Spring Skua

A cracking Bonxie flying out of the estuary early this morning was reward alone for the early start and ample compensation for getting my gear clogged with sand.

Mind you, my scope would have been spared had I not decided to try a new seawatching spot from a higher dune further along the beach – a plan that lasted all of ten minutes before I retreated to my usual location just to the east of the lighthouse.

Great Skua aside there were plenty of other birds in Liverpool Bay, the most numerous being Gannets.

A few Sandwich and Commic Terns battled against the moderate westerly, but it was a score or so Little Terns that entertained the most as they attempted to feed near the buoys.

The first Manxies of the year appeared too. Only three, and a good way out too – as was the solitary Kittiwake I also picked out this morning.

More run-the-mill stuff included a Great Crested Grebe and a number of small flocks of Common Scoter zooming around on the horizon.

At about nine thirty things started to fizzle out and the appearance of Mark Murphy seemed to put a hex on things entirely by ten! He did manage to magic a Sparrowhawk out of thin air however…spooky.

Point of Ayr 14.5.11 (Seawatch)

Bonxie 1
Manxie 3
200+ Gannet
Little Tern 20+
Sandwich Tern 3
Commic Tern 15+
Common Scoter 50+
GC Grebe 1
Guillemot 1
Kittiwake 1
Sparrowhawk 1

Until later