Monday, August 17, 2009

16th August, 2009.

Up and "on station" before dawn given a WSW F6 wind that was surely going to produce some good seawatching. Well it did, in the sense of close views of birds forced close to shore, but I hadn't reckoned with the heavy squalls in the early part of the three hours and the much reduced visibility that went with them. Counting was hopeless and very wet but , thankfully, no exceptional passage was in play. Interestingly very few auks were in evidence , the only noticeable slight "lift" in numbers being from Manx Shearwater with about 2000 going through , but little else. A nano secondsworth of a possible Sooty Shearwater, that would have been seen easier from Ireland (!), was the only bit of excitement. The weather did improve, but bird variety remained low and so I eventually squelched my way home after checking a few other sites. I actually prefer to be running wet than " warm and wet , a particularly disgusting condition in my view!!!

Warblers finally seem to have gone past peak with birds at home now being predominantly Siskin, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch and Wren at the feeders with a few other species just visiting the garden , including three Song Thrush which spend an inordinate amount of time in mock battle.

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