Looking out to sea from a far sunnier and windier Nose on Sunday morning, I was greeted by a marvellous sight to the North;
Rainbow Warrior!
:D
Here's hoping she's scoping our cold water coral reefs and eelgrass beds for a few protective boulders...
[Hey, I can dream]
Getting back to the business at hand;
The Nose was far quieter than the day before [odd, that], with most of the warblers having cleared out overnight. Passage was ongoing, with 102 hirundines in groups ranging from 3 to 41 [slightly more House Martins] counted moving south, often pausing for several minutes to feed in the plume of insects blasted up over the North Side by the wind. Also moving were pipits, with 31+ Meadow and 2 Tree counted, and the first 3 Chaffinches of autumn.
The sea seemed as quiet as you'd expect a sunny day to be, though 2 Balearic Shearwaters passed south along the Manx line. Then a surprise as a party of 3 hefty juvenile Arctic Skuas popped up into my line of sight just outside the Lead Stone [oh, if I'd seen them coming!] before heading outside the Ore Stone and indeed out into Lyme Bay!
Arctic Skua, intermediate morph
[gingery head visible!]
Another
Seconds
I didn't get a good one of the second bird, those are two of the third; again the contrasting golden head catching the sunlight, and shaft streaks making the outer primaries look funny. Upper shot has a nice contrast between all black tail and barred rump - not as obvious barring as on Pom - and the lack of visible projections is another pro-Arctic feature. [Note though how long this 'short' back end is compared to a young gull, clearer in the more side-on lower pic].
Well, I can see all that, anyway.. At least you can [sort of] tell what they are..?
Moving on.
Minimum 16 Oystercatcher present on site, mostly roosting over the tide at their favourite spot;
Count the Oyks
1w Stonechat
[Awwww]
Quoth the Raven:
"Quork!"
Posed so nicely, so I had to.
Common Storksbill
Likewise!
Be Seeing You...
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