I managed to get about the Patch a bit this afternoon. Wasn't really expecting to, but the rain was a lot less heavy than forecast and the dead calm was very helpful..
I suppose I'd better get to the title; I saw a new bird for the Patch, the ID was certain, I even got a photo, but it's not a Tick...
Why? Well, take a look at said photo and tell me... What's The Bird???
A 1w GBB with Norwegian Blue
The scene was the left D-Day Ramp, the 1w Geeb was happily tucking into the guts of this poor creature while a 1w Herring looked on hopefully. The victim's head was almost severed and is down by its feet. This, the neat way the breast meat had been removed, the evident freshness, and the utter lack of feathers in the vicinity lends me to the theory that this new bird for the Patch was killed and partly eaten elsewhere, before the gull stole or scavenged it.
Earlier and later... The sea was dead calm and such perfect conditions let me pick out 58 GC Grebes, a Slav [nice to nail it], only 2 GNDs, and a few auks. A large raft off Broadsands [like I said, great conditions] might have been Scoter, but were probably gulls [or even grebes!] - they didn't wingflap or do anything conclusive while I watched them and before rain stopped play - and there were the usual Shags and Cormorants.
On shore, 4 Blackcaps - including a male and female together in Glen Sannox - were the most in one day so far this winter. 2 different Song Thrushes in song plus plenty of Robins and a few Blackbirds. Oddly, no Wrens in evidence..?
4 White Wags with 9 Pied in one group on Haldon Pier were fun to watch as they bathed in a big puddle. Time stopped me properly checking the rocks - so the 2 Purple Sand on the weed were very much a minimum figure. The Brown Rockit is still present - showing off its grey edged tail to the doubters - but no Turnstones [probably all at Preston].
For the interested;
the ex-bird is an adult male Goldeneye. You can see the face patch and green gloss to the head reasonably clearly
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