Antipasto

A four hour session at the Point of Ayr offered a hint of hopefully what is to come tomorrow should the wind maintain its strength and veer more to the north-west: a main course of skua in a shearwater jus, with a side serving of petrels.

The hors d’oeuvre was not without merit though. The highlight was a cracking Bonxie mixing it with the Gannets – its distinctive white wing flash and bulk making it identifiable from a good distance.

Much closer in a steady stream of Sandwich Terns attracted the interest of numerous Arctic Skuas - two of which double-teamed a hapless tern into disgorging its meal.
One bird, a juvenile was blown onto the beach itself, flying practically over my head!

A continued passage of birds included a few Arctic and Little Terns and as high tide approached, a handful of Fulmar, Manx Shearwaters and Guillemots battled with the headwind.

Conspicuous by their absence were Kittiwakes and it was not until the heavens opened that I just managed to locate a juvenile that had seemingly given up fighting the wind and decided it wished to be blown back into the estuary instead.

When the heavens opened for the umpteenth time I decided to call it day. After all, it is going to take all evening to clean all the sand from my scope and bins in readiness for another battering by the elements tomorrow!

Until later.