flat calm

Much calmer this morning and even less doing as a result, however did get 1 common tern for the year (110) and 2 sooty shearwaters west in 45 minutes.

windy but

Another good south westerly blow dragged several birders out of the woodwork for a session on Galley but unfortunately numbers of good seabirds remained low, with just 1 great shearwater, 15 sooty shearwaters, 6 bonxies, 2 arctic skuas and 5 arctic terns (109) seen from around lunchtime to 7.00 pm.  Good numbers of storm petrels were also recorded.

another day, another wader

A dunlin loitering in the channel at Long Strand this morning was new for the year (108). A cory's shearwater was seen from Galley this morning too, while 2 arctic terns and 2 arctic skuas were seen between 6.00 and 7.30 pm.

picking up...a bit

A good south westerly blow this morning produced better seawatching, although it was still fairly slow, with 3 great shearwaters, 1 balearic shearwater, 13 sooty shearwaters, 15 common scoter and several storm petrels between 6.00 and 9.30 am.  A common sandpiper was at Long Strand this morning. Another hour seawatching this evening netted 5 more sooty shearwaters and 1 arctic skua.

nuffin but puffins

A seawatch this morning scored only 9 puffins - ho hum.

where are all the big shears?

Another quiet night on the Galley - gave it an hour with a reasonable SW blowing, but still little sign of any movement, with just 1 immature arctic skua, a distant sooty shearwater and 3 storm petrels west.

seawatching with no scope

Forgot to take my scope up to Galley tonight, but luckily the single balearic shearwater (107) that went by was well within bins range, in with the stream of manx shearwaters. Didn't look like there was much happening further out, but who knows what I missed? 

not much

Gave it a lash this afternoon in a strong southerly, but didn't get much rewards - just 3 bonxies, c. 10 storm petrels and a few puffins was it, plus the usual stream of manx shearwaters.

sooty on the starboard bow

Little doing past Galley this evening, despite a reasonable south-westerly. One sooty shearwater was the best (106), with 8 puffins and a heap of manx shearwaters all going west.

wader movement

The first sign of wader movement on the patch today, with 1 common sandpiper on the banks of the lake (105). There were 4 at White's Marsh this morning too.

sab's

Much quieter off Galley this morning despite a good SW blow, and getting up there a whole hour earlier! It made the difference though, with tystie and sabine's gull both in the patch year list bag by 6.20 (104). We stuck it out till 8.00 am but had little else to show for it, except 2 bonxies and a handful of puffins.

A pectoral sandpiper was at Clogheen Marsh mid-morning.

sat'day seawatch

The first hour was the best this morning (not that I made it!), with 44 cory's shearwater, 1 great shearwater, 1 sooty shearwater, 1 bonxie, 1 arctic skua and 1 adult sabine's gull. Things had slowed down by the time I arrived, but still managed c. 10 cory's shearwaters, 1 great shearwater (102), and a 'commic' tern that slipped through, nearly unseen - one that got away for the year, but hopefully only temporarily.

a bit more like it....

A decent wee south-westerly blow this evening so headed out to Galley, and was duly rewarded with a fine cory's shearwater, more or less the first bird in the scope (101)! A steady trickle of them past over the next hour and a half, with a wee rush towards the end, resulting in a final tally of 37, plus 1 storm petrel and 2 puffins. Not a bad start to the seawatch season - there'll be a few folk out first thing I'd say.

a strange day....

Lets just say that 2 collared doves on patch on the way to kerry (to dip on the caspo tern there, or not there, as it turned out) were the best things I saw today. Its definately time to give up twitching!