You're Going To Love This. Pt.3, ::Whistles Innocently::

And so it has come to this.

Yeah, you know what's coming. Don't bother running, the doors have been locked and your browser now belongs to us.

;)

1cy Greenfinch

Bait?

Moi?

"Please...Please...Let me in!!"

Black Arches from an interesting angle, love that abdomen!

[[Cries of 'Please, please, let us out!' will not be heeded.]]

Ahem.

Right then,

Endotricha flammealis

Ruddy Carpet

Silky Wave?

[Well worn, immigrant?]

Still more versions of

...Riband Wave

And to make a change from moffs, here's a hoverfly!

Unlucky Marmalade Fly which

got stuck on my kitchen ceiling*

So I took a few pics, then

caught and released

You will be relieved to learn that yes, that's it.

Be Seeing You...

What? Unlock the doors?

[[* As in; it flew in, couldn't find either window again, and kept bouncing off said ceiling until it had to take a rest...]]

You're Going To Love This. Pt.2, The Wetter Bit

Saturday [when I, ah, dragged myself up] saw me eventually getting to the Nose, to find not one but two birders at a rather soggy Glonk Corner..!!

The Teacher and half of The Murphys were hoping for Balearics, skuas, and so on.

 

They'd got Manxies.

I put up the Chair [yes, I even took the Proper Seawatching Chair* along.. get me] and finally even resorted to the Big Boss Brolly.

We got more Manxies.

I didn't get photos of them, relax.

[I'm on my fourth camera, so messing with rain for less than something Epic is unlikely]

That said, when it wasn't being quite so antisocial;

I tell a lie, there are Manxies

in this photo!

Bit closer to,

Subadult LBB,

with adult Herring for

colour comparison

I make no further comment.

One by one, we gave up, with the outlasters rewarded with... Well, not any Balearics.

Behold, my numbers.

In 2.25hrs,

Manx                            141

Gannet                          89

Kittiwake                     13

Fulmar                         13

Pom Skua                     2

[Both dark: first S at 1759, briefly harrying Herring Gulls S of Ore Stone; second S to Ore Stone, then back N at 1822 after harrying Herring Gulls. First bird a bulky one with very strong underwing flashes {looked almost Bonxie-like coming in}, second slimmer, {more of an Arctic confusion}, with less flash in wings, but size vs Herrings clear]

Guillemot                     11

Razorbill                       5

Curlew                          1

YLG                              3

LBB                              1

With the Ore Stone now free of auks, Guillemot passage can be accurately counted.

In better conditions,

One over, one on

ZZZZZZZZZZ

Wooooosh!

FYI, local Herring Gulls started fledging last week.

O;)

Coming Up in Pt.3;

Hmm, I wonder what...??

Be Seeing You...

[[* Normally only seen at the likes of 'Gwarra and Pendeen.       I did NOT have to fight the moths for it, thank you ]]

You're Going To Love This. Pt.1, Bugs, Bugs, Everywhere...

When the weather here wasn't behaving for seawatching, I was looking for what else I could find.

Birds?

Ho ho ho....

 

 

Ok, some birds later, but right now, we're smaller and closer.

Small Copper

I am so very fond of Small Coppers, and finding one feeling helpful at the Nose was a trip-maker.

[Yes, yes, I walked there, but still]

Also quite satisfying was this,

Painted Lady

 

Just along IMD.

Back to the Nose, and something fun;

Spot the Wall

There it is!

See?

And!

No, it can't be...

... Wall onna flower!!??!!

On Lesser Hawkbit and Hawkweed Oxtongue.

[You - or at least I - never see Walls doing anything other than lurking in sunny spots or bombing about after other butterflies. They have to nectar, obviously, but, well....]

Common Blue

All blues are Glorious.

Skippers are all characters, fritillaries are ones to hunt

6 Spot Burnet

[only Burnet I saw]

[Southern?] Green Shield Bug

[pale wing membrane]

Gorse Shieldbug

Black Groundbug

Tachinid fly and Soldier Beetle

And not just while the Sun drattedly shone, either;

Rather damp bush cricket mymph

Very damp Alder Sawfly

Coming up, part 2, with- Well I'm sure you can guess?

:)

Be Seeing You...

Good News Post

I don't just get klingon Blackbirds and Robins on my fat feeder [or Woodpigs on the nut feeder..Really.], as more woodlandy species - also far more bashful - do too. Nuthatches you've seen [quite well, sometimes], and even the odd GSW.

Here's an odd GSW;

"Who? Me?"

Yes, the bright red crown of a juvenile!

Through a very small gap in t'curtains

Having accidentally flushed several times 'GSW' showing only a black and white bum, exiting with rapidity, it's brilliant to prove local breeding.

:D

Mottled Green

Gorgeous moth. When I first saw it, I admit I thought I had a marvel..

 

One day.

 

 

 

Fern

Another first for me.

:)

Udea fulvalis

Ditto.

Small Magpie

Least Carpet

These two firsts for year.

Small Blood-vein

That last a repeat, but a much nicer [and smaller] individual.

Ok, th-th-that's all, folks!

Be Seeing You...

After The Drought

A weekend of seawatching on Patch, primarily from the Nose [oh, shock] and finally finally I've seen another skua.

Don't believe me?

Lookit!

That's no gull...

... that's a 

dark morph Arctic Skua!

Fresh from annoying [in the classic nautical sense] a few poor innocent Kittiwakes.

Friday and a 7.5hr watch [at last, decent hours] was, well, largely birdless for long periods; not least due to some dreadful visibility and having to hold on to the brolly with both hands, even hiding behind Glonk Corner...

Had to wait for skuas, too, but I got a few in the end; 4 Arctics, a sp. which was 90% another, and a Pom [no Bonxie, still, though...]

Not too promising at first

Hours of rain had an effect

Then the sea got really frisky

Gulls!

Med Gull

in primary moult

Against a dark background

Against a light background

Hey, I only got one well, ok?

At least 5 were passing by or hanging around. :D

Sh sp.              1

Balearic          4

Manx              78

Gannet            65/2

Kittiwake        57

Fulmar             32

Puffin               2

Med Gull         2

BHG                6+

YLG                5+

C Scoter          27  [1 flock]

Dunlin             3

Arctic Skua     4

Skua sp. [A/P] 1 

Pom Skua        1

Tern sp.           4

Most of those scoter

[little gits spread out as I zoomed in...]

Cut to...

Next day, with

The Teacher

Drat.

But

Got 'em all this time!

15 C Scoter, 8m 7f, a bit closer in and in much better visibility.

In 2hrs,

Manx           10/4

Shear sp.      1

Gannet         26/1

Kittiwake     23/7

Fulmar         3

Med Gull     6

C Scoter       15

LBB             2

BHG            4

Med Gull

Spot the Meds!

Finally, a late afternoon amble to Wall's Hill and a watch of the more sheltered waters to the north gave a distant group of about 15 Kittiwake, a possible skua going to say "Hi there!", a passing pod of at least 29 Common Dolphin, and - finally at a shootable range - two more Commons, both of which I managed to get on pixel!

ID that cetacean!

Not much of a challenge if you've read the text, I admit... ;)

And;

Ooooh!

Look carefully to the left, that's a very small calf!

:D

It wasn't just seabirds;

Gatekeeper, sheltering from

Friday's blast!

Gallium Carpet?

Bracken on the turn!

Kestrel shelters from a surprise shower

Caves in Permian NRS*

I am sorely tempted to get geological [and archaeological, for that matter!] at that view, I can tell you.

But space issues 

[[Stop cheering.]]

Perhaps another time.

[[That shut you up.]]

Ahem.

Anyways, I shall

Be Seeing You...

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