This morning we headed for Cley, with the forecast for moderate to brisk North-northeast winds we were hoping there may be a chance of some decent passage movement. We arrived at Cley Beach car park to find around thirty other birders all had similar ideas. We joined their ranks and began scanning the sea.
Gannets and kittiwakes were present in large numbers. The Gannets must have located a large shoal of fish as they were constantly diving into the same area of sea. Several Red-throated Divers were moving through and three were seen resting on the sea. Small numbers of Auks (mainly Guillemots with the occasional Razorbill ) were seen flying East and numerous groups of Common Scoters flew West.
As the clouds darkened and the wind picked up the first Pomarine Skua appeared. This would prove to be the first of twenty-seven poms seen during our four-hour session. Also seen were at least four Arctic and seven Great Skuas. Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser, and three Velvet Scoters were also seen along with a Great Northern Diver.
As we set off this morning we had hoped for some Little Auk sightings and two were spotted heading West towards us. They were close to the shoreline, but even at close range they still proved difficult to find among the crashing waves. Luckily as they moved out of the surf I managed to pick them up.
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