Apus-fest

Storm Petrel would be more expected off Hartlepool Promenade...

Waiting for the rain to clear at South Shields... waiting for a Pallid Swift to re-appear.
No sign.
Phone buzzes...
"Hartlepool: Little Swift at the battery"
Phone buzzes again. An image. Of a Little Swift....

Dilemma. It's 14.11, its very dull and Hartlepool is 40 minutes away. Would there be any light?

One way to find out...

Arrived in Hartlepool. Don't know where the action is. Dump car and walk round coastal path... Birders, walking north.

Pallid Swift appears overhead. Like they do...

A few meters further and there's a line of folk looking over the promenade.
Theres a Little Swift zooming to and fro... a few feet away! It's joined by the Pallid. Is this really happening?

Yup.

So the next hour or so is spend mainly fruitlessly locking focus on the two swifts (with an imbalance of attempts prioritised on the Little)... a huge percentage of non-focused shutter releases later and the sun sets.

Amazeballs.

1 swift sp. in November is unexpected. 2? Really...