Backward Birding: So That's Where All The Rain Went...

25 September, 2018

So That's Where All The Rain Went...

Getting out of work Saturday morning, it was still dark and not even slightly raining. Nice cloud ceiling, light winds. Ho hum, thought I, and once home started getting ready to hit the Nose with the dawn.

Then, sticking my head out the window to see how light it was getting, I met the rain. The rain said "Hi there" and stayed all frelling day. No joke. Sometimes fairly light, sometimes rivers-in-the-streets, but no let up at all.

Eventually, some wind joined it, so I ambled over to see if a phalarope had decided to spin about the slick at the Nose.

Spoiler Alert: No chance.

Rain-splattered view,

but nice slick

Small swell

I did see a few terns, including 4 Common, a probable Arctic, and two Black [oh yes], so definitely not a wasted soaking. Grounded migrants were an amazing two Chiffchaffs, though I also met four damp Wheatears, who I left well alone as they were suffering enough without me trying to photograph them on top...

The gulls were another matter, despite being crap, and here are some rain-splattered [the wind was E- ENE, the git!] pictures thereof. Yup, no mercy here.

Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls

Cruising at speed

Black-headed Gull

over the slick

Sneaking in..

a juv. Med Gull

Real-world comparison;

3cy and 2cy Herring Gulls, plus

piggy in the middle

Same bird on left,

with 2cy Herring

Olive-looking mantle, contrasting dark tertials, two-tone tail, pale underbody, long hand, and two dark bars on arm. All those features together mean a good YLG candidate, but any can be shown by Herring Gull.

[Because wonderful posing on the deck shots are great, but many of us don't get perfect views where we bird]

Ahem.

Elsewhere on Patch;

On Horse Chestnut

possibly Ossicaulis lignatilis

Not pictured, the incredibly noisy yarking 1cy Tawny Owls - mostly seeming to be right outside my window - not only by evening at the weekend, but first thing in the morning too.

Moving on.. More from the Big Evening Out to Froward!

Common Rosefinch

Look at those tertial fringes!

Yup, cooing.

Ok, that's enough of that.

Time for some pretty scenery;

Mew Stone and friends

Looking across Start Bay

After a good series of views up to 1730, and another brief appearance up to 1800, I decided to leave the wee thing and headed back. Of course, being me, I'd [over] prepared, and with the big scope in my rucksack it would be a shame not to use it. And put off that climb.

So I moved to the Coastwatch Point, where a little bench was handily sheltered from the wind and gave a nice view. Seawatch!!
I gave it an hour, and while it wasn't exactly Pendeen, I still managed to see some birds. Not always easy to photo, though...

A record shot by definition

shouldn't need a caption

So that is what is known as a waste of pixels..!
[That's a 2cy Kittiwake, btw. Really. You can sort of see the white triangle in the left wing..??]

Slightly better[!]

1cy LBB

Gannets were quite plentiful, with 64+ in the area, plus a scattering of Kittiwakes amongst the feeding gatherings in the northern parts of the bay, but not a single shearwater could I see.

Closer in, large numbers of hirundines came below and over; no huge flocks - and never more than a score or so in view - but you slowly realised there were actually an awful lot moving up the coast and possibly inland.

All this fast food attracted falcons, and I even hit one;