Sea birds Severn Beach, Avon 7th December 2006

Many birders had turned up at Severnside this morning to see what the overnight winds had blown in. Soon after I arrived came a call of a Great Skua feeding on a gull 20 yards offshore. I ran to the car for my camera and managed to real off some shots before the bird took off. Later in the morning I had views of Great Skua down to 5 metres before it flew around me and inland. Other skuas included a distant Pomarine. Kittiwakes were numerous and occasionally giving good views. Birds of the day had to be the Leach's Petrels again. Myself and other birders had views down to just a couple of feet. Despite the views I'm still at a loss of how best to photograph these birds. The autofocus seems to pick up the sea rather than the birds. A lot of practice is still needed.