A MEGA alert had already broke! FEA'S PETREL north past Flamborough Head. Maybe one day? My pal Haydn was "up North" at his Fiance's. So he shot to Whitburn...great strategy. The bird was seen N past Filey. Cleveland 11.30...then things went quiet. He then had to head South for the Shrike.
Petrel passes Whitburn at 2.23...and lingers. His quote was..."PAINFUL"!!!
A definite hindsight scenario. He deserved better. Many NE Birders must have added a lifer today. Something to consider next time...maybe. At least I'm on the coast. North past Spurn...South past Flamborough? Haydn reckons he could reach Whitburn in 70 minutes from York. Extreme BUT...worth a try!
After lunch I tried for the Stonechat that Gavin had texted me about. He'd seen it along the "runnel". This is a stream/ditch at the north end of the village that runs to the sea. Has definite potential...like many other areas!?
In no time at all I was looking at not just one but two Stonechats (H.96)...
Always good value. I like them because they're easy to see!
I gave Haydn a ring to see how he was going on at Spurn. He'd connected with the Shrike but no luck with the OBP (Olive-backed Pipit). Unfortunately..and not surprisingly the bird had been constantly disturbed and had basically cleared off!
He joined me at the runnel and we decided to have a seawatch. Maybe he could find me a Shearwater...he's younger than me! Our vantage point was quite low and the waves were quite high which made viewing difficult...exhilarating though. Large amounts of Little Gulls (H.97) present, seeming to be almost playing in the surf. Dark underwings very obvious despite the spray. We must have seen at least 200. We fixed our gaze on the distant large buoy as a reference point.
Eventually...we managed 2 Sooty Shearwaters (P.148, H.98) and 6 Manx (P.149, H.99). Great to see him, if only for a short time. We agreed to meet again soon...hopefully very soon...at the next BIG ONE!
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