3rd October 2017

A memorable and record-breaking day here in Filey, with a minimum of 5158 Pink-footed Geese counted, in upwards of 60 skeins, between dawn and dusk – more than one percent of the global population! With a weather system assisting passage for the birds hitherto grounded in Iceland, counters positioned at Reighton Sands and Hunmanby Gap tag-teamed through the day and were able to keep up almost constant coverage from dawn to dusk. 

Additional landbound visible migration was reasonably modest (although with a wide variety of species), the best of the rest being the season’s first Whooper Swans south, the season’s first Twite south, three Common Buzzards south (in addition to local birds), and an impressive 73 Red Admirals south.