Sunday, June 29, 2008

Didn't get out birding til this evening. This morning, *someone* had to look after the kids while *someone else* was having a hangover, I mean long lie. :-)

And only for an hour this evening too. There was some footie match on. I was in such a hurry to get down the cliffs I nearly missed this...

A timely reminder that my season of small mammal photography is on us again. This one was very small - some sort of teenage Short-tailed Vole. Or a dwarf version of a previously undescribed Giant Vole. Either way, it's In. The. Bag. and presumably the first of many. Wonder where its head went?

Brisk onshore wind, and a summer sea, with big flocks of Northern Gannets offshore, and even 40 Northern Fulmars in a tight raft - I know I see these all the time, but normally not many. So you can tell by the fact I'm mentioning Gannets and Fulmars that it wasn't a classic movement. Kept me amused for an hour in the showers (Matron!). A single Arctic Skua went north, with 10 Manx Shearwaters north and 1 south, and 10 Common Scoters south. The only non-standard thingy was an unexplained minor trickle of Eurasian Curlews going south - 79 between 17:50 and 18:50.

But that was that, except I stumbled over a Meadow Pipit's nest. I mean, not literally, but I know where it is.

3 comments:

Bonsaibirder said...

Hi Martin,

Curlews going (mostly) south over Whitburn on Sunday too ...

http://bonsaibirder.blogspot.com/2008/06/whitburn-obs-0530-to-0830.html

Cheers,

Steve

Martin said...

Veeerrrryyyy interesting. Now if you could just send me that Roseate.

Bonsaibirder said...

It probably belongs to the guys at Coquet I'm afraid.

Although Roseate is on my Grampian find list - Strathbeg 198x? Looking back it was amazing that I could find anything through a Bauch and Lomb Spacemaster!