In the pink...

Sedge Warbler juveniles.

Is it my imagination or are there a lot of young warblers around this year? Most spots this morning held a good selection, in particular the Warkworth Gut top car park where there were 5+ Chiffchaff, 1+ Willow Warbler, 5+ Blackcap, 3+ Whitethroat and 1 Sedge Warbler. Overhead, 2 Yellow Wagtails flew south and a Wheatear seemed to drop out of the sky from nowhere.

Over in the bay, a dark phase Arctic Skua stalked along N and a Whimbrel trilled going south.

Its years since my first ever Surf Scoter was at Birling Carrs, just to the north of Warkworth and I can count on one hand the times I have been there since, but today we gave it a look.

In a proper stubble field (one with weed seeds) we came across a large flock of small birds with maybe 500+ individuals comprising of mostly Linnets but with good numbers of Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Skylarks too. Its nice to see this again when we are old enough to remember when every cut corn field was like this, not so long ago. Later next month this might be worth checking for Lap Bunts, providing its not ploughed in by then.

By the time we got to the beach, the sun was out and things were warming up nicely. there was a large tern roost on the one flat rock that merited a closer look. In there, were 80+ Sandwich, a few Common and Arctic and 2+ Roseate Terns including a nice very pink adult. I thought this would have faded by now?

A Med Gull here looked like an adult, but might have been second winter, as I didnt get to see the primaries at all...  

A nice pink adult Roseate Tern in the flock..

...and again this time it is far left, three down from the top.

Mediterranean Gull

Birling Carrs