the prom outside your area, as it comes light tomorrow morning,

i'm trying to decide what to do tomorrow as i have a days licence to go out to play
 
Almost none its light Easterlies at the moment - more chance of a Great Grey Shrike or Yellow browed Warbler at Red Rocks! (or at least a big vis mig
movement)

Also the tide will be 2.5 miles out!
 
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After the day before's Pomarine skuas and big Kittiwake movement Iwas quite hopeful that the tsea would be sparkling today. However in two long attempts (one first light and one over the tide) I almost failed to record a seabird. In the end, one Leach's Petrel, two sightings of Arctic Skua and 4 Kittiwakes was the sum of the activity.
 
Vis mig watch 08:00-09:30 - surprisingly good and including some late migrants

Chaffinch 743 logged. Peak passage was between 8 and 8:30 when they were moving at the equivalent of 650 an hour. Brambling 6, Mistle Thrush 6 Snow Bunting 1 W high over calling, appeared to be a male on the amount of white visible in the wings. Meadow PIpit 11, Skylark 3, Reed Bunting 4, Sparrowhawk 1 Swallow 1 Greenfinch 20, Goldfinch 135, TREE PIPIT 1, Grey Wagtail 1,Snipe 1, Siskin 2.

Snow bunting, Snipe and Yellowhammer were new for the year 148
 
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A seawatch from a couple of hours before the tide produced 2 Bonxies, 175 Kittiwakes , 32 Gannet, 5 Razorbills, 40 Guillemots, 2 Little Gulls, 19 Red-throated Divers 7 Scaup and a Drake Pochard, the latter being new for the year (149)

Also conceivably new for the year/county was a smallish and very white-looking tern spp which passed west behind the buoys
 
I had an hour or so staring at a tumultuous sea this morning, hoping for a Little Auk. Kittiwakes were passing in good numbers (100/hour) and there were 5 Fulmars and 17 Gannet many GC Grebes (80+ in flight). One flock of 23 Pintail flew North

The highlight was a petrel spp, heading east and hence hard to identify, but I saw nothing to point away from the likely suspect, Leach's

The the wind switched off!
 
Had a Great Skua swallowing whole something small rotund and black and white this morning. B*****R

Its actually too windy to seawatch. The tide came in when it wasn't supposed to and hasn't got round to going out yet!
 
3-4 Bonxies hanging about and eating dead black and white things.... though only the first one didn't need disembowelling first. Kittiwakes still moving at sea, but its still too windy seawatch properly. The rough sea mean't that the Cormorants (as well as a huge gull roost) were out on the beach.

773 Cormorants roosting on the clicker - rather than more than 400 that I'd have estimated.

Fancy being at sea in this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzmgQC487Q8
 
3-4 Bonxies hanging about and eating dead black and white things.... though only the first one didn't need disembowelling first. Kittiwakes still moving at sea, but its still too windy seawatch properly. The rough sea mean't that the Cormorants (as well as a huge gull roost) were out on the beach.

773 Cormorants roosting on the clicker - rather than more than 400 that I'd have estimated.

Fancy being at sea in this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzmgQC487Q8

Looks similar to the big blow a couple of weekends back when I estimated 7m waves looking out to sea from Red Rocks. Were the Skuas on the beach then?

CB
 
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