Backward Seawatching

As promised and with amazing celerity for this blog, here's a bit more on yesterday's fun.


Having an engagement that could not be denied, I was not down at 'Gwarra and had a definite stop time to boot. Normally this would mean all the fun stuff passing 5 minutes after I'd torn myself away, but for reasons best known to Herself, the Goddess of Birding was very nice to me. [Ok, then She hit me with 3 hours of rain and the Hellish Blast.. but swings and roundabouts, folks..]


I'd dragged up [last week had culminated in an 11.5 hr night shift after about 4 hours of sleep.... don't arsk] that morning to be greeted by sun and light winds, so I said something rude* and went back to bed. By the time I got up again, the weather had remembered what it was supposed to be doing and so with overcast, winds, and the odd shower in the air, I headed to the Nose with lunch but not much Hope.

 Pretty Hopeless?

 

As I gloated said last night, my first productive scan [it was.. quiet out there] pulled in 2 shearwaters heading south, well out but nicely lit. Manx and a bigger darker one behind it - ooh, first Balearic? But it was not flying right, and a closer look as they approached showed the underside pattern had a dusky undertail and vent yes, but also a big oil stain on the lower belly contrasting with pale flanks**.. Oh, just like a Great Shearwater - underwings are right for one, too.. And look at the shape of it, just like a Great.. And isn't it quite big compared to that Manxie it's following.... Oh, ::Anvil hits head:: it IS a Great!


The prelude to a torrent of wonder and joy?

Not entirely.


Only 14 more Manxies would go by in the next 4 hours [that I could see, anyway]. There was a Sooty and a flurry of Balearics - 4 in 10 minutes! - but not so much else. Those 4 Balearics would turn out to be it. Even the Gannets only just crept into three figures. Not a skua in sight, either.

The rain started not too bad and in a waxing and waning fashion that was good for birds, but then it picked up and kept at it. This did turn the SWBCM on [which announced itself with a sulphurous blast fit for the devil's backside, I can tell you...];

When I could move again, I shot this

The chummer sent a nice slick out;

 Some people like to take fish out of that...

So I had some hopes for a nice cloud of tripping Stormies, but the only trippers were this lot;

Not really the light fantastic

Hmm..

Gulls. Yuck.

Cutting back to the before, another moment of joy, albeit brief, was the rorqual which popped up about a mile out, a little north of east at 1235. Heading north, nice dark back and ickle fin; I'd say Minke, but after the events off the Eddystone, and as it looked a little off compared to past Minkes [which may of course just be angle/circumstance etc.] and as I had nothing close by to size it, I'm putting it as a 'sp.'.


Fulmars and Kittiwakes were passing in very small numbers - the latter only appearing in any real sense after the chummer started up [for a couple of hours their total was 2!]. Late on some actual variety; two vocal [are they ever not?] Sarnies.


So, a very odd but satisfying watch if ever there was one. Perhaps as the evening came on and the rain eventually eased a bit, there would have been more activity coming in [you know, some nice ickle EUSPs?], but then again, maybe not.

Somewhere, out there...

Finally.. I did manage to hit a flyover with the camera, though it was a bit high for a good picture;

Coastguard, hopefully on exercise

Be Seeing You..




[[*Knickers, or possibly bum]]
[[**Balearics almost inevitably have a paler belly than flank. The ones that don't are all dark or all light. {Or oiled!}]]