Another Busy Week

Mostly not busy with birding, though, and alas and alack for that. :(


Even when work was done for the week, I've had plenty of Stuff to be busy with.



Not to say I've seen nothing, though....


Yesterday I eventually got to the Nose for a seawatch, though this was very late on indeed! So late that I didn't bother going right down, but set up amongst The Mounds. I was not fully kitted out, as this was primarily a field test of a new setup; a lovely neighbour was having a clear out and found an old tripod, would I like it? The grey case had Velbon written on it, so I said Yes Please! It's an old one; no quick-release, even. It's also too short to use standing upright and much too dinky for the Big Scope, but the li'l scope fits on nicely and it is above all insanely light! I'd walked down with the case slung over my back; containing tripod, the li'l scope and a sit-upon! Very very portable :D
Down side is, of course, the lack of reach - the li'l scope only has 20x to play with - but it is very good in low light and I stayed on from 1600 until 1620, when it started to get rainy and the light really died!

Not that much was doing.. A little southerly passage; 35 Gannets, 2 Kitts, 2 Razorbills, 2 Fulmars, and 5 [all juv] LBBs. Still, it was nice to be watching, albeit briefly.


Today I was again preoccupied and didn't get to the Nose at all... Tut tut the shame...

I was able to get to Blackball for the evening roost - just about! - and this was worth the rain. Again I had the li'l scope on the li'l tripod and the stability and low light ability was most useful. Of course, I could put the 30x on the Big Scope, but that would mean lugging it down there [[Yes, lazy..]]. And all I'd be doing is mourning the lack of magnification - Big Scopes need Big Zooms. It's The Law.  ;)


Aaaanyway...  The gull roost built up out in the murk, so 800+ with at least 20 GBB is the best I could do. The Kittiwakes I had hoped for were present - spread out parallel to the shore, nice and close in - and with a steady scope it was an easy count; 308.  Never mind the Kitts, though, look what was near to them! Is that..? Shit! It is! Only an Arctic Skua! Sat on the sea just off one end of the band of Kitts. Ye Gods and Little Fishies, I've never seen a skua in a roost before!! Light morph, looked pretty adult-like, but hard to be sure when it's on the deck like that  :) Compared to the skua surprise, the group of divers weren't much more than an interesting diversion..


Also of note; not a single grebe of any flavour. On 16/12/12, there were 59. I blame the warm weather; after all, if you can roost on a nice lake/pond which is notably lacking in gulls and big waves, why wouldn't you?






Right then, no time for anything else; I'm busy trying to arrange for a whale carcass to be lashed down on to the Lead Stone...  ;D