Dogged Persistence

Or perhaps that should be blind stubbornness had me making another attempt to Find That Gull today, with again no joy. At one point a neat 100 Herring Gulls on the pontoon was nice [41 adult to 59 immature], as was a 1w LBB looking small dark and nervous among the throng. Moving to Princess Pier, I had a promising start with a Red-throated Diver flying into the Bay from the north and heading towards Broadsands, but though the view of big waves lit by beams of sunlight was very spectacular, there wasn't much doing bird-wise. Only 8 GC Grebes on the impressively rolling swell [white water could be seen breaking a good ten feet above the roof of the blockhouse at Berry Head, so nobody fishing there today..] and a marked reduction in non-Herring Gulls, with only 30 or so BHGs and no Med or Commons. Most of the Black 'eads were standing around gloomily on Torre Abbey [water] Meadow, accompanied by some equally brassed-off looking Herrings and no less than 30 Jackdaw. Torre Abbey is a good spot for Jackdaw, but even for there that's a good number.

I had a more thorough look for Blackstart around Rock Walk [or whatever it is the council calls it now] and failed, though I did discover there were actually 2 male Blackcaps, which was interesting [and may explain the absence of Blackstarts. {Well, that or my incompetence..}] and makes a full 10 wintering on my Patch. Also of note was the 1w Razorbill fishing in the inner Harbour - dodging the Geebs and Herrings to do so! There are a fair few small fish hanging around in there, but having all those hungry eyes watching you, just ready to attack means that must have been one hungry or hardcore auk.