Now that's what I call seawatching

Common Scoter trying to get by me ....

That was gooooooood. Three hours on the Kettle from 16:25 - couldn't go this morning, had to go to work and then paint the bathroom. But the best comes to he who waits.

A superb, sparkling, wonderful (reasonably close) adult Roseate Tern went west at 18:20. I went on to high power to check out a distant Manx and the Rosy just flew into the view, full tail streamers the business. They always amaze, how does it fly? And just why? There was a juvvy Black Tern also along with 247 Arctic and Common Terns - the split was about 50:50, they were further out on the whole this evening but of close birds nearly all were Arctic - especially the ones going east - most went west into the presumed roost somewhere in the bay. Distant birds in gangs are always challenging and in the sometimes poor light, or when I got to looking too far west they become impossible. Sadly there do seem to be relatively few juvs. 104 Sarnies also went west towards the roost (there were only 31 yesterday).

The species mix this evening was just excellent - 13 Arctic Skuas, 3 Bonxies and a Pom (no skuas yesterday). 6 Soots, 15 Manx, 3 Red-throated Divers, 1 Teal, 1 Pintail, 17 Wigeon, 1 Eider, 7 Common Scoter (including the one above swimming west). 1 Redshank called early on (not frequent here) but a flock of 26 west was exceptional, also, 10 Golden Plover and 1 Whimbrel west, about 600 Gannets (from sample counts and equal each way), about 450 Kitts mostly west. So a good do.

Oh, and there was a Marsh Tit in the garden this morning, that's the first for more than a year I think.