Seawatching and the City

If only I had the discipline to extricate myself from my pit at an ungodly hour, then I may have made it to the Point of Ayr this morning for a spot of seawatching. The lucky viewer who did just that bagged two Balearic and one Sooty Shearwater – two life ticks for me!

Instead I was under the influence of Bacchus, a substance I used to numb the effect of a forced viewing of Sex and the City: The Movie. Carrie and Big – what a pair of cards.

All is not lost though. Winds are strengthening tomorrow – to gale force – although they will be blowing more westerly than is ideal. Still, it is well worth a punt in the morning and I would not bet against the first Leach’s Petrel of the year putting in an appearance.

The tricky decision is where to watch. I’ll probably take a punt at New Brighton tomorrow as there are a few places to shelter and it’s going to be wet! Here is the wish list:

Sooty Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Pomarine Skua, Long-tailed Skua, Leach’s Petrel, Storm Petrel, Sabine’s Gull and Grey Phalarope.

A brief visit to Inner Marsh Farm this morning produced little except from a Greenshank and the three Ruff that seem to have taken up residency. fLapwing numbers are building nicely though and a few drake Mallards are starting to emerge from eclipse plumage.

Until later.