Seawatching

At Flamborough Head. All photos taken on the day within 25m of my folding chair - for which I was very grateful. Barry drove us there and back and I had a relaxing day recovering after a rather frightening fall in the garden the day before. Any way the day went well: three year ticks in the form of manx and sooty shearwaters and arctic skua. Also seen were great skua [bonxie] and common scoters - along with other common seabirds.

Sea Carrot daucus carota ssp gummifer A form of daucus carota [wild carrot] covered in soldier beetles.

I took quite a lot of photos of great black-backed gulls.

Great Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull

The skuas and shearwaters were too distant for the camera. A heavy crop or two captured the scoters, cormorants and the gannets out in the bay.

Common Scoter Cormorant Gannet Fulmars came closer...

Fulmar ...and puffins could be seen below us on the water.

Puffins The day cooled a little. Some of the other birders didn't just have chairs, they had very smart sport-brellas. £50 from Amazon apparently.

It seems to my statistically inexpert eye that the kittiwakes have had a good year. There are many pretty juveniles about.

Kittiwake juv Kittiwakes Just below us a pair of herring gulls were feeding young. Mum [or dad] is just flying in here.

Herring Gull Finally I spotted to our right a linnet on the cliff top singing. A long way off from the comfort of my chair but here he is - last shot of the day.

Linnet 249 UK; Yorkshire 120