Beacuse seawatching is fun and interesting.
I tell myself this even when I've not seen anything bar one Herring Gull for the last 40 minutes and I'm wondering why I didn't stay in bed, no, really, I could be just getting up now, what in the name of the Great Green Arkleseizure is wrong with me?!?!?
Ahem.
So, I spent much of my traditional early September Hollydays seawatching, mostly from the Nose. I did not get to cornwall, due to circumstances, which is a bit of a shame, but not as much of a shame as getting to Pendeen to find that the dreamed-for South Polar Skua had been and gone already and I got up at fBLEEEEPing four for this?!?
Ahem again.
Adding in the Weekend's Seawatching I still haven't tallied in public, the other seawatching I've done, the fact this is now late October [eek]*, and we have a few totals. This is what this post is for, so those of you not interested in hourly rates of Gannet passage, and what I dropped on the 3rd [which I can talk about as I can't say it was one], may be advised to just skip it.
Still here?
Ok!
😁
I have ten watches, with varying levels of recording, depending on what was passing. Properly I should be recording the same species in hourlies for every watch regardless of passage levels, but there are limits to what I can do - especially on my tod - and how many clickers I can feasibly use.!
What I'm going to put up is a simple list of Date, Site, Start Time, Wind Direction and then hourlies for Gannets, Kittiwakes, Manxies, Balearics, and Auks, with added Species of Note. I have not included the commoner gulls and terns, though I have included Fulmar [all recorded Fulmar are definite passage birds, btw].
All passage is South [or West - same direction of movement] unless stated.
16/8, Hope's Nose, 0925, E-ENE
Gannet 41 - 72 - 37
Kittiwake 46 - 31 - 14
Manxie 68 - 12 - 27
Balearic 18 - 2 - 4
Auks No records
LT Skua, Arctic Skua, Great Shearwater, Arctic Tern, Roseate Tern.
17/8, Hope's Nose, 0930, NE
Gannet 39 - 17 - 26 - 86 - 24
Kittiwake 1 - 9 - 5 - 39 - 27
Manxie 1 - 1 - 2 - 5 - 0
Balearic 1 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0
Auks No records
Black-tailed Godwit, Arctic Skua, 7 Med Gull, Fulmar.
18/8, Hope's Nose, 1310, E-ENE
Gannet 69 - 22 [+22N]
Kittiwake 43 - 25 [+25N]
Manxie 1 - 0
Balearic 1 - 0 [+4 N]
Auks 1 - 0
2 Arctic Skua [single different birds N + S], Black Tern, YL Gull.
31/8, Hope's Nose, 0650, SSW
Gannet 42 - 56 - 48 - 14
Kittiwake Passage not recorded; 2000+ in vicinity of Ore Stone
Manxie 0 - 0 - 0 - 2
Balearic 11 - 2 - 1 - 3
Auks 0 - 1 - 0 - 0
LT Skua, Arctic Skua, 3 skua sp., 3 Fulmar.
2/9, Hope's Nose, 1055, WSW
Gannet 43 - 16 - 52 - 69
Kittiwake 138 - 43 - 65 - 127
Manxie 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
Balearic 27 - 8 - 1 - 6
Auks No records
Cory's Shearwater, 2 Sooty Shearwater, Pomarine Skua, storm petrel sp., 3 Med Gull, 8 Fulmar. 3 Painted Lady butterfly.
3/9, Hope's Nose, 0730, WSW-SW
Gannet 205 - 76 - 62 - 28 - 24 - 22
Kittiwake 885 - 112 - 157 - 78 - 14 - 16
Manxie 0 - 3 - 20 - 27 - 25 - 1
Balearic 7 - 20 - 29 - 24 - 27 - 23
Auks 5 - 2 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
7 Great Shearwater, LT Skua, Bonxie, 6 Arctic Skua, Stormie, [probable Wilson's Petrel 0740], 4 Arctic Tern, Roseate Tern, 17 Fulmar, Med Gull, 2 Whimbrel. 2 Painted Lady & 1 Clouded Yellow butterflies.
7/9, Hope's Nose, 1000, SSE
Gannet 60 - 69 - 65 - 82 - 62
Kittiwake 278 - 28 - 9 - 3 - 63
Manxie 0 - 0 - 0 - 3 - 1
Balearic 1 - 2 - 0 - 2 - 8
Auks 2 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 2
Dunlin 41 - 0 - 33 - 31 - 0
[Note: Dunlin passage added for this watch only.]
Cory's Shearwater, LT Skua, 2 Pomarine Skua, 15 Arctic Skua, Stercorarius sp., Sabine's Gull, 3 Arctic Tern, 2 Black Tern, 2 Med Gull, YL Gull, Fulmar, C Scoter, Ringed Plover [not with any Dunlin].
10/9, Hope's Nose, 1125, SSW
Gannet 17 - 24 - 29 - 33
Kittiwake 0 - 2 - 1 - 1
Manxie 0 - 0 - 8 - 58
Balearic 0 - 4 - 17 - 56
Auks 0 - 1 - 0 - 0
YL Gull, Med Gull, shearwater sp.
12/9, Prawle Point, 1145, W
Gannet 40 - 14 - 4 - 3 - 19 - 68 - 6
Kittiwake 8 - 1 - 0 - 8 - 7 - 57 - 20
Manxie 39 - 46 - 45 - 76 - 112 - 248 - 56
Balearic 15 - 10 - 7 - 10 - 17 - 26 - 4
Auks 3 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0
5 Cory's Shearwater, 3 Great Shearwater, 9 large shearwater sp., shearwater sp., Sooty Shearwater, Puffin, Sabine's Gull, Stormie, probable Leach's Petrel, 6 Arctic Tern, Grey Phalarope, skua sp. [prob. Pomarine], Med Gull, Fulmar.
19/10, Hope's Nose, 0940, SSE
Gannet 306 - 60 - 54 - 48 - 12
Kittiwake 23 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0
Manxie 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Balearic No records
Auks 742 - 81 - 10 - 1 - 2
Bonxie, Sooty Shearwater, Puffin, auk sp., possible Leach's Petrel, YL Gull, 3 Med Gull + 4 more on slick, C Scoter.
Phew!
A few good birds and interesting numbers, there. For example, 27 large shearwaters and 40 skuas; even ten years ago I'd expect maybe 3 big shears and 400 skuas, how times change.! Also clear evidence to how good I am at failing to get up at a decently early hour... 😔
Right, time to hit Post
::faints::
Be Seeing You...
[[* Not to mention my current fixation with italics... ]]
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