With the wind blowing strong from the SW again this morning it was back to seawatching. Mrs B was in for root canal work at the dentist though, so I dodged about a bit between taxi and husbandly duties grabbing three short session and some decent birds.
First stop with Mrs B was a half hour session at Kattvik. This totally persuaded me that seabirds were moving with gannet (20) and kittiwake (2) past. But it was better for late waders with the common sandpiper still in residence and a greenshank over south calling. The black redstart was still hopping about on the bank of seaweed here too.
Delivering Mrs B to her doom I spent the next hour-and-a-half sitting at Båstad, enjoying the best seawatching of the day. Plenty of gannets here too with 67 logged west, just one kittiwake though. A superb close flock of 100+ scaup swept past - the Laholmsbuktens wintering flock doing a flyby. Not one but three sooty shearwaters appeared, one flying close by for a season's best view. Other highlights included; Slavonian grebe (1), great skua (3), little gull (1K) and little auk (1). Then it was time to pick up a barely human Mrs B and go get some lunch.
In the afternoon I managed two-and-a-half hours at Ripagården, where it was more of the same really with Slavonian grebe (1), gannet (49), nine great skuas (huge) and two more little auks. Not a bad session but no year-ticks for me.
Late on Number 2 and I headed up the hill off-patch at Tockarp for some walking, bumping into yet another great grey shrike.
More seawatching tomorrow...
You're having an excellent autumn, Phil. Some great seabirds and all those shrikes and pallid harriers! Must be a mega around the corner for you.. maybe an Olive-backed Pipit in the garden or a Buff-bellied Pipit on the beach?
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