A Date With Eunice

Well, it had to be done.

The passing of the main force of rain saw me toddling over to the Nose and seeing what'd blown in. Fast-moving February depressions can produce almost anything - it's the month of whisky foxtrot rarities in the seawatching community - so it was definitely worth a try.

In a suitably careful manner, of course. You don't mess about with F11 winds, even on a lee shore.

Though that F11 was more forecast than reality, with Berry Head getting up to a mere 78mph. Still enough to blow an unwary birder off a cliff, especially with the fiercely gusty squally nature of the wind, but said care was taken.

It was in fact amazingly sunny - when squalls weren't hammering by - and, as I'd expected with the sheer force of wind, there wasn't much passing.

Not nothing, as it turns out, though.

Rainbow squall!

At least 35 Kittiwake and about half that number of Gannet were loitering off the Nose, feeding in bursts, with as many again moving south offshore. More numerous was a clear passage of winter plumaged Razorbills, with a steady 30 birds an hour passing south, split about 50/50 between the Manx Line and close inshore. A handful of Fulmar also passed, but nothing else. 

 

A GND was in the lee of Thatcher Rock as I left, but no other divers and no grebes or ducks were seen at all.

There was a slick from TSWBCM, but the wind shredded it; possibly mixed patches of slick were attracting fish which prompted the seabird feeding events.

Gulls were also loitering, and there was some interest from my camera...

[Oh yes, I'm going there]

Yuck

Many yucks.

Plenty of Guillemots hanging about at least.

Also signs of Spring,

Cormorant with nest material!

Though this attempt was less successful, the bird ending up blown backwards over the Ore Stone...

Alexander in bloom

H. persistens

 

 

Most interesting bird of the day was actually seen on the way out, with a nice tit and crest band around Brandy Bend [yup, there again]. [[Yes, I walked out, Big Scope and all. I wasn't going to leave my car out in that weather, come on! :) ]]

Tits were mostly LT and Blue, 5 or so Goldcrests, I'm pretty sure 2 Firecrests, and what looked suspiciously like a YBW.! Only seen zipping across IMD and down into the cliff trees, but it seemed very interestingly 2-toned green and off-white. I am ongoing in looking for that band again!

Upon that note of hope, I shall

Be Seeing You...