Picked up Bazzo at 5.30am today (typical - my first day off in 157 years of journalism and I end up getting up even earlier than usual), and tazzed down to the north side of Formby Point for a seawatch from 6am to 10.15am.
A steady stream of birds, but none of the hoped-for Storm Petrels (one was off Leasowe this morning and another one skittered past the north wales coast).
At least it didn't rain, and with force 5-6 westerlies, the Manx Shearwaters cruising past over the waves were a joy - unlike the sandblast facial that is a feature peculiar to seawatching here.
Virtually all birds were heading south, tally follows:
Gannet 281 south
Manx Shearwater 221 south, 1 north (there's always one!)
Fulmar 12 south
Kittiwake 48 south
Great Crested Grebe 1 south
Arctic Tern 7 south
Common Tern 16 south
Common Scoter 33 south
Cormorant 4
Shelduck 4
Guillemot 11 south
LBB 50 south
Herring Gull 2
BHGull 2
Nothing startling, but the birds never stopped moving through the whole time - as any Formby Point regular will know, long hours staring at a completely empty sea can be a frustratingly frequent occurence here - but that's seawatching.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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