It was foggy and even rainy during these days at the headland, with almost not wind. On July 7th there was a huge raft of almost 200 Cory's Shearwaters not far from land. Seabird passage included 1 Pomarine Skua, a few Bonxies and 1 Manx Shearwater. 

The following day there was a nice movement of tiny groups of mostly adult Mediterranean Gulls, with just two young birds, the first of the season here:

Gannet passage was close to 150 birds/h. Just 1 Sandwhich and 3 "Commic" Terns were counted in 4,15 hs, as well as 7 Bonxies (several of them chasing Yellow legged Gulls flocks feeding on the crab Polybius henslowii), 1 Pomarine and the first Whimbrels.

On 9th 8 Harbour Porpoises (one of them a very young one) were watched in the morning, when a few groups of Scoters moved westwards, as well as more and more Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and the first Grey Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits. The afternoon was very quiet at sea. Just check this Black redstart attitude:

Birders at the Observatory: Antonio Sandoval, David Calleja

 Very nice start of the 2017 counts at Estaca de Bares, with huge numbers of several species for this time of the year.

Following the appearance of 2 Roseate Terns in the area the previous day (by Antonio Martínez Pernas and Ricardo Hevia), and another from the headland on june 30th (Ricardo Hevia), another one was watched on july 1st evening.

That same day up to 8 Great Skuas and 22 Great Shearwaters were counted, as well as at least 2 Wilson's Storm Petrels together with 30-40 European Storm Petrels in a "feeding frenzy" group which included Gannets, Cory's Shearwaters, Manx Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Great Shearwaters, Yellow-Legged Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. All of them joining a pod of Common Dolphins. Not far from them there was also a pod of Harbour Porpoises. Two groups of Common Scoters were also seen. And in the last hour an ad. Pomarine Skua was watched.

On july 2nd the first juvenile Balearic Shearwater moved eastwards in the morning, with calm weather. There still were a few Storm Petrels at sea, one of them a Wilson's. Three European Storm Petrels were ringed at night (Pablo Pita, Antonio Gutiérrez). All through the day, groups of Mediterranean Gulls kept moving westwards.

During the afternoon, with NE winds, a group of 8 Common Shelducks was watched flying eastwards.

OBSERVERS at the headland: Antonio Sandoval Rey (both days), Ricardo Hevia (july 1st).

Observers: Antoio Sandoval Rey, Alfonso Valderas, Ricardo Hevia, Antonio Martínez Pernas, David Martínez Lago, Pablo Pita, Roberto Bao, Kees Camphuysen, Martin Heubeck, Sherri L. Cox, David Calleja, Pablo Lado, Javier Cantil, Marcus, Cristoph & Others.

Very nice days at Estaca de Bares again, with strong NW winds most days, a few showers and good friends visiting us.

The main sightings were:

Sept 12th (6,25 h):
417 Sooty Shearwaters
19 Arctic Skuas
25 Pomarine Skuas
28 Great Skuas

Sept 13th (6,45 h):
694 Sooty Shearwaters
43 Great Shearwaters
77 Arctic Skuas
67 Pomarine Skuas
8 Long-Tailed Skuas
46 Great Skuas
219 "Commic" Terns
165 Sandwich Terns

Sept 14th (5,45 h; raining hard):
2 Roseate Terns
23 Arctic Skuas
​219 "Commic" Terns
173 Sandwich Terns

Sept 15th (9,15 h):
2 Sabine's Gulls
1,091 Sooty Shearwaters
68 Great Shearwaters
1,913 "Commic" Terns
764 Sandwich Terns
140 Arctic Skuas
18 Pomarine Skuas
1 Long-Tailed Skua
150 Great Skuas

Sept 16th (11 h):
1 Fea's / Zino's Petrel
1 Northern Fulmar
464 Sooty Shearwaters
29 Great Shearwaters
595 Manx Shearwaters
450 Sandwich Terns
207 Arctic Skuas
8 Pomarine Skuas
6 Long-Tailed Skua
196 Great Skuas
1 Kittiwake

Sept 17th (6,15 h):
404 Manx Shearwaters
716 Cory's Shearwaters
812 Sooty Shearwaters
81 Arctic Skuas
1 Pomarine Skua
6 Long-Tailed Skua
90 Great Skuas
310 Sandwich Terns

Sept 18th (3 h; NE Winds):
2 Great Shearwaters
13 Arctic Skuas
1 Pomarine Skua
20 Great Skuas
92 Sandwich Terns

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Ricardo Hevia, Alfonso Valderas, Antonio Martínez Pernas, Pablo Gutiérrez, Antonio Gutiérrez, David Martínez Lago, Pablo Pita, Pablo Lado, ​Miguel Rouco, Jesús Menéndez, Toño Lastra, Juankar Andrés, Fran Baena & others.

Very nice seawatching seasons during these days, with  W-NW winds and thousands of birds on the move.

These are the main results:

SEPT 8TH:
48 Arctic Skuas
49 Pomarine Skuas
82 Great Skuas
13 Long Tailed Skuas
238 Sandwich Terns
4 Little Terns
44 Black Terns 
37 “commic” Terns
2166 Manx Shearwaters
848 Cory’s Shearwaters
256 Sooty Shearwaters
87 Balearic Shearwaters
1 Great Shearwaters
58 Common Scoters
Etc.

SEPT 9TH:
52 Arctic Skuas
20 Pomarine Skuas
87 Great Skuas
1 Long Tailed Skuas
448 Sandwich Terns
2 Little Terns
30 Black Terns 
30 “commic” Terns
667 Manx Shearwaters
265 Cory’s Shearwaters
213 Sooty Shearwaters
5 Balearic Shearwaters
19 Common Scoters
​Etc.

SEPT 10Th

1 Fea's / Zino's Petrel
1 Grey Phalarope
​1 Glossy Ibis
78 Arctic Skuas
65 Pomarine Skuas
66 Great Skuas
22 Long Tailed Skuas
379 Sandwich Terns
14 Little Terns
20 Black Terns 
161 “commic” Terns
3,207 Manx Shearwaters
613 Cory’s Shearwaters
224 Sooty Shearwaters
12 Great Shearwaters
11 Balearic Shearwaters
27 Common Scoters
​Etc.

SEPT 11th:

4 Sabine's Gulls
71 Arctic Skuas
55 Pomarine Skuas
57 Great Skuas
6 Long Tailed Skuas
405 Sandwich Terns
2 Little Terns
5 Black Terns 
113 “commic” Terns
3,452 Manx Shearwaters
320 Cory’s Shearwaters
965 Sooty Shearwaters
8 Balearic Shearwaters
4 Great Shearwaters
110 Common Scoters
Etc.

SEPT 12TH & 13th:

Numbers were not as high due to the slight change of winds and heavy rain. Aniway, on 12th we still counted 19 Arctic Skuas, 25 Pomarine Skuas, 28 Great Skuas and 417 Sooties; and on 13th 77 Arctic Skuas, 67 Pomarine Skuas, 8 Long Tailed Skuas, 46 Great Skuas and 694 Sooties.

Things are expected to improve during the next 72 hours at least... Let's cross fingers!

Meanwhile, here there are a few footages taken during Sept, 10th and 11th from the Bird Observatory:

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Ricardo Hevia, Antonio Martínez Pernas, Pablo Gutiérrez, David Calleja, Ramsés Rodríguez, Darran Richards, Petro Pynnönen, Jan Sodersved, Risto Nevanlinna, Virki Pinnönen, Pasi Parkkinen, Itziar Gutiérrez, Martin Larrañaga & Others

August 2016 finnished with a few Skuas on 31th: ​8 pomarines, 5 Arctic, 2 adult Long Tailed and 1 Bonxie.

September started with the same NE winds and an increasing movement of Sooty Shearwaters, as well as 11 Pomarines, 12 Arctic, 3 Long Tailed and 14 Bonxies on 1st, and 21 Arctic on 2nd. It was foggy in the coast.

Maybe due to that prevailing morning fog and the very calm weather things improved on 3rd, with the first Fea's / Zino's Petrel of the weekend at 11,15 local hour, as well as 33 Pomarines and 26 Arctic Skuas, 1 Long Tailed and 1 Bonxie.

The passage was even better on 4th with 2  Fea's / Zino's Petrel found in the evening by our finn visitors, and up to 589 Manx Shearwaters. Also 7 Long Tailed Skuas, 39 Pomarines, 15 Arctic and 34 Bonxies.

​On monday 5th it was only possible to count for 2 hours in the afternoon, but the numbers were impressive for Manx Shearwaters: 1,243. Sooties: 125. In terms of Skuas: 12 Pomarines, 4 Long Tailed, 5 Bonxies.

The Bird Observatory was almost crowded during these very nice days:

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Ricardo Hevia Barcón, Antonio Martínez Pernas, Pablo Pita, Amaia Alzaga, Pablo Lado, Rubén Moreno-Opo, José María Fernández Zapata, Diego García Ventura, Isabel García-Rodeja, Óscar Bargalló and others.

Great days at Estaca de Bares. After a once again boring 26th, with all of the species typical species watched in low numbers, things started to change on 27th, the first of three with WNW winds. That day 127 Little Terns, 375 Sandwich Terns, 58 Black Terns and 238 “commic” Terns were counted in 8,30 hs, as well as 418 Bar-Tailed Godwits and several other species of waders.

On 28th the 11 h count provided VERY good sightings:

1 SOUTH POLAR SKUA – very close. First sat on water, then flying.
1 Fea’s/Zino’s Petrel
1 Northern Fulmar
2 Red Crested Pochards (1st sighting in Estaca; rare in Galicia)
60 Arctic Skuas
29 Pomarine Skuas
23 Great Skuas
2 Long Tailed Skuas
259 Sandwich Terns
127 Little Terns
53 Black Terns 
34 “commic” Terns116 Manx Shearwaters
409 Cory’s Shearwaters
17 Sooty Shearwaters
15 Balearic Shearwaters
3 Great Shearwaters
116 Common Scoters
264 Bar Tailed Godwits
79 Oystercatchers
​Etc.

On 29th the movement was even better for some species. In 8,15 hs we counted for instance 107 Arctic Skuas, 8 Long Tailed Skuas, 40 Pomarine Skuas or 1,489 Cory’s Shearwaters.

On 30th winds blew again from NE and numbers plummeted. But at least one Sabine’s Gull was watched in the evening count.

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Ricardo Hevia Barcón, Isabel García-Rodeja and others

​Only a few birds on the move these days. Calms and NE winds returned, and it was rainy and foggy on 24th and 25th. Consecuently the sea was not as full of birds as on last weekend. The most interesting sightings were the first Wrynecks of the season at the headland on 23th, a nice passage of Little Tern in groups of up to 15 birds on 22th and 23th, and the arrival of several Wheateaters on 24th. 24 Arctic Skuas were counted in a total of 17 hours of count all through these days, with daily sightings, as well as 12 Pomarines and 14 Bonxies. Also a few Great and Sooty Shearwaters, and low numbers of all of the usual species here, as well as some groups of Oystercarcher and Bar-tailed Godwit.

The morning of 24th there was a "Pokemon-cloud" over the horizon. You never know what are you going to find here at Estaca de Bares...

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Ricardo Hevia, Enrique Carballal, Pierre Crouzier, Pablo Pita, Isabel García-Rodeja, Pablo Lado, David Martínez Lago, Antonio Gutiérrez, Pablo Gutiérrez, Carla Soaje, Daniel Monteagudo and others.

The passage of the front proved to be quite productive!

On 20th, with the wind blowing from W, the 1st Fea’s type Petrel of the season was found at 19:00 (local hour). A bit later the 2nd Northern Fulmar flew far. Skua numbers were the higuest up to now this year, with 44 Pomarines, 28 Arctic, 2 Long-tailed and 22 Bonxies. Another Grey Phalarope was found, and the Bar-tailed Godwit migration went on with several groups. Cory’s were also nice to count: 576 in 11,30 hours. Manx Shearwaters also started to build up good numbers. The total for Sandwich Tern was 176.

On 21th the wind blowed from NE, but with little force. In 8,30 h count we watched 46 Arctic Skuas, 21 Pomarines, 5 Long-tailed and 35 Bonxies. A Sabine´s Gull was seen in the afternoon. But the best was to find TWO! Fea’s type Petrels in the evening, as the Cory’s (1,824 were counted) were started to form huge rafts. Another Northern Fulmar flew very close to land. Great Shearwater numbers were instead low: only 6. Sooty Shearwaters: 55. Sandwich terns: 176. 
​
The best of all is that there were a lot of birders at the headland to enjoy this great seabird passage:

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Ricardo Hevia, Quique Carballal, Pablo Lado & others

On 16th winds changed to SW and passage started to improve, with huge flocks of Bar Tailed Godwit and a few skuas. The following day 382 Common Scoters and more godwits were counted in 8 hs, as well as 12 Pomarine Skuas, 1 juv. Long Tailed Skua, 3 Arctic Skua and 9 Bonxies. Also a few ”Commic” Terns, and several species of waders.

Aug. 18th blew from E again, but the wind was not strong. At sundown 20 Pomarines, 15 Bonxies, 1 Long Tailed and 8 Arctic Skuas had been counted. Also 3 Great Shearwaters. The passage of Cory’s was nice all through the day.
​
Aug 19th started with heavy rains from the SW and quite a lot of waders on the move (Dunlins, Turnstones, Whimbrels, Black Tailed Godwits, Grey plovers…), but by mid morning the sun returned. By the end of the day, after 11,30 hs counting, we had watched 334 “Commic” Terns, 171 Sandwich Terns, 20 Arctic Skuas, 5 Pomarines and 13 Bonxies. The first Grey Phalarope of the season was observed at 20.00 h. Instead, Shearwater passage was poor.
​

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Luca Bergamaschi, Alfonso Valderas, Antonio Plata, Óscar Llama, Mar Caruncho, Quique Carballal, David Calleja.

NE wind kept blowing through these days, and it was foggy during the afternoon and evening of 13th, 14th and 15th. So seabird passage was not the best. The main sightings were 3 Great Shearwaters on 10th and 3 Great Skuas on 13th, as well as the arrival of huge numbers of Willow Warblers on 13th, together with the first Common Redstart and Common Whitethroat of the season.