No football again due to flooding, so I decided to go to the coast. Scarborough Harbour was my first stop, but no divers in the harbour or bay. So Filey was my next stop.
This female snow bunting was on her own at the Brigg end of Carr Naze. From the top I could see a great northern diver in the bay, two ticks. I then walked back towards the car park and followed the path along the coast. Looking out to sea I saw fulmars and gannets, two more year ticks. I joined another birder and we scanned a stubble field. A flock of snow buntings would occasionally fly about, and the chap said he could hear a lapland bunting calling. I found it difficult to see the bird as I was looking into the sun. A peregrine flew over and started to chase the flock, it singled out one bird, but I did not see if it managed to catch it. The peregrine was my 5th tick of the day.
East Lea was my next stop where I hoped to see a female long tailed duck.
There was a cold wind blowing and a few snow flurries. I went to the 2nd viewpoint from where I could see gannets and fulmars. Herring gulls flew past and so did a peregrine. I walked back to the car park and saw this female stonechat
I continued walking looking for short eared owls. The weather changed and there were showers of hail, so I sheltered in the car. Later on the weather improved slightly so I returned to viewpoint to look for owls.
A deer appeared
then 2 short eared owls appeared and had a bit of a tussle before they flew off in different directions. One came towards the viewing point and then it flew further left and we could not see it for the sun. The sun gave way to hailstones and the wind strength increased. The owls would fly around for a while and then disappear from view. I managed a few shots, but found it difficult to hold the camera steady in the wind, I tried resting on the fence, but so did another chap, but he kept making the fence move. Light conditions kept changing.
My last year tick of the day.
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