Leach’s Storm-petrel (Dan Lombard)
The petrel catching season got off to a flying start on 23rd, with a preliminary test session resulting in the trapping of a Leach’s Storm-petrel and three (European) Storm-petrels (FBOG ringing team), the latter including ’67’ – a bird which has toured the east coast for ten years and which spent much of last year’s season at Filey! The Leach’s is only the fourth to be ringed at Filey in 30 years.
Other notable sightings over the previous days unfortunately concern mainly belated reports via bird news services, including a Green-winged Teal off the Brigg on 29th and a Nuthatch at Hunmanby Gap on 28th. The Bempton Black-browed Albatross also appears to have been seen in Filey Bay (per MR) (despite apparent time anomalies which we’re trying to straighten out) on its way north on 28th.
Common Scoters have been on the move and in the bay in good numbers, with 535 south on 29th, 175 south (a.m) and 570 north (p.m.) on 28th and 1998 north on 27th. Manxies are on the move in small numbers every day, with a peak so far of 14 on 24th, while skuas are starting to trickle through, with the first Arctics on 27th (three south) and subsequent ones and twos, as well as odd Bonxies.