The Safari wanted to be able to call this post Dive Dive Dive!!! but we only got two out of the three, we ain't complaining though, no not at all!
A very keen wind was blowing this morning and we took a chance that it was light enough to see anything cos it didn't really look as though it was going to get light at all which was a shame after the intense fiery dawn that was all too short-lived.
So out we went into the freezer.
Glad we did as we soon picked up a flock of four Red Throated Divers going south quite close in and then a another couple mixed in with a small flock of Common Scoters and then another and another. A couple of Great Crested Grebes broke the divers' monopoly. And then bingo - we hit the big time the next diver was a Black Throated Diver (97, P2 #34) - ohhhh well chuffed!!! More Red Throated Divers came past and by thee time we had to go back inside we'd had 18 of them along with five Great Crested Grebes, plus two on the water - well happy.
Four small gulls sat on the sea just out of naked eye range so we put the scope on them just on the off chance the Mediterranean Gull from the other day was with them - slim chance we know - too our amazement one of them was a Mediterranean Gull but a different much more advance plumaged bird than ours!!! Would you believe it!!!
That was it we raced over the road and back into the office grabbed the camera fumbled attaching the long lens again and raced back to the wall only to see said Mediterranean Gull drifting gently against the wind 20 feet in the air and 50 yards down the wall - missed it by seconds...gggrrrrrr.
During the morning we looked on the green several times but no-one was chucking bread around today and there were no gulls to grill.
At lunchtime it seemed even colder and snow was trying to fall.
The tide had just dropped off the wall and left a tennis court sized sand bank exposed which held more species of gulls than the whole of the continent of Australia, namely Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser black Backed Gull and Greater Black Backed Gull versus Pacific Gull, Kelp Gull and Silver Gull.
The tide dropped a bit more and revealed more sand whereupon a few Sanderlings dropped in. We started to count them and saw that the two nearest the wall had breast -bands - two Ringed Plovers (98, 35) - a real bonus. Happy days indeed.
Where to next? That busy citizen science day tomorrow - snow permitting. Big 'Garden' Birdwatch 11 - 12 noon on the North Blackpool Pond Trail's Kincraig Lake if anyone's interested/brave.
In the meantime let us know what tried to sneak past masquerading as something else in your outback.
Again only a cat on Stealth-cam from last night :-(
3 comments:
So how much of a rarity are the BT Divers off our bit of coastline Dave???
We've had a Mistle Thrush in the garden twice this aft, the first time it visited the pond, then later it returned & was feeding on the few remaining berries in our hawthorn. On both occasions it was quickly surrounded by about 5 local Blackbirds, although they never actually tried to chase it off. It's probably one of your pond trail birds & that's where it flew off towards.
Davyman, have you got sound on that night cam ? Might hear a Tawny call :-)
Cliff they're pretty scarce off the coast here only a handful of sightings each winter. Good to see you hada M/T you saw the BBC news today about their decline, not had one on the NBPT yet hoping to change that tomorrow morning.
Warren - it'd have to have a good microphone!!! Nearest one is at least 2 1/2 miles away
Cheers
D
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