It was a wet and very windy weekend so, naturally, I headed to the coast to try and connect with some seabirds. I arrived late Saturday afternoon to the above sight and immediately spotted an adult Gannet, with three Little Gulls putting on a wonderful show as they foraged alongside the pier.
Around 100 Brent Geese passed by and a Guillemot on the sea was a nice bonus. With lots of skuas, shearwaters and even a couple of Storm Petrels reported along the coast, I was optimistic Sunday would be just as good and was in position first thing. The first hour, however, I only managed to find a couple of Sandwich Terns and a group of 12 Shelduck. The wind had shifted slightly and there was hardly any migration at all, so I gave up and went down to Ostend to twitch the juvenile Shag in the harbour, which was conveniently sitting right next to an immature Cormorant for comparison. From the harbour wall, I then spotted a very dark long-billed bird out on the sea which had me perplexed for the longest time until I worked out it was a juvenile Gannet.
This rather ragged, adult Kittiwake didn't look too healthy, allowing people to get very close, while a calling Whimbrel migrated over together with a Bar-tailed Godwit. My plan was to then have a rest, until I noticed the reports of a Long-tailed Skua on Heist beach, so I rushed up there and got great views of my first in Belgium. I have only seen them on their breeding grounds in Norway and Finland before, plus one wayward individual on Lake Geneva!
This morning was a bit better in terms of migration, with 3 more skuas I tentatively id'd as 1 Pomarine and 2 Arctics, several Mediterranean Gull and lots of Common Gulls passing by, plus a Razorbill on the sea making for a nice auk-double. Saturday was by far the best day, though, and I just missed out on the really good stuff by arriving too late but still managed quite a few additions to my year list, which now stands at 199.
