While the Sun Shines...

I'm glad work takes me to the Seaton area. I would miss it otherwise, and probably have to find another excuse to visit. Pulling up at Coronation Corner shortly before midday I was delighted to see a lot of gulls. I even counted them (that's a first!) - the big ones anyway - and made it at least 1500. Almost all Herring Gulls. I couldn't face counting the hundreds of small ones though. My lunchtime sifting produced one measly Med Gull, which was pretty poor return for what must have been the best part of 3,000 gulls. Interestingly a mid-afternoon visit revealed a little arrival of Med Gulls, and I counted at least 10. Also there was a steady trickle of big gulls dropping in. Yet overall numbers looked the same or less, suggesting a turnover of birds. I think this quite often happens with the Axe gull population, and is part of the reason for my addiction to the darned things. Almost anything could have arrived since you had a look ten minutes ago, so you simply have to check them again. And again! Etc...

Today's star birds were actually ducks...

Four lovely Pintail. Pretty scarce on the Axe or its marshes.

When it comes to looks, drake Pintail are one of my favourites, so I was chuffed to spot these two pairs chugging up the river N of Coronation Corner. They eventually settled down over by the far bank, sheltering from the cold, blasting NW wind. I sypathised. It was pretty raw.

Near perfection in a duck.

After lunch I went hunting for a bird Steve had seen early this morning. A probable Serin had accosted him on his way to work. Knowing that he was without optics it chose to give him the most tantalising performance it could get away with...bar allowing him to nail it! Unfortunately I couldn't find it, and had to make do with a friendly Stonechat instead...

Nikon P900 at 1600mm zoom...

...and at full 2000mm zoom. Hand-held. ISO400, 1/320sec.

I am so pleased with this camera. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: many thanks to those who responded to my 'What camera should I get?' query back in October. I'm very glad I paid attention to the recommendations. The user-friendly versatility of the P900, plus the quality of its images, has added another level of enjoyment to my birding. Which brings me to something else...

On and off, NQS has been going since 2008. Although the earlier two incarnations are no longer extant, I can safely say that neither were ever as prolific as this one currently is. Since I posted 'My Happy Bird' on October 4th last year I've published 73 posts in four months (124 days) which is a bit more than one post every other day. I feel weirdly rejuvenated, with a new-found enthusiasm for both birding and writing. I cannot explain it. However, this prolificity (what a cool word!) is not totally out of character, and a pessimistic little voice in my head is telling me it won't last. Ah well... While the sun still shines, I shall make hay...