Watch This.

NOTE:

Well, events have overtaken this here post, but I'm pressing on, so let's just pretend we all don't know what's coming up within a week of these events and enjoy the fun as it was at the time [and as I say - possibly too many times - it was rather a lot of fun]

So, to the last-but-one day of my Autumn hollyday....

 

 

 

 

After far too long a gap, I Headed West [not so] Young Man, and-

ran straight into roadworks from hell.

An entire hour [NOT hyperbole, either....] later, and [thanks also to the Thing] two hours later than planned, I got myself to Pendeen Watch.

Just in time to catch a frisky squall, which made a fair attempt at my bumbleshoot.

Well, this seemed good?

Then I learned I'd missed 123 Great Shearwaters.

[Comment Deleted]

Then I got my eye in and realised just how many Cory's were milling about out there.

Cory's Shearwater.

 

Oh goody.

Out there.

Zoomed in 'a bit'

[Manxies, just outside The Rocks]

Another Cory's

A few passing seabirds

A few more

Nice photobomb

Arctics, inside The Rocks

I had rather a lot of fun. Exactly how many big shears were out there...? Well, easily three figures, but I was VERY good and only counted ones I was sure were passing. And then a couple more I'd caught on camera aiming at other things.!

So 51.

44 Cory's Shearwaters, 6 Great Shearwaters... and one 'Cory's' with a skinny look, greyish head, not that prominent a bill, and rather a lot of white in the undersides of the primaries....

I didn't get proof, and nobody else [is telling] that they picked it up, so we'll leave it there.

Also a Sooty [I missed another quite horribly, trying very hard and still not getting on it] and 14 Balearics, with an hourly Manx rate of ~510 [at least until passage died off in the mid afternoon].

Skuas were mostly Arctic, with 29, a lone Bonxie a much-appreciated [well, not by the birds] addition. Auks were something I counted [as opposed to Gannets, Kittiwakes...] and in 6 hours 1990 Razorbill, 5 Guillemot, 1 Puffin, and 1 auk sp. [big scope, good light, used to IDing at range, folks]. 18 Sarnies, 9 Arctic Tern, 1 C Scoter, 1 Fulmar [oh what a contrast to Down SouthEast!] and 4 or 5 phalaropes - two on deck just off the rocks and 3 [or 2 and a switchbacking settled one]  passing.

Also, a couple of Choughs turned up and zipped by calling

"You'll never photo me-

oh BLEEEP!"

I then displayed an utter lack of prescience and gave up a mere 40 minutes or so before a couple of Sab's went by St. Ives.

Stopping off at Hayle to delay the contraflowed torment.

Not too bad a call [as I didn't - no psychic powers again - know about the Woodchat at Marazion...], and well,

Redshank

Greenshank

Common Sands

Close up!

Why did the Sun

have to go in....

Got a biggun!

"Ok, there's no way

he can swallow that?!?"

Nice size comparison, there.

Yes, that fish is

inside that bird

Speaking of birds and fish

Look! Up in the sky...

Osprey, exiting Stage Left,

pursued by half the Crows

in Cornwall....

Pendeen Rockit

And the traffic wasn't too bad, after all.

Even had a flyover Tawny Owl on the right side of the border [A30 between Sourton and Okie junctions]

I'd doubled my day record of counted passing large shearwaters [and put an order of magnitude on ones actually seen], had a bunch of other nice, good, and great birds.

Result.

Be Seeing You...