Sea Watching I; Practice

I had a plan. It involved Pendeen. It didn't work out.

The weather then said 'maybe go to 'Gwarra, but not before Saturday'. Ok, I had Friday; time for some warm up at sitting on a headland looking at the Sun glare.

Oh you know where I mean; time for Prawle!

:)


A nice relaxing day, not aggravating my Moored heel, listening to the cricket and maybe even seeing some birds? A plan indeed.

The forecast was not unpromising, with a vaguely NW or W wind and a line of big showers supposed to move through. Prawle can work surprisingly well in a NW - certainly better than the Nose! - so you never can tell.

Right, enough prevarication. On with it.

Arriving, I quickly met a good omen. A very good omen, also very cute;

Spotted Flycatcher!

The most adorable and confiding Spot Fly I've ever seen while holding a camera.

Awwwww

Not just migrants about [though admittedly not many of them], as the local Goldfinches have done very well

One of well over 20

Right, getting up and settled amongst the wonderful molassed rocks, it was time to see what I could see on the sea.

The Big Blue

That there on the horizon would be that forecast line of showers.. Drat.

What to look at?

Lookin' at a Gannet lookin' at a fish

That's a big ship...

['Cosco Shipping Libra']

...A long way away

Little Egret

"Got any sarnies?"

Wheatear vs Bee!

It was quite a fight

"Mmmh-mh-mmh-m-mmh"

[*"I'm a Bee-eater!"]

"Whaddya mean, 'I haven't got a flapjack'?!?"

"Where did that Wheatear go..?"

All this nonsense is not to imply there was nothing passing; just nothing much that I could get the camera on! [What, you're not surprised, are you?]
Though there were more motors about than I'd like, I still saw some cetaceans, including a nice pod of 5 or so Harbour Porpoises, moving NW.
In six hours [West first]:
Balearics; 14, Manxies; 30/4, Pom Skuas; 2 [1200, 1321], Med Gull; 1, Guillemots; 2, Gannets; 222/37, Fulmar; 3, Kittiwakes; 5, BHG; 4.
Of most note, though, were no less than 37 LBB Gulls. They were being sneaky and passing close by, so this is a minimum figure, and were a pleasing mix of adult and juveniles, with barely an immature.
'Very close'...? Oh dear;

Almost a nice moult shot

I had a handful of seconds to try to take a photo,

so I didn't get ideal ones

Or ideal poses

Yeah..

Well, you take what you can get.

For those of you less impressed with the vagaries of lwhg insanity, here's something cute;

Bloody-nosed Beetle!

Lots about.

The alien tendrils strike again!

Dodder.

It's not just me that thinks of The Thing when I see this, it is?


And on that cheery note, I shall


Be Seeing You...