Fun, fun, fun at Goldcliff Point today. Got all the gear on, clambered out to the point, got covered in spray, backed off a bit and then proceeded to thank one's stars as several waves broke on the west side of the point and doused my vacated position in swash (it was literally pouring out of the garden and over the sea-wall in a frothy torrent). Amongst all this, and in between frequent cleaning of optics, four Storm Petrel, six Manx Shearwater, nine Fulmar, one first-summer Gannet, one Kittiwake, one Grey Plover and seven Sanderling flew to or fro (or both); and another 11 Sanderling were on the beach. The estuary was shrouded in murk throughout, so it's not exactly surprising I missed an awful lot of stuff going up the main channel which, naturally enough, then went on to cavort shamelessly for the Severnsiders.
Fulmar, the nearest we've got to an albatross, squint a bit and they're every bit as lovely. Actually, squint a lot.
A Fulmar display team/composite image, us Bristol Channel/Severn estuary watchers generally only see birds pulling these big arcs in the windiest conditions. According to Aunty Beeb we had "gusts reaching a good 60 mph" today.
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