The Safari woke up to a dark – yes; a pitch black dark Patch 1...when did that happen??? – we were not impressed.! A shortened safari in the mizzle didn’t take us as far as the tower so we don’t know if the Peregrine(s) were up there still asleep or not. Two were up there in glorious sunshine yesterday morning, both enjoying a still warm breakfast.
Worse was to come as we drove to work with the lights on for the first time in a long time....can only go downhill from now...dare we say it...winter is approaching.
Conditions at the seawall were good on the dropping tide. A few gulls and Oystercatchers on the beach were largely ignored but we did see three roosting groups of Sandwich Terns on the beach, 16 and eight this side of the outfall pipe and two others sat together just the other side of it.
Out at sea the visibility was superb but there was nothing about apart from Common Scoters which were here there and everywhere numbering a difficult to estimate in the swell but around 500 or more.
The lunchtime safari was little different, a check through the not so many gulls gave us three Common Gulls and stood on the beach with the gulls were three Cormorants.
A roost of Sandwich Terns was disturbed by a bloke and his dog but they settled again a little further down, 21 of them with another eight, in twos, scattered a long he water’s edge and two more fishing out at sea – 31 in total not a bad count. Also seen at the water’s edge was a single scampering Sanderling. Where are all the small waders this season? The nearby estuary is totally lacking in Dunlin.
The Common Scoters were still out in force but there were no other sea-birds out there with them.
Where to next? Another bit of a hooley is on the way so hopefully something of interest might be blown in our direction. But before that we have an event on the beach and in the rockpools tonight.
In the meantime let us know if it’s the lights have gone out in your outback.
Worse was to come as we drove to work with the lights on for the first time in a long time....can only go downhill from now...dare we say it...winter is approaching.
Conditions at the seawall were good on the dropping tide. A few gulls and Oystercatchers on the beach were largely ignored but we did see three roosting groups of Sandwich Terns on the beach, 16 and eight this side of the outfall pipe and two others sat together just the other side of it.
Out at sea the visibility was superb but there was nothing about apart from Common Scoters which were here there and everywhere numbering a difficult to estimate in the swell but around 500 or more.
The lunchtime safari was little different, a check through the not so many gulls gave us three Common Gulls and stood on the beach with the gulls were three Cormorants.
A roost of Sandwich Terns was disturbed by a bloke and his dog but they settled again a little further down, 21 of them with another eight, in twos, scattered a long he water’s edge and two more fishing out at sea – 31 in total not a bad count. Also seen at the water’s edge was a single scampering Sanderling. Where are all the small waders this season? The nearby estuary is totally lacking in Dunlin.
The Common Scoters were still out in force but there were no other sea-birds out there with them.
Where to next? Another bit of a hooley is on the way so hopefully something of interest might be blown in our direction. But before that we have an event on the beach and in the rockpools tonight.
In the meantime let us know if it’s the lights have gone out in your outback.
2 comments:
Clocks go back soon dave , so we'll get a few light mornings back........for a while!
It never got light all day here, Dave. Forecast to be better for the rest of the week, though.
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