Beside the Seaside

For a few days now, West Bay has been hosting a Wigeon flock...

The West Bay Wigeon flock yesterday.

Any non-Mallard is a novelty here, and very welcome. The other day I actually counted the Mallards (51) which is something I may well never have done anywhere else, ever. I'm not sure it's a good sign. Is Mallard counting normal?

The weather has been bad lately. Bad to the extent that seawatching has frequently been the most obvious birding option. However, apart from the recent once-in-a-blue-moon Leach's Petrel bonanza, there has really been nothing to get thrilled about. Some Gannets and Kittiwakes, a few auks, blah, blah... And then yesterday the weather got really bad...

By the afternoon we had a SSW gusting at 40-50+mph, which persisted all night. This morning I was very optimistic. So were a bunch of other Lyme Bay birders, and soon the local WhatsApp message board stuttered into life as little nuggets of quality were dug out here and there. The West Bay bits as follows...

Leach's Petrel

Three in total. The first, at 07:30, popped briefly into view with two Black-headed Gulls before vanishing behind a wave forever. I have no idea which way it was travelling. The next, at 13:55, went east quite rapidly, close and well above the surf. It gained height and drifted in over the harbour. Despite facing into the wind it was steadily going backwards. I soon lost it, but quickly packed up and hurried round to see if it was in the harbour, or even on the river. No sign. The way it was going, I can guarantee it never made it back to the sea. So where is it now, I wonder? The last one passed steadily east at 14:29, but not close.

I imagine that's my lot for local Leach's. A minimum of 13 in total. They'll probably have to last me a long, long time!

Pomarine Skua

Good story this. Great binocular views of a light-phase adult skua bombing west. A powerful-looking bird. I thought I glimpsed a breast band, the uppers looked quite blackish, and I was thinking Pom. As I tried to pick it up in the scope I realised it was piling into the flock of small gulls feeding in the surf at the end of the prom. A fleeting view told me it had no spoons, then suddenly my eyepiece was filled with a bloke walking along the prom! I never saw it again. I put a message on WhatsApp, to the effect that I hadn't clinched it. A bit later it passed Richard P at Charmouth and James M at Lyme, who confirmed it was indeed a Pom.

I'm not precious about who identifies my birds if I fail to, so I'll have it thanks. I cannot remember the last autumn Pom I saw locally. Definitely more years ago than I want to think about.

Little Gull

An adult flew east at 13:00. The range and light were such that any other age would probably have slipped through the net, but the black underwing nailed it.

Kittiwake

A common species, even here, but sheer numbers and lots of close views made for a special day. Combining morning and afternoon watches gives me a total of 420+, but this will be a massive undercount. Nonetheless, I am pretty sure that's the most I've ever recorded in a day locally.

6 Kitts, 3 BHGs and a Med Gull in this shot.

The photo above shows just a tiny fraction of the flock which spent all day at the far western end of the prom. Lots of coming and going, but probably 150+ gulls most of the time, and they were scopeable from the shelter. A passing Sabine's Gull would surely not be able to resist...

Presumably none passed.

So, a pleasing collection of birds, but honestly, it was slo-o-o-w going. Patience and persistence paid off in the end though.

Following my quick hunt around the harbour for the errant Leach's, I couldn't help but notice how the Wigeon flock was flaunting it...

Close and sunlit. Lovely...