Baby Steps

Cogden is a big place. Sussing it out is therefore going to take time...and patience. I'm sort of hoping that late autumn/winter is actually a good season to begin the process of finding my way around, as I should be able to cover a fair bit of ground without fretting that I'm overlooking some migrant hotspot and missing out big time. I've managed a few short visits since the first...

View from the car park.

Seawatching facilities.

Talking of seawatching...

Staring at the sea in the hope of passing birds is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine. Seaton had some decent seawatching spots, with pretty good shelter if needed. What Cogden does have is sea. Loads of it. And I'm sure it'll be worth watching, being probably less than 15 miles E of Seaton on the SW facing side of Lyme Bay. Trouble is, shelter looks hard to come by. Patch pedantry dictates that birds be seen on (or from) the patch, so at the moment I can't see any alternative to hunching miserably in the lee of a hedge or something. And as I get older I find myself less tolerant of discomfort, so my seabird list may be slow to get going...

That said, I got down there for a walk along the beach this afternoon and did spot some seabirds. It was blowing a mild hoolie and my specs kept salting up, but there were birds out there. Not many, sure, but I spied a Gannet, maybe two, and a drake Common Scoter flew W - both new for my patch list. And best of all there were gulls! Admittedly a very thin sprinkling, but amongst the dross were four little beauties - Med Gulls, three adults and a 1st-winter, all of which slowly moved W. Here is grainy proof...

Adult Med Gull - a worthy species for my first Cogden birdy pic

My patch list now sits at 31, and I suppose Med Gull, Common Scoter, Cetti's Warbler, Sparrowhawk and Water Rail might be the highlights so far. That's in four visits! As the title says: baby steps!