The Right Wrong Day

[Apologies for the retread, but the story needs it.]

Protecting shoulder vs. chasing tweety birds... Ah, the torture. 

It had a twinge at me on Friday evening, so with the forecast not completely ideal, I reluctantly scrapped plans for Saturday at the Nose.

I got some things done and perhaps inevitably it felt fine [this is still under medication, of course]. [It could well be argued it felt fine because I didn't mess it about trying to hold a brolly in a gale...]

Next day, Sunday saw me up at 'yeeeaaaarrrgggh....' o'clock and on site and set up within half an hour of sunrise. The more westerly wind and less epic rainfall made this quite easy. Probably too easy; you should have heard the norty words aired when I saw just how much blue sky there was...

The weather in a picture.

Then as you can see by that there photo, the great big showers starting muntering by, and things looked up. Also I actually looked at the sea and saw just how much was out there..!!!

It may well be noted that many great seawatches happen in this sort of weather; sunshine and big nasty but discrete showers. Oh, and a good wind, too! [For one example, the Day of The Big Shears at 'Gwarra a few years back. Very similar weather.] The wind wasn't exactly a howling gale, but it was in the right sort of direction and it got friskier as the day went on.

Clickers were grabbed and donned in haste and were very needed. I looked at my Kittiwake one after ten minutes and it said 329!! [This is quite silly numbers for the Nose, though nothing special for Real sites.] Also donned in haste were waterproof trollies, and was I glad of my bumbleshoot when the first shower scored a hit, I can tell you.

Getting back to the birds, eventually [well, really straight away, things were easing off by 0730] passage slackened; a torrent became shower-related surges, finally becoming a trickle, enlivened not long before I gave up by an extensive feeding event ending.

In five hours [all passing birds, going South];

Gannets. 389

Kittiwakes. 1149 [also, at least 30% juveniles, possibly more*]

Auks [mostly Razorbills, note on Guillemots below].  202

Pom Skua.  2  [juv 0818, dark morph 0910]

Arctic Skua.  4 [v. gingery juv's 0823, 0824, light morphs 0906, 0927]

Bonxie.  1 [0906]

Manxie.  1

GC Grebe.  1 [into Bay]

C. Scoter.  2

Common Gull.  16

BHG.  19

LBB.  6 

Cetaceans were also on show, though not after the jet skis appeared at ten.. 

0730 saw at least two grey dolphins heading north; they looked quite Bottlenose-y, but I didn't get a good enough view to rule out Risso's [yes, I've seen them off the Nose. Once. So it's possible]. Then just after 0930, 3+ dolphins headed out SE into Lyme Bay; dark patterned backs with big scythe shaped fins and blunt front ends; White-beaked!! They even had some fun in the bow wave of a dredger trawler heading Brixham-ward at speed. :D  Closest inshore I've even seen them [and that's 'for White-beakeds'; they were well outside the Ore Stone].

Guillemots back on the Ore Stone and foraging locally, so only offshore clearly passing birds recorded above.

Guillemots on the Ore Stone

Time for a bad photo.

Ok folks, let's play;

What's that bird??

Is it;

a) A Herring Gull. It's always a Herring Gull [look up]

b) 1cy LBB [it's a bit dark for a Herring, also pointy wings]

c) One of the Arctic Skuas he's claiming he saw.

d) One of the Pom Skuas he says he saw.

e) A Long-tailed Skua he won't say he saw as he wants to see if it's ID-able from that awful picture.

f) A Nighthawk. [Just about typed that with straight fingers...]

g) Trick question, it's a bit of gubbins on the lens!

Answers on a postcard....

;D

But star bird and biggest woohoo moment was that wonderful Shortie;

Yes, this one again

For those who haven't looked down at the previous post, it was trying very hard to come in/off and being given merry hell by assorted gulls...

All that wings!

Took it 18 minutes [yes that long]  but it made it in the end.  :D

A few from a little earlier;

A moment's respite

"Mine! Mine! Mine!"

"Oh bugger off..."

SEO adroitly sideslips out of the way,

Herring Gull: "Mi- Where'd he go?!?"

SeaO 

[groan]

Ok, ok, enough long range owl pics..

Short range pipit pics!

Rockit!

"Got any sammiches?"

Common Gull

So cute.

Kittiwakes!

Even more so!

Eventually, the SWBCM woke up and put out a rather desultory slick..

Well, it gave the gulls something to do, at least

Didn't even get a Med Gull.

Oh well, it was still far more fun than I expected and that was before Shorty dropped by.  :D

I also found some more things on my way back up, but they'll need a post of their own. :)

Be Seeing You...

[[* With birds passing at all ranges and a lot of sunshine about, ageing everything was always going to be problematic. A count of 'the next 20 age-able Kittiwakes' gave 11 juveniles, which could indicate a lot passing just then, more young birds passing inshore than offshore, or possibly actually more passing because there were more.... ::gasp:: ]]