On drawing the curtains a juvenile Glaucous Gull was seen flying past heading for Norwick. A drop in temperatures overnight combined with a strong northerly wind made seawatching from Lamba Ness an attractive option. Shortly after arriving a Little Auk flew north and another was seen later being the highlight of the morning. Also seen flying north were several thousand Fulmars including 6 blue Fulmars, c.100 Kittiwakes, an adult Glaucous Gull, a juvenile Iceland Gull, c.40 Common Guillemots and a Black Guillemot. A couple of Dolphins also surfaced very briefly the once but it all happened too quickly for me to see any markings. Brydon then kindly let me know that he had seen a good-sized flock of Redpolls in Baltasound that included the Coue's Arctic Redpoll that he originally found on Boxing Day, but unfortunately, they'd disappeared by the time we took a look for them. I then returned to Lamba Ness this afternoon, where on the way, a flock of 20 Redwings along Holsens Road was perhaps the first hint I've seen that birds have fled the now much colder Scandinavia. The seawatch was quieter this afternoon, although a blue Fulmar and a 3w Glaucous Gull flew north.
Stormy seas at Lamba Ness
contaminated? Fulmar passing Lamba Ness
blue Fulmar passing Lamba Ness
Little Auk and Fulmar passing Lamba Ness
a terrible shot but it shows just how small Little Auks can appear
Little Auk passing Lamba Ness
Winter-plumaged Common Guillemots passing Lamba Ness
Third-winter Glaucous Gull passing Lamba Ness
