Score!

Ah, what a day!


I got down to the Nose first thing and spent a much happier four and a bit hours. This time I was mostly going "It's another diver!" Why? Because I saw 76 today!!!

Bladdy hell.....


34 Great Northern, 27 Red-throated, and 5 Black-throated passed south, 1 Red-throat went north [well enough out to be probably different], and 7 Great Northern and 1 each of the 'throats were on the sea... Ye Gods. Biggest flock was 5 RTDs, with 6 of the GNDs in close proximity in Hope Cove.


Speaking of Hope Cove... :)  I noticed a couple of birders looking into it as I was leaving - "Oooh, more divers!" said I to myself at the GND-fest and started counting. Then this funny little greyish thing popped up. "What the..." It dived like an auk, and got closer; right up to the near shore, in fact - "SHIT! Black Guillemot!!" Fortunately, both birders got onto it and even more fortunately, the wind [just about] let us scope it. A couple more birders arrived as if by magic and then the Tystie got bashful and dinked behind the hump [it was getting some grief from the GNDs, for some reason, so it's not surprising it moved]. I circled around the quarry edge to try to refind it, but it'd done what they're so good at; vanished.

But never mind the brevity, what a result! Not only do I find something good, but I actually manage to do it when there's people around to see it too. Sweet. :D


As I was on my way already, I shamelessly swanned off and went to see if my run of good fortune would continue at Clennon.

But before I get to the Great Mud Mash...


It wasn't just the divers putting on a show [though some of the close flypasts were very impressive]. Two Pom Skuas - an adult and a subadult - were marauding around, harrying the poor Kittiwakes. The younger bird came right in - I'm talking age it with unaided vision right in! - to the slick and oh but the Kitts [and gulls] scattered! The sun had come out and it was amazing.....

A Bonxie passed without stopping, as did a lone C Scoter [this time an adult female]. Auks [mostly Razorbills], Kitts, Gannets, and Fulmars were passing, as did an early Balearic. The Grey Seal and Harbour Porpoises were still around, and while the SWBCM had pretty much shut down, the remains of the slick drew in more BHGs than yesterday and with them 2 or maybe 3 adult Med Gulls [by head markings]


Things were very different from yesterday, much more civilised, genteel seawatching, with the heavy showers fended off via bumbleshoot and no dead legs at all.. The Rockit still tried to mug me for fruityoaty bar crumbs, though ;)

Observe, regardez;

Monday's bright spot.

Ore and Lead Stones from The Traverse

Tuesday's bright weather

Ore and Lead Stones from The Steps

76 divers, though.... :D



Right, Clennon was mostly underwater and while a thousand or so BHGs and a lone adult Med Gull were rooting around the pitches, the Cattle Egret was not in sight when I arrived. I had a mooch about; seeing a Kingfisher, 9 Snipe, 4 Shoveler, 16 Tufties, and no YBW.. :(  Though I did see a very nice green Chiffchaff by the flooded corner. It was very muddy and very wet - I'd advise not wellies but full on waders if you're planning a visit - but on the plus side only the nuttiest people were there, so the birds weren't as dog-disturbed as I'd feared.

Having heard that the Egret always came back to roost, and time having gotten on [and me being very soggy] I thought to wait.. This I did, as the three other birders on site gave up, I muttered about blimmin' invisible Egrets and stayed on. By 1615 it was getting dark and so I gave up on watching 'the trees by the eastern pond' and went back across the fields.. Ah, the gulls are back - Oh, look, there it is.


Time for the most horrific 'record shot' you'll ever see. If you've just had your turkey, look away now...

Cattle Egret, Carrion Crows, and BHGs. Clennon Fields.

I was tempted to use this for a 'What's That Bird?' competition, or for that matter, print it out on A1 and try to sell it to the Tate Modern.. ;)  No picture I took came out at all; I think it was some sort of automatic low light function that messed up the pixels to maximise brightness? Anyway, you can sort of see there's an egret there next to a Crow - it's facing away and left, honest! Oh, that wibbly thing above them is a BHG that's just taken off!


The Egret's actually a cracking bird and pretty confiding, but I was out of light and time.




Ho Ho Ho.
:D