Rain starting about an hour after dawn with the wind quickly increasing to a SSW gale. Hard work and tedious in these conditions. Going south 54 Kitts, 17 Pintail, 15 Knot, 7 Dunlin, 6 Brent, 4 Teal, 4 Red-throated Diver, 3 Shelduck, 3 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Common Scoter, 2 Guillemot, 2 Bonxie & 1 Oyk plus going north 3 Common Scoter & a Fulmar. A Bonxie loitering offshore eventually headed north. Worth a mention is a steady increase over recent days in the number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls which is indicative of the approach of spring. A single Porpoise was noted offshore but in a choppy sea they are not easy to see. Finally 5 Snow Bunting were in the old aggregate yard.
