6:00am - 7:50am
I was up early this morning to meet my good friend Matt Pringle from Swindon for a Sea Watch at The Bill. I'm glad we did an early start as the gale force wind later in the morning put paid to any decent birds off the Bill.
I arrived a little earlier than Matt and as I parked up a Whinchat flew across the car park. A good start.
As I carried on down towards the Lighthouse, I did think about walking down to the Obelisk but it was almost impossible to stand-up there so it was back to Lighthouse where I met another birder called John. It was the sensible thing to do as we stood in lee of the wind at the end of the wall of the Lighthouse grounds.
From the off there were good numbers of Manx Shearwaters and John & I were lucky enough to spot 2 Arctic Skuas harassing a Gannet. A little later a few Balearic's passed through, as did a solitary Common Scoter which headed east.
A short time later Matt arrived and more Manx and Balearic's were seen, along with dozens of Kittiwakes, Gannets and the odd Fulmar or two.
Gannets on the high seas.
A lovely sight in the sun.
When there weren't any other sea birds to be seen.........
.......you could always rely on a Gannet or two to pass through.
A Manx Shearwater.......
......there were a few close in, but a majority of them were far out to sea.
The "white horses" heading into Weymouth Bay.
On the way out of the car park this Raven was having difficulty standing up.
8:10 - 8:50
Having spent 2 hours sea watching Matt and I decided to head down to the Fleet to see what was about. We weren't disappointed as there were dozens of small waders about. After an hour spent here we saw 35 Dunlin. 43 Ringed Plover, 8 Sanderlings and 1 Turnstone.
Other birds here were 20+ Mediterranean Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls. A Little Egret was on the far bank up against Chesil Beach and there were dozens of Starlings here along with a few Pied Wagtails and Linnets.
A Great Black-backed Gull on the mud flats at The Fleet.
An adult Herring Gull feeds its youngster.
9:10am - 10:00am
After our quick trip to The Fleet it was back to The Bill where the wind had really picked up and the sea was just a mass of white as the waves were crashing into each other.
Very few birds were seen with just 2 Manx Shearwaters, another Arctic Skua, a handful of Gannets and 3 Oystercatchers.
As I was leaving a Stonechat flew across the road close to the Observatory.
Back at The Bill and a Cormorant feeds close in.
The sea looks so tranquil to the east....
.....however off the point the sea is very choppy as a Gannet passes through.
Twenty plus birders take shelter with Matt at the back. As one left so we all moved down the line.
Birds Recorded at The Bill by myself were: Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Gannets, Cormorant, 3 Arctic Skuas, 3 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Kittiwakes, 1 Common Scoter, Swallow, Pied Wagtail, Stonechat, 1 Whinchat, 2 Carrion Crow and 1 Raven.