If You Keep Rolling The Dice...

You'll get a six. Or a natural twenty, if that's your thing.*

So, after assorted Reasons stopped me joining the lads at the Nose on Saturday - I did get out of the flat eventually, as you may recall - I finally summoned some energy to make ammends to the Goddess by lugging my gear over on Sunday lunchtime in preparation of a possible forecast line of showers / weak cold front / thing in the early afternoon maybe....

It was rather sunny and not very windy when I arrived, this being when I took most of those butterfly shots in that post down there. I kept on, though; at the least I'd spend an hour or so sea watching and you never know.

Things did not quite work out like that.

The first hour, starting within five minutes of me getting set up..... it rained. It rained a lot. I had my not so big bumbleshoot and was very grateful for at least that! At least the wind didn't get too frisky, so I could use it on the Steps [proper east of southerlies would have totalled it]. Then the rain got bored, though there were still lighter showers about, and with increased visibility, more birds were seen. As it brightened and the wind eased again, passage died a death, though the SWBCM starting up [hour's rain, remember? :D ] brought some close activity and some in photo range birds.

Birds? Birds!

From the Steps, three hours gave;

Manx  149S  43N

Balearic  3S [together]

Gannet  27S  33N

Fulmar  2S [not including local birds]

Med Gull  12S [9 of which 2cy] - with 3 birds coming in to the slick

BHG  1N

Kittiwake  2S

Little Tern  1S [well offshore, may not have passed]

Notes of interest;

Manx south hourlies were 14, 126, 29, north were 37, 6, 0. Balearics came through in a neat line at 1403, the Little at 1415. The slick started up at 1406.

Right, something to look at?

3- and 2cy Med Gulls

Tripping the light fantastic

Med and Herring!

[Ignore the blurring]

Yes, it's out of focus. Yes, the composition is not ideal. However, look at the comparison! A 2cy Med Gull and 3cy Herring Gull and oh my look at them!  :D

"Feed me!"

Juvie Rockit

So I was out putting the hours in for the sake of putting the hours in, not expecting much or really anything and thus I was in the right place at the right time [just after two, that'd be] to catch the brief available glimpses of half decent birds. 

Time of day quite interesting, too. Passing foraging Manxies - coming from Celtic Sea colonies, presumably - are passing all the time at this time of year, but time of day and direction / volume of movement? One for a thoughtful post, perhaps [or a Paper].

Med Gulls are back and moving about, too. Quite a few been seen, hereabouts, though no reports of juvies yet that I can recall off the top of my head. Soon, though. Also YLGs ...and Herrings.  :)

Be Seeing You...

[[* If you don't know those references, you probably don't want to.. ;) ]]