A distinct chill in the air today with the wind going round to the North and the night time minimum dropping below 10c for the first time this autumn. I decided to give seawatching a go so was up at sunrise to haul myself and the dog up to the hide on the NW tip. It was a slow walk into a force 7 wind but a stunning one all the same
sunrise over the Pembrokeshire mainland
These 2 chough had beaten us to it and were busy feeding already – up to 40 have been present over the past couple of weeks (no doubt buoyed by the crane fly bonanza that Lisa blogged about below)
chough feeding on cliff top maritime grassland
North west winds are usually the best direction for seawatching off Ramsey and at this time of year you can hope to see Balearic shearwaters, Sabine’s gull and Leach’s petrel if you are lucky along with several species of skua..........today we saw none of the above! The wind was just east of north by the time we got there and that seemed to put a halt to things. Although we did see the very unusual sight of 2 little egrets out to sea battling against the wind! Not a common species out here they were the first records of the year. It looked like they made it to the North Bishop where they no doubt rested up for a while!
early morning seawatching kit
view from the hide across to the Bishops and Clerks
No boats could land today as the north to north east wind made Ramsey Sound a bit lively and caused quite a swell in our harbour. The forecast looks similar for the next couple of days.
breaking waves on The Horse rock in Ramsey Sound (lifeboat station in background)
I see the first real redwing movements of the autumn occurred around the country today – maybe we will get our first winter thrush records this week? Either way I’m sure I’ll be up at the crack of dawn again in the hope that my seawatching luck improves!
Dewi hoping that we don't have to get up quite so early again tomorrow!