Waiting For Wheatears. Pt.2, BLEEP Them, Then. Let's Seawatch Instead!

In blowy dizzle and fading light on Saturday and sunshine interspersed with squalls on Sunday, yours truly - aided and abetted by the Teacher for an hour each day - got in five hours of seawatching. Woo.

Getting a little meta

The wind was a petulant S to SE depending on what would be least helpful to the poor would-be observers, strong enough to need getting out of.

Birds were a little thin on the air, not to mention sea, but there were moments of quality to make up for slight lack of quantity.

Now, when I say 

'quality'....

That would be a GND disappearing behind the Ore Stone, there. Near full s/pl.

Same bird, past Ore Stone

Mega white thing

Contrast with a full w/pl RTD in sunshine. The levels of white make it glow, don't they? White face, white throat wrapping right around to the back of the neck, pale mouse grey upperparts unlike the black of the bigger spp.

GND in more

co-operative mood

Note the spangles moulted in on its back.

I will spare you more distant passing birds - I'm not entirely eeeevil - but I won't spare you moderately proximal gulls - I am quite eeeeevil - so avert eyes all who value their sanity;

Common and Black-headed

Herring

Something from Saturday

In case you thought it was all sunny on Sunday;

Giving Exmouth what-for

I suppose a few numbers are not inappropriate.

Saturday saw 35 Kitts, 9 Com Gulls, 1 LBB, 1 GND [plus 2 on sea], 3 Manx [1 in to the slick] in an hour, with Gannets, auks, and Fulmars uncounted.

Sunday was a little more organised.

 

In 4 hours,

Manx 2 [together, 1155]

Puffin 2 [together, 1059]

auk sp 1

Razorbill 34

Guillemot 8 [birds definitely not associated with colony only]

GND 3 [plus 3 on sea]

RTD 1 [plus 2 on sea]

[2 GCG on sea]

Gannet 94

Kittiwake 35

Fulmar 11

Med Gull 1 [looked 3cy]

Com Gull 11

BHG 2

 

All passage South

2+ Harbour Porpoise and 1 Grey Seal

All in all, far better than expected, or even hoped-for.

Though the news a couple of Little Gulls were tarting about the Exe and didn't come down was a little irritating [ho ho], but you can't have everything.

Wheatear'd be nice, though...

Be Seeing You...