Nothing like the avian heroin that was yesterday’s seawatch, but still there were sufficient birds to provide enough entertainment for a couple of hours at the Point of Ayr this evening.
A score or so Leach's were the highlight, but unlike the previous day the petrels were exiting both stage left and stage right; indeed some birds seemed to be feeling the wind rather than fighting it today, with many of the dainty sea swallows obviously feeding.
Moreover, it was good to watch the birds engage in something approaching 'normal' behaviour. I really enjoy seawatching, but it always a little sad to see so many birds completely bushed. It may seem an odd simile, but it's akin to a good Bullfight - a tremendous spectacle unfortately tainted by the fact that something has had to suffer.
Anyway, fewer Skuas ce soir too, with three dark-phase Arctic Skuas the only identifiable birds. I was however completely foxed by a trio of birds that passed in close succession of one another quite near the shore. After looking the books, I have still not the foggiest idea if they were juvenile Arctics or young Long-tailed - or a mixture of the two!
Also notable was a handful of Kittiwakes, a couple of Manxies, four Common Scoters and amidst the noticeably declining number of Sandwich Terns, a good candidate for an Arctic.
Until later.
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Hi Paul
ReplyDeleteYou're certainly clocking up some superb Birding at the moment,both here and abroad.
When we travelled in 2003 we visited Vigo,but sadly not that little collection of Islands,and what a mistake that clearly was.
There's no doubt at all that Birding abroad is very exciting,even in countries that are close to home like France and Spain,and I know that when we visited Extremadura the Birding was brilliant to say the least.
Also France,and it's very beautiful countryside and extremely nice people,is also full of more decent Birding sites than you could shake a stick at.
Take La Brenne for example,a place that we also discovered whilst taking a year out to travel in 2003,there's almost a 'Lifer' around every corner there.
I'm a member of the LPO in France( Ligue Pour La Protection Des Oiseaux )and as a result of that membership I have learnt a lot about the country and it's tremendous value in Birding terms,not least because of it's perfect position on the world map as far as migrating birds are concerned.
But to travel all around the country as we did in 2003,and to cover another 2000 miles on top this year,really does make you appreciate the quality and quantity of the birds over there,and I can say that without any exaggeration whatsoever that when we stopped at one campsite in central France this year,there were 7 Black Redstarts,( 3 in the Kiddies Play Area,2 in the Supermarket car park,and 2 on a site where they were building a new bit )3 Spotted Flycatchers, ( also in the Kiddies Play Area of the Park )2 Common Sandpipers on the stream,with a stunning Kingfisher for company,and that was very much the Norm on all of the sites as we moved around,with a difference in the variety of the species of course.
Cheers Denzil