October 6th

Matt spent a profitable eight hours seawatching at Reculver today and I joined him this morning and after lunch for a total of five hours with Richard Collins and John Cantelo each having an hour or two this morning. Most birds were flying W and we counted 8 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Merlin in off the sea as it was getting light, 9 Red-throated Divers, 4 large auks, 100 Sandwich Terns, 154 Gannets, 203 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 2 Common Terns, 2 Little Egrets, 51 Razorbills, 2 Rock Pipits, 3 Grey Herons, 8 Arctic Skuas, 2 Arctic Terns, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Swallows in off, 1 Little Tern, 243 Wigeon, 71 Common Scoter, 15 Guillemots, 1 Curlew, 3 Great Skuas, 16 Teal, 1 Peregrine, 27 Dunlin, 1 Gadwall, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Pintail, 1 Snipe, 2 Red-breasted Margansers, 2 Grey Plover, 1 Manx Shearwater, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull and 1 Grey Phalarope (185th).