More Work And Some Play

No, no Caspian Tern for thith little black duck..

Between work and the frickin' dentist [oh yes, just to rub it in] I had no chance to even dip.



Anyways.. Yesterday I got to the Nose both first thing and in the evening and actually managed to see something worth the walk. Truth be told that happened even before I set out, with a lone Crossbill flying over!  :D
Said Crossbill - or others - flew over me four times yesterday; I guess it had wandered down and was wondering where all its mates had got to, there's now no shortage of cones about.


Crossbills aside, the Nose had a good crop of migrants - but not phylloscs as you's expect, there were shedloads of sylvias! One little hawthorn had 5 Whitethroats sitting in it, a Lesser made a quick appearance, and most surprising of all was the insanely confiding Garden Warbler.. Yes, confiding and Garden Warbler don't usually go together, but this one - a juv. naturally - showed quite beautifully. I almost got a picture, even [which could have induced a coronary...]

Then to add some icing, hiding amongst the bracken [unsurprisingly] in the Lower Meadow was a Whinchat! Not a cracking male, but still a very welcome Patch yeartick and my first autumn one at the Nose.


My first Painted Lady of the year also showed up and there was more interest in the sea. Yes, in. The baitfish were running right inshore - and that's as in a few metres out! - with a horde of gulls above and a mass of Mackerel below. A Grey Seal had come along to chase the Mackerel, and the fishermen were doing pretty well too - one chap got four good-sized fish a time with two successive casts.



The evening was quieter, though in ten minutes 21 Manxies went north with a Gannet, while 6 Gannets and 11 BHGs went south. Juveniles of Med, LBB and YLG were also around.


Up in the air, I was bemused to watch 2 Swallows, which came in/off and headed away NE...





Be Seeing You