After the rain...

Today was much better after 24 hours of very heavy rain. This morning was dull with some light showers but this afternoon was warm with sunny spells.

I had an hour and a half seawatch this morning from the coast path near home. I find it strange to pick up the scope and deckchair after seawatching and instead of putting them in the car, I can just walk the few hundred yards back home.

Totals seen as follows-

9.30am - 11am -

Tufted Duck 1 female with a flock of auks N.
Common Scoter 45 N and 7 S
Red breasted Merganser 1 ec male N
Cormorant 6 N
Gannet 1200 per hour N ( 22 in 1 minute)
Fulmar 15 per hour N
Manx Shearwater 20 N
Kittiwake 500 per hour N
Little Gull 2 ad summer N
Puffin 35 N
Bonxie 6 N including a group of 4
Arctic Tern 74 N
Common Tern 4 N
Roseate Tern 4 ad N
Sandwich Tern 13 N
Knot 50 N in one flock. Too quick to get an accurate count.
Sanderling 7 N
Whimbrel 1 N

A Porpoise was seen close in for a few minutes.

This evening at 6pm we had a visit to our friends house to feed their cat. They live on the other side of Howick Estate. On arrival a Barn Owl flushed from the top of a telegraph pole and vanished into the wood. Later 5 Crossbills flew N low over head calling constantly.

Back home, at 7.30pm our Barn Owl was hunting out the back field. In the bright sunshine it looked really good. These images above were taken from inside our kitchen, through the window. After the prolonged heavy rain these birds will be hungry now...