Cley Sea-watch

With strong westerly winds and squally showers, myself and Tom decided on a spur of the moment sea-watch at Cley. Dropping Michelle and Sam of at Holt, we arrived in the rain at 2:30pm, and watched for four hours. The first two hours were extremely dull, with no birds of any note at all. It then livened up a bit and we finished the day with the following total of birds actually over or off the sea: Red-throated Diver - two summer plumaged birds (possibly same individual) close offshore. Gannet - many. Common Scoter? - a flock of seven ducks west. Cormorant - many. Oystercatcher - many. Grey Plover - one west. Knot x c.18. Bar-tailed Godwit x 12 Whimbrel. Curlew/Whimbrel x 2 Redshank x 12 Greenshank x 4 west. Turnstone - many. Arctic Skua x 8 (5 dark, 3 pale), including one pale bird swimming close offshore. Pomarine Skua x 2 (dark), one close in west, the other east. Kittiwake - west. Black-headed Gull - many. Common Gull x 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull - many. Herring Gull - many. Greater Black-backed Gull - many. Common Tern - many. Sandwich Tern - many. Gull-billed Tern? - a very good candidate flew west at c.5pm! Guillemot - 35 (plus several unidentified Auks.) Feral Pigeon x 2 together, inland, from way off shore! Swift x 2 Swallow x 8 Pied Wagtail x 2 Common Seal