First Great Shear, Long-tail & Sab's: Bridges of Ross 22nd August 2012

Time: 06:30-11:30 & 13:00-19:55

Weather: F3-5 W, largely dry, bright & warm but some showers (am). F2-3 SW, sunny, warm & hazy (pm).

Observer(s): Niall T. Keogh, Alan Clewes, Dan Pointon, Brian Porter, Paul Flint, Cory Flint, Brian Finnegan, Tom Tarpey, Jan Nordblad et al.

Great Shearwater: 2

Sooty Shearwater: 56

Manx Shearwater: 5,000+

Fulmar: 1,300+

Leach’s Petrel: 1

Storm Petrel: 90+

Great Northern Diver: 1 summer plumage

Red-throated Diver: 1 summer plumage

Great Skua (Bonxie): 48

Pomarine Skua: 5 (subadult pale phases)

Arctic Skua: 32

Long-tailed Skua: 1 adult @ 09:35 (Alan Clewes)

Kittiwake: 82 incl. 22 juvs.

Sabine’s Gull: 1 adult & 2 juvs.

Sandwich Tern: 13

Arctic Tern: 33

Puffin: 5

Black-headed Gull: 22

Merlin: 1

Wheatear: 1

Common Seal: 1 close offshore for much of the day.

Bottlenose Dolphin: 8+ in the evening.

Ocean Sunfish: 1

Slow at dawn for the most part save for lots of Bonxies ploughing through like flying bears! Kicked off from 8am until 10am when the majority of Manxies & Fulmars went through along with plenty of skuas, a Great Shear, the 3 Sab's & the Long-tailed Skua (all first sightings of the season from BoR).

Dead in the afternoon & evening, then out of nowhere a Great Shear popped up & drifted off as lazy as anything not long before we finished up for the evening.

Back by popular demand...Dan Pointon!