18th August

With a brisk north-westerly breeze still well established conditions were far from what we'd like to see at this time year; the day's only redeeming feature was the bright, sunny sky that at least made fieldwork more enjoyable than yesterday. There was a slight upturn in migrant variety at the Bill, where 25 Willow Warblers and 20 Wheatears made up the bulk of the numbers and 4 Tree Pipits and singles of Whinchat, Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher provided a bit of interest; the first presumed migrant Blackcap of the autumn also showed up at Southwell. Variety and numbers changed little at Ferrybridge, where a lone Black-tailed Godwit was the pick of the oddities. At sea a feeding flock of up to 300 Gannets off the Bill - presumably attracted by shoaling mackerel - was of particular note, whilst 88 Manx Shearwaters and an Arctic Skua also passed by.


Black-tailed Godwit - Ferrybridge, 18th August 2014 © Pete Saunders