Dungeness - mild, sunny, gale force SW - The widely forecast low pressure system off the Atlantic delivered strong to gale-force winds overnight, along with rain and hail rattling the windows around the cottage and causing the chimneys to make a ghostly sound similar to the playing of pan-pipes! The wind continued throughout the day whipping up the Channel into a foaming mass of white horses and spume and shaking the seawatch hide during my two hour sit from 1000 -1200 hrs. An irregular trickle of mainly westbound seabirds made light of the sea state, comprising mostly Gannets along with a few Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Sandwich Terns and auks, plus 40 Common Scoters east. The highlight of the watch, also heading west, was a Great Northern Diver and 16 Manx Shearwaters, two of which passed inside the cardinal buoy. Many more Manxies were recorded before I arrived: full details of which will appear on the Trektellen website (per MC).
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