06:15-17:45 (11.5 hrs) seawatch. Mark D, Del and Bill MacD also in attendance for some of it. SE gale, a wet start; eased slightly, drying out by lunchtime, backing ESE. Attempted to omit 'local' birds from counts. All flew S.
7482 Manx Shearwater (max 3300+ 08:30-09:30), 'thousands' of auks (mostly Guillemot; max 427 in 1/2 hr), 4 Puffin, 668 Fulmar, 486 Gannet, 231 Kittiwake, 90 Sandwich Tern, 27+ Common/ 'commic' Terns, plus 12 Arctic Tern; 33 Bonxie, 8 Pomarine Skua (incl flock of 5 at c.14;10), 4 Arctic Skua, 23 Great Northern Diver (some on sea), 1 Black-throated Diver, 21 Storm-petrel, 3 Common Scoter.
5 Whimbrel, 2 Purple Sandpiper; 1 fs Med Gull (N), 1 fs Common Gull, 1 fs Little Gull, 5 LBbG.
Light to moderate passage of Swift all day, best from late a.m. through lunchtime when at 12:30 an ALPINE SWIFT flew low to the sea with Swifts, disappeared into a trough all too soon, possibly heading N; not seen again. Only 2 Swallow in off.
A Whinchat in weeds near seawatching point, Wheatear and a Cuckoo (pers Martin Lees) in the quarry.
Exminster Marshes
The s.p. Black Tern was still hawking flooded fields viewed S from Gisson's Lane bridge at dusk.
