It's Curtains..

On a mad mad mad mad mad mad year.


NYR: No Chasing Yearlists.



Today I done did get down to the Nose before the front [not hard, considering it was so considerate in coming through early afternoon]. Said front was preceded by a white squall, which was fun. Then the front itself was 10 minutes of sideways hail coming from 2 directions at once..

But I lived!

Lots of Gannets and Kittiwakes were passing all day. I very lazily did not count them. Fulmars I did count, and saw 75 in 3 hours. There were a total of 6 GND and the BTD [4 GND mostly tootling around the middle of Hope Cove, with another and the BTD closer inshore, and a final GND off the Lead Stone] plus late on the first GC Grebe I've seen there in aaages. And it was starting on s/pl too.

Again the SWBCM was working, with lots of gulls attending, and Fulmars this time as well. Unfortunately, I managed to drop what should have been the star of the show as twice I had glimpses of dark wings out in the edge of the gunk and twice I couldn't stay on the bird long enough to nail it.. ARG! Instead the Star Bird was one that came through before the front - of all things a Balearic! :)

So, the Year Of Chasing Devon Yearticks is over. My personal record is dust in the far distance. My new record is not going to get challenged for a very long time. Like when I don't have to work for a living. [I think we're talking that golden promised land of retirement here, folks. If such a thing exists then....]

It was mad. It was blimmin' annoying [I hate herons]. It was quite a lot of fun, too. I rather suspect birds from it will feature prominently in my Top Ten [[Yes, it is coming. No, you can't escape...]].

How many did I get? Oh, yeah, you'd want to know. Well, I have to tell you my final total is two hundred an-