Forty Five

Yesterday was The Day.


It had been a long time since I'd last made the Pilgrimmage of British seawatching - 5 years in fact. [I have been to Pendeen more recently, so not entirely despicable]


Much has changed, for instance the old ticket machine in the car park is gone, now you pay at the cafe. An interesting problem for those seawatching in summer, who will arrive many hours earlier; when to tear eyes off and go back? [The array of yummy stuff there is an incentive, though.. ;) ].

There are now pretty signs, and eroded paths [the change was marked to me], but the rocks are the same. Not so the old famous Runnelstone Buoy - with RUNNELSTONE written down the sides. There is a new one, with radar wings and solar panels, and the most annoying whistle thing known to Goddess or Man.. [It seems to be wave-powered, and acts like chinese water toture in its irregular moaning... I mean, seriously?!?]


Yes, I speak of Porthgwarra. Where the granite meets the sea, and if the Goddess of Birding favours you, She may rain down Big Shears [and all sorts of other goodies] upon you. If not, it might be rain, and from several directions at once...

The View

[yes, the Runnelstone is there]

See?

[Broken water fore left over the reef itself]

 Due to roadworks and assorted idiots, it was far too late by the time I got there [I was informed of "Two Cory's, a Sooty and a Bonxie"] but what can you do? Sit down and score a Great Shearwater straight away!

So it began and so it went on. The weather started clearish and threatening sun, then clouded and murked up, with a few bands of light rain, then cleared right up to full sun and woe, before murking up again. The wind was always strong, wandering from just west of south to near WSW before settling on SW.

Birds were passing at all ranges [as they tend to do there], so I didn't even try counting the masses - though another chap was diligent with the Gannets; "1770 by 1130" - not that numbers of anything were epic. No huge stream of Manxies, though they were steady.

Spot the Balearic

[caught by luck not judgement]

A few auks were passing, a few Bonxies, a light movemeent of Fulmars, and the odd Treat [2 Stormies and a Grey Phalarope] plus the inevitable Whimbrel, but the stars were the shears..


I saw 25 Balearics - with at least 50 that I missed, according to the chap next to me who was photographing them - and 10 Sooties, which is pretty darn good, but then we get to the main event.

8 Great Shearwaters
35 Cory's Shearwaters
2 large shearwaters not safely identifiable [but probably one of each]

[And those are just the ones I got onto]


While most were more or less Runnelstone range, some were way out - much further than Big Shear Range at the Nose - but a glorious few showed beautifully, with one Cory's skimming the shoreline! Some of the Cory's even decided to show so well that they hung around to forage, making life more interesting for anyone counting passage..

On the whole, this wasn't the succession of crippling views I had on the Day of the Big Shears - and I got rained on, too - but the sheer numbers did make up for that.. I mean, 45!!!!! That's more than 4 an hour.


There were also other distractions;

Bottlenose Dolphins!

1/4 second too slow..

Left dolphin completing a backflip!

Also present a Sunfish, and you can't forget these comedians;

Messing about

Chuffed

When are we going to see these acrobats in Devon, hmm? Fair recompense for Cirls, I'd say.


I stayed for as long as I could - getting out just in time to get up the A30 before it closed for those dratted overnight roadworks - which was a mere 15 minutes after the Boss went. Yup, The Boss himself appeared for the fun [you know you're in the right spot when he's there].


So, aside from a notable lack of Sabine's Gulls [mutter mutter] - let alone the assorted albatrossies, pterodromae, tropicbirds, and boooobies that were at one time or another vocally hoped-for [Don't laugh; sometimes if you ask, She will give] - it was a definite classic of a day.



Be Seeing You..