Vanishing Point

An exceptionally high tide at the Point of Ayr this morning produced an excellent crop of birds, with the pick being an incredible count of ninety five Brent Geese that arrived in two equal sized skeins about twenty minutes apart.

The water practically covered the spit today – the first time I have seen this happen. A tide of 10.1m had been predicted – lower than yesterday – but the combination of falling atmospheric pressure and a strengthening wind conspired to produce a big ‘un.

I had started out the morning with a seawatch - hoping to locate a small flock of Long-tailed Ducks that had been reported over the last couple of days. No joy, but plenty of Red-throated Divers past and a couple of Guillemots too.

I needed little encouragement to pack the seawatching in as he birds were not flying very close to the shore and when I spotted a Short-eared Owl cruising along the beach I sensed things must have started to get interesting on the marsh, so I headed over to near the café.

To my astonishment the water was already up to the embankment with an hour still to go. Pintail, Teal, Shelduck, Redshank and Curlew comprised the lion’s share of the birds, but a few goodies were present too in the form of a Red-breasted Merganser and a Spotted Redshank, whilst the first flock of Brent Geese soon touched down.

Closer scrutiny of the waders revealed a lone Bar-tailed Godwit – a nice addition to my Flintshire list – but the arrival of more Brent Geese had me trying to get an accurate count of their numbers. Ninety five in total – including at least two Dark-bellied Birds - and perhaps a record count for this site?

Point of Ayr 02.02.10

1 Short-eared Owl
95 Brent Goose (inc 2 Dark-bellied)
15+ Red-throated Diver
2 Guillemot
1 Spotted Redshank
3+ Rock Pipit
3 RB Merganser
2 GC Grebe

Until later.

Loonacy

No white whales today or indeed any sign of the Pequod, but enough action for a decent seawatch from the dunes at the Point of Ayr.

A steady stream of auks allowed me to get my eye in and before too long I was treated to spanking views of a winter-plumaged Great Northern Diver flying along the shoreline. A probable second followed a few minutes later, although it was miles out to sea and kept low in the troughs.

Duck was next on the menu; six Red-breasted Mergansers flew powerfully out of the estuary tailed a couple of minutes later by a drake Eider – uncommon birds in Liverpool bay.

As expected there was a good count of Common Scoter. Well over a hundred birds in total and as per usual they were flying in all directions of the compass.

Next it was the turn of Great Crested Grebes with three birds moving west along the coast accompanied by another distant loon that looked like a Red-throated.

Point of Ayr Seawatch: 02.11.09, 08:30 to 10:30.

1+ Great Northern Diver
1 Red-throated Diver
3 Great Crested Grebe
6 Red-breasted Merganser
1 Eider (drake)
100+ Common Scoter
10+ Razorbill
2 Guillemot
1 Gannet
1 Kittiwake

Today I received an unconfirmed report that a Catbird has been present near the small pool next to the path that leads to the razed hide at the Point of Ayr. For those familiar with the area it is where a Kingfisher normally resides in the winter.

The gentleman I spoke to claimed the bird has been present for two weeks; he says that he has heard it calling and seen the bird on one occasion during a total of 30 hours looking for the bird.

The chap in question is a well-known local birder, but after recent conversations with him concerning other birds he claims to have seen this autumn, caution is advised. Pass the salt.

Until later.

They Seek Him Here, They Seek Him There

I’m back from a failed mission this evening. The Baird’s Sandpiper at Traeth Dulas failed to put in an appearance today, although there were a couple of sketchy reports from early this morning and a later one of a reported sighting in flight after noon.

There was compensation though in the form of up to seven juvenile Curlew Sandpipers and a winter-plumaged Med Gull. The bijou estuary also held good numbers of commoner waders such as Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Curlew and other birds of note included a handful of Little Egret and a few flyover Ravens.

It’s a cracking, picturesque little bay really, and I confess that had this wader not been found then I would never have given the place a second glance on the map. There seem to be so many excellent birding areas in Anglesey – one can only imagine the number of rarities that pass through undetected at this chronically under-watched island.

One bird that didn’t go unnoticed was a cracking Bonxie I watched lumbering past Point Lynas this afternoon after I had given up on the elusive yankee shorebird and gone seawatching. To be truthful, passage was very light, but a spectacular feeding frenzy just off shore included hundreds of Auks, Gannets, Terns and Manxies.

It was a little surprising that no more Skuas were attracted to the melee, or indeed Porpoise. Just as I was about to pack up, I caught a gull flying in front of a massive oil tanker anchored offshore. It looked distinctly like a Sabine’s gull, but irritatingly the bird flew away from me at an angle that meant I could not get a good look at the wings. It will just have to go down in that increasingly long list of probables…

Until later.

A Taste of the Mediterranean

Another day, another seawatch. I was back on the dunes again this morning for another session in the saddle (well, fold-away seat). The wind had dropped today and switched a little to the south-west. Hardly ideal conditions, but it certainly brought home the bacon!

After a classic case of ‘you should have been here ten minutes ago, there was a Pomarine Skua past’ my spirits soon lifted after I latched onto a Leach’s Petrel – my first of the year. Despite the relatively calm conditions, the bird was hard to follow as it frequently dipped down into the shallow troughs.

There were plenty of terns around again today, making life relatively easy for the dozen or so Arctic Skuas present offshore. I watched numerous spectacular chases; these pirates of the oceans are truly the Peregrine Falcons of the sea – a perfect balance of size, strength and manoeuvrability.

A more cumbersome Bonxie was the next bird past, although it was at considerable distance. Much closer in, I picked up a shearwater flying like the clappers. When the bird finally flipped over it revealed the classic dark underside of a Balearic Shearwater! This was a first for me and confirmed by a fellow more experienced observer.

And then the birds completely dried-up: nothing. The wind was now more of a breeze and the sky was coloured every shade of grey imaginable from a deep charcoal to an off-white. Out on the water, the waves had flattened and an air of calm hung over the leaden water. It was time to pack-up the gear and await the next storm.

Until later.

Right People, Right Time, Just The Wrong Location

With the continuing strong winds I was back over to the Point Of Ayr this morning for the next course of seawatching. Today I decided to join a couple of chaps on top of the dunes – one of whom was in possession of the type of thick, long, white beard you only see on busts of greek philosophers. Superb.

If anything, the wind had abated a little today and shifted more to the north-west. Despite the favourable conditions, the fare was rather poor with only a brace of distant dark-phase Arctic Skuas keeping up the interest over the first ninety minutes.

After a couple of hours there was the first hint of excitement when a possible petrel was picked up on the horizon. I did not get a decent view of the bird as it was distant and keeping well down in the troughs – a little too far to claim a Leach’s I reckon!

Then, just as the morning was about to fall flat on its face, an unexpected bird turned up in the shape of a Black Guillemot – my first on the Dee Estuary. Like its auk cousins it was flying low and close to the shore, revealing itself to be an adult moulting into winter plumage.

After three hours of sustained protest from my numbed backside I decided to call it day and head back to the hutch. A day that had promised much had been a bit of an anti-climax really, especially when I logged on the internet and saw that New Brighton had recorded a Sabine’s Gull, Balearic Shearwater and Long-tailed Skua.

But, hey, that’s just the way it roles sometimes.

Until later.

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.

The Perfect Storm (inshallah)

Not much to report on the birding front at the moment. A trek up Carnedd-y-Filiast in North Wales produced bugger-all apart from a swarm of flies, a Buzzard and a Kestrel. Nevertheless, it looks like prime upland habitat, so next spring I will return with expectations of Golden Plovers galore.

Inner Marsh Farm was equally lukewarm yesterday, with only a juvenile Peregrine being of any interest. No sign of the Garganey, although I couldn’t really face another scan through the Teal.

The news is by no means all gloomy though. Despite the strong southerly winds putting wader migration on hold, a gale is predicted for the end of the week where some prime autumn seawatching could be had!

The conditions look classic with a strong south-westerly wind veering north-westerly. Fingers crossed, it could be a skua/petrel/shearwater fest by the end of the week - let’s hope the forecaster was not the individual responsible for predicting a ‘barbeque summer.’ I’m still waiting.

Until later.

Is There Anybody Out There?

Following a few days of modest north-westerly winds I headed for the Point of Ayr this morning for a spot of seawatching. And that’s exactly what I did – watch a mostly empty sea for two hours!

The sum total of the first half hour was a handful of Gannets – more far out than a catatonic hippy – fishing around the wind turbines.

A trickle of Sandwich Terns over the next hour or so was equally disappointing and things didn’t improve too much over the last 30 minutes – two sluggish Kittiwakes and a more dynamic Manxie the only birds of note.

The whole episode reminded me of a line from Blackadder 4: “It started badly, tailed-off a little in the middle and the less said about the end the better.”

A complete waste of time really, but that’s just the way it roles sometimes I suppose.

On a more positive note the wader numbers seem to be building up nicely with plenty of Curlew and Redshank roosting on the marsh over the high tide.

Until later.

West By South-West

Always partial to some seawatching, the combination of a high tide and a stiff north-westerly wind had me in the automobile and heading for a noon appointment with the sand dunes at the Point of Ayr.

Upon arrival at Talacre my spirits were soon sapped. I had neglected to remember that it was half term week and the car park was already rammed with dog walkers and the great unwashed. A further metaphorical kick to the teeth was received when I noticed the direction of the flag; not entirely agreeing with this morning's BBC weather graphic, it was shimmering west at best.

Faced with this double whammy, I enacted Plan B and headed to the Little Orme for what would be my inaugural visit. Initial impressions were good, a short walk from the road and I was perched on a section of elevated limestone overlooking the Irish Sea.

If anything the wind had acquired a south-westerly lilt now - hardly favourable conditions. Nevertheless, I was soon on to two Fulmars - one of which flew about six feet away from me! Kittiwake and Guillemot were both present in good numbers as were Cormorants, keeping themselves busy by commuting to and fro across the sea in small groups.

Four Manx Shearwaters were the next birds of note to pass through, banking nonchalantly into the head wind. Four seemed to be the magic number today as Gannets and Sandwich Terns appeared in the same digit. Two Shag were nice additions to my year list (now 177) and it occurred to me at this point that I had not seen any at Anglesey the previous week!?

Despite my many misgivings about RSPB Conwy, I decided it would be churlish not to pay it a visit given I was so close. Half an hour in the Benarth Hide revealed little of interest apart from a pair of Black Swans. Is it just me, or do these slimmer, ebony versions of the Mute Swan seem even more snooty and uppity? Time to get the boys from the Environment Agency in?

Until later.