Southern Sunshine

Tuesday again, not a single post over the weekend to tell you what I've been up to, oh dear oh dear oh dear....

Mostly I have been working.

::Gasp::

Indeed, it was only on Sunday when stuff of a non-work nature was done.

::Double gasp::

'Gungy mist around the coast, blazing sunshine inland, light SE winds' said the forecast. Well, right except for one particular word...

I talked the parents into going looking for damselflies - specifically Southern, Scarce Blue-tailed and Small Red - as it was going to be too hot for a proper walk and Tilly wouldn't put up with sitting around somewhere with shade and a view [when she could be barking at anything that moved or that she thought might move if she barked at it enough.... She's a sweet little dog, but she bores easily when out. At home she'll lie in the sun for hours. Yes, a sweet little dog and nuttier than a tree full of fruitbats.].

We'd been to Prewley Moor once before, seeking an alternative way up towards Great Links Tor, though this was in winter [ish] when the impressive bogs with their deep little runnels were at their gribbliest. Also we missed the big obvious path [its a family tradition]. This time, though still interestingly boggy, it wasn't quite such interesting going. Prewley is on the BDS website for the three damsels above, and the habitat there is certainly very good-looking for them. Unfortunately, at this point we get to the one word the weather gits got very very wrong. Can you guess what it was?

'Light'. 6mph was shown on the map, I remember quite clearly. Force 6 was closer to the reality. Hats were being blown off, and as for damselflies, well, apart from a bit near the road where there was some shelter, they were all cowering out of sight... That bit was a pretty good bit though, with Southern Damselflies present in numbers, showing well enough to get me to try a photo or two and to try to sound all knowledgeable as I explained the difference between male Southern and Azure [we found a single Azure to be a comparison]. Fortunately, a couple posed really nicely. Mum and Dad got on a male Small Red, but I was too slow getting over to them and it went with the wind. More obliging was an immature male Golden-ringed Dragonfly, which gave us two very close examinations as we sat having lunch, at one point hovering a foot behind Dad's head! [Later, I saw a House Sparrow trying to catch what was probably the same Golden-ringed - the dragon evading the sparrow with contemptuous ease]

Large Red Damselflies were also around, with a few Black-tailed Skimmers and what might have been a Keeled [too quick, though]. It was family groups of birds that stood out - Wheatears, [of course!] with three juveniles in a row on a rock looking adorable, a party of Mistle Thrushes flying over and a whole heap of juvenile Pied Wagtails by the waterworks. Tilbury had a whole heap of fun as there were sheep everywhere. Oh dear. She also did her best to help find damselflies by jumping into all the muddiest bits she could, ending up a little black and brown dog. She was happy anyway.

Wandering up onto Sourton Tor, we admired the view ranging from Brent Tor to Exmoor - no kites, let alone storks hove into view, needless to say - with the usual superlatives coming to mind. The wind coming off the Moor meant that for once there was no drone of traffic [though the wind tried its best] to intrude upon the moment. Sourton is one of the 'other' Tors, not granite but marine volcanic and sedimentary rocks [albeit thermally metamorphosed by the adjacent batholith], giving it a unique character. Spikier outcrops in two huge steps rise out of the bracken, clad in lush grasses and flowers not gorse and heather. Its a little out of the way, despite being on the very edge of the Moor and whichever way you approach, there's always more of it than you expect - its a roomy place.

Finally, yesterday I got a surprise when I arrived home from work and sat down here - a Small Tortoiseshell had found its way in and was resting on the wall just over there. ::Points:: When the rain stopped I let it out, though it was a little unwilling 'What? Go out? It might rain again!'

PS I don't know about 'everyone' talking about it - I had no idea until I heard it on the local news - but we had a tsunami yesterday here in the south west! Only about 8" high, it seems, but I'm most vexed to have missed it and I may have more to say on the subject. May. You have been warned.. ;)

Green Yellow and Red

The texture of the sea changed first. A moment later the grey cloud obscuring the pine-clad ridge east of Sidmouth went white. It was several minutes later that a gap, a crack in the clouds, revealed the blazing carmine disc of the Sun for brief seconds. By the time true sunshine arrived, the Sun was over Golden Cap.

A more usual Solstice Sunrise at Hope's Nose this morning, it makes last year's blessing all the more special, I think. After sunrise, I gave the sea an hour's watching before dragging myself off to work, with an impressive 602 Manxies heading past south - many very close in - with 83 north. Star bird was a Patch Tick in the form of an early Greenshank past before sunrise, with honours to a nice Puffin at 0524. They were accompanied by a mere 14 Kitts and 56S / 9N Gannets as the rest of the recorded passage [Fulmars and auks weren't counted, as I hadn't taken my clickers and had my hands full with the Manxies!].

Father's Day meant the Traditional Family Picnic, this time taking place at a hillfort. I'm going to be very rude and selfish and not say which one, because it was lovely and quiet and Tilly-friendly and I'd like it to stay that way. Plus there were Yellowhammers nesting in a slightly unwise place, so the less disturbance the better.

I know, I'm a git.

We didn't see any spectacular birds, just had a nice relaxing time [ticks aside..]. Sister had made a mocha/clotted cream/raspberry cake, which was quite obscenely good and the sun even came out for us. While the others snoozed, I kept scanning for Red Kites and Black Storks [well, you never know...] but saw only the odd Buzzard as the Skylarks serenaded us...

PYL: 126

A Very Familiar Feeling

Dipping Ring-necked Duck, that is. But before we get to that...

Today I went up to zumerzet [ok, technically it's several different things now, but do I look bovvered?] to have a go at the Blue-winged Teal which has so kindly shown up close enough for me to get at it. A brisk wind working on a general theme of westerly drove through the kind of viciously squally thunder showers that made a seawatcher like me think hard about abandoning this twitching nonsense and heading for the nearest peninsula...

But I maintained my aim and, despite getting thoroughly rained on a couple of times, I got a very nice view of our little yankee friend, plus the 3 drake Garganey she was tarting about with. While there I met [Former Backwater Birder], which was great. We had sort of met before at various birds, but had never had a proper conversation. With the Teal asleep and thunder in the air, I retired to the BK hide to have a bite to eat and see if any terns would appear. They didn't, but the Swifts put on a fair show in their place.

Being in that part of the world, it would have been rude not to stop by the Levels, where I ran into [Famous Somerset Birder] and we were treated to a cracking show from a Bittern that must have hit it's head. It clearly thought it was invisible as it sat out in the open by a channel and caught teeny fish for a good 10 minutes.... :D Earlier, a male Marsh Harrier gave a short but sweet flypast and later, the frelling R-N Duck gave everyone the slip.. Prior to scoring at Cheddar and Roadford, I'd dipped Ring-necks far too often - I'd forgotten how much I dislike those damn duckth....

Even so, it was a good day.

Another Go

One of the perks of the new job is the early finish on Fridays. This can lead to either easy overtime, or scarpering for a quick bit of birding. Can you guess which it was today?

Yup, with the 'forecasting the wind'-type websites promising something interesting coming through between 3 and 4 or so, I nipped home for a quick bite then hot-footed it down to Hope's Nose, where I have to say I was a little surprised to see only a scattering of fishermen. One of them was still there when I left! [He was catching stuff, too]

Starting watching at 1415, I gave it 2 and a half hours - it was going to be 2, but a cracking Dark morph Arctic Skua came cruising by close in, so I stayed on a bit longer in case there were any more. Real sinister bird, this one, super black, with only a hint of flashes. Cracker! Oops, distracted by skua... Yes, so the front came through with a noticeable kick to the wind and a big hit of rain a little before 3-00. Most of the passage occurred before then [except Gannets and Kittiwakes, which almost entirely came through after] including all the goodies except said skua.

In many ways it was a rerun of Sunday, only with more rain and a steadier wind - letting me use the bumbleshoot, much to my relief! Star bird was almost an exact rerun of what was nearly the star of Sunday; only a frickin' Sabine's Gull!

:D

Early on Sunday I had picked up a very interesting gull going past, nice flight action and lovely white triangles, but it was out in the murk and already going away so that I couldn't get either the head view or silhouette I needed to clinch it. Frustration! Today almost a repeat of that - this bird was a bit closer, though and I could clearly see no black in the tail [ :) ], but still.... Then it shifted course just a little and there was the hood. Ding-ding-ding-jackpot! Whether it was the full hood of an adult or the partial of a 1s I couldn't say, but a Sabine's is a Sabine's.

At the same time as the Sabs was going by, so were the middle two of no less than 4 adult Med Gulls which passed south. All nice and close, one hung around for a bit - gorgeous! Also on the gull theme, a lone adult BHG, right as I was leaving. A single Stormy came motoring through quite close in but it didn't even look like pausing. For shears I had 2 Balearic and 169 Manx south, with 20 Manxies heading north. Gannets and Kittiwakes picked up after the front passed, but never reached serious numbers.

PYL: 125

Midweek Anecdote.

The fun on Scilly reminded me of an incident on Sunday, which I neglected to include in my post [well, not exactly short as it is...]. Its now Thursday and I've finally got around to posting it...

So, there we are, [Famous Devon Birder] and I, sitting at the Nose, when I pick up something big, dark and Gannety. Its a Gannet. A very dark one. Flying south, a little differently from the others, more resolutely going its own way and ignoring the weather - no shearing or messing about here, it's even a little above the horizon! Wow indeed, I hear you think. Only this Gannet is dark. All dark. Like a frickin' juvenile.

'WTF' thinks I. "I've got a very dark Gannet here, it looks like a juvenile, but it can't be; it's far too early" says I. Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking things at this point, and wondering when the 'B' word is going to appear, but I can honestly say the thought barely registered - it had that young Gannet's Booby-like face thing going, but I did not for a second think it was anything other than a Gannet. After a brief discussion, we agreed that it must be a very retarded 1s Gannet*. I remembered something I blogged last year and made a mental note to repeat it...

Gannets; Buzzards of the sea!

[*A 1s Gannet should, of course, look just like a ginormous Great Shearwater...]

Finally, I think its worth saying that there was a noticeable shift in the age distribution of Gannets since the last time I seawatched [was it Beesands?]. Earlier this year the Gannets were almost entirely adult, on Sunday there were many more immature birds; a few 1s with lots of 2s and 3s.

[[[Ok, yes, I must confess that, since the Scilly Affair came to my attention, I have had a look at 1s Brown Booby and gone "Oh, that's interesting..". It was still a Gannet, though.]]]

Trippin' In The Rain

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, what a day!

:D

Tried to get up early this morning and almost succeeded, starting my seawatch at the Nose at a vaguely respectable 0640 [What does the 0 stand for? Oh, I wish I'd been here an hour ago....]. Straight up without even looking through the scope, first good bird was a Bonxie in with the gulls at the end of the Nose - looked like a young one, 1s maybe. Cracking start, though the blustery wind [in a particularly evil mood today, with gusts from 2 directions other than the way it was blowing] put paid to my attempts to use my bumbleshoot, leaving me in day-long rain. I now know I definitely need to re-proof my jacket and get new boots..

I may have been cold and soggy, but I lasted until 3-00 and though the birds dried up now and again [oddly out of synch with the few easings in the rainfall] there was plenty to keep me happy! Not just me, either, as [Famous Devon Birder] and [Famous Devon Birder, plus dog] joined me for 4 and 1 1/2 hours respectively. One hardy fisherman was present when I arrived [looking like he'd camped, the naughty boy] and quite a few more joined him over the course of the day, some even lasting more than an hour as the seas mounted with the wind and the rising tide..

The sea itself was a real spectacle, with white water breaking 30' into the air [before being smashed down by the fiercely gusting wind that sent sheets of spray whipping across the bare rocks in front of me - wow it was good] - which was high enough to block my view completely! The rain and the spray whizzing past made the visibility pretty iffy at times, despite the Ore Stone always being this side of the murk line and combined with the impressive swell it made for some tricky times finding and then staying on birds - only one Stormy was seen by both present, for example. [[Ok, this may have something to do with me and my near-legendary inability to get onto birds, no matter how good the directions are... {Ahem.} ]]

What was that? 'Get on with it and tell us what you saw!'?

Star bird was definitely the light morph Pom Skua, which got in with the gulls off the end of the Nose and showed quite cripplingly as it went by. It had immaculate spoons, but not on very long handles, and the hint of paleness under the wing, set against its overall duskiness made me think 4s. But this is perhaps overanalysing a glorious bird. Said Skua was not alone in its quality, though. 2 more Bonxies and 4 Arctic Skuas passed south, a couple of the Arctics also giving very close flypasts, all appearing to be either adult or close to it. A Sooty Shearwater zipped through at 0809 - well out and making irritating use of troughs and other birds to give [Famous Devon Birder] no more than the briefest of glimpses. Manxies ebbed and flowed all day, with several groups stopping to feed to the north of the Nose, building up some big numbers [largest single flock was 97 birds] before they moved on en masse - a final total of 1170. 3 Balearics also came by, picking their times well so that only I saw them - the last one tarted by inside the lead Stone minutes before [famous Devon Birder] arrived. [Dratted bird.] [It was gorgeous, though..]

Storm Petrels started slowly, before suddenly kicking up after 1400; with 6 in the last hour that I was there compared with 7 others [of which I got on 4] in the more than 7 hours before then. Perhaps more a reflection of their coming closer to the slick from the outfall than a change in passage? Certainly none had been seen to come onto the main part of the slick before then. 7 Common Terns, 14 Common Scoter [in two groups], a 2s Med Gull [lingering in the outfall] and 2 Puffins [which flew in from the north and settled quite close inshore] were the best of the rest. I counted 310 Gannets south, with auks [mostly Guilles, but a few Razorbills mixed in] and Kittiwakes* uncounted but in the hundreds and at least 2 adult LBBs in the area [though there may have been a light passage instead - I'd occasionally find one or two around the Ore Stone among the Herrings and Geebs, so there might have been an unseen turnover].

[* The first Kittiwake didn't come by for some time, and by then I'd committed my second clicker to Manxies {Good thing too!} - it was far too wet to tally count them, and they eventually came too fast for it to have been accurate if I'd tried..]

[[As it was, my notebook got very soggy and looks like it'll take a fair while to dry out. I need to find a small professional survey notebook for the next one.]]

Its a treat to get such a juicy complex low coming in on the right track on a weekend, now I'm back in work. All those variables that need to coincide, 'tis a veritable wonder.

PYL: 124

Lazy Hypocritical Birding

But before I get on to that, I have very good news from the Patch! As I was doing stuff instead of going on a Wild Thrush Hunt, I had the chance to have a good check around the Patch and have found to my delight that there are at least 7 pairs of House Martins present this year! It may be small fry in the greater scheme of things, but compared to the usual 4 ±1 we get in our little colony, I'm chuffed. This is also a minimum figure, so you never know. It does have to be said that all this dry weather has had an effect on nest-building, with their efforts mostly looking more like those of Swallows [though they have found some well sheltered spots, so maybe it's going to be ok, and it is wetter now].

Ok, to the title bit;

I didn't go off to the west side of t'Moor looking to see if the BRT was there or not. Why did I cop out? Well, though I have had Real Life Stuff to do, I would have gone anyway except for two inconvenient facts; the Army are firing on Willsworthy today - which is right next to the site in question and over a nice damselfly site by it - and the weather's a bit iffy for said damsels. If it had been only one, I'd have gone 'Ah, to hell with the Army' or 'Ah, to hell with the weather'. Yes, if it had been seen this Thursday rather than Thursday week, that would have helped too. And petrol costs a fortune.

I will be heading up that way [maybe not tomorrow, mind...] some time this month, weather allowing, and I'll be keeping a careful eye out, to be sure. Who knows?

End on a happy note;

Oh, those House Martins are wonderful! So neat and dapper when perched, such a cheerful call, and that flight action that falls nicely between Swift and Swallow. It's good to see them, fair lifts the step, it does.