Seawatching at Cley this evening!

Luckily I was on the early shift this morning, which mean't I finished earlier than normal. The roads around where I live were being re-tarmaced and I was informed that I could not re-park my car until after 7pm this evening, so I had packed my birding gear in the car this morning and went birding straight from work. I had no intention of going to Cley this evening, but after finding out it was a north, west wind and that the pager said that someone had had a 'probable Great Shearwater' this morning at Cley, mean't I just couldn't resist! I arrived at Coastguards, Cley at 5pm. Obviously there were a few birders there already and Eddie arrived too shortly after me. Loads of gannets going past, several red-throated divers, a bonxie, 7 arctic skuas, guillemots, auk sp. and later on a ton of sandwich terns going west. Everyone left when it all tailed off and I was left by myself. A squall appeared east with black skies and this brought tons of birds going west including a single Arctic Skua close, a continuous stream of sandwich terns, herring gulls, great black-backed gulls and black headed gulls. There were so many birds hurtling through at this point and it all looked potentially exciting! I photographed what I swore was a juv. Black Tern and another man I spoke who had just arrived said he thought it was too when he looked at my camera. Phoned Eddie and he kindly met up with me after he had been to the hides to look at my picture – even Eddie's first thoughts were black tern, but after studying the pictures before and after the best one and to be fair none of them were brilliant, he decided it was a common tern, with very dark wings – interesting bird though. Several swallows flying around Coastguards.

Main Highlights in Norfolk Today
Probable Great Shearwater, Pom. Skua, 2 Long-tailed Skuas, Cley
Sabine's Gull, Sheringham
Pectoral Sandpiper, Sheringham
Sooty Shearwater at East Runton and Hemsby

PICTURES TO BE ADDED