Talking it Up

Tomorrow evening I may regret this post and need to rename it 'The Kiss of Death', but here goes anyway...

Long-tailed Skua is a major seawatching prize along this stretch of Lyme Bay coast, so I am particularly fortunate in having seen eight in total, all from Seaton and Beer; seven autumn juvs and a superb spring adult. Four of those juvs were in August 2012, when there was an exceptional influx, but the most memorable by far was almost exactly 14 years ago: 20th October, 2009. There is a great write-up of that encounter on Steve's blog which totally captures the vibe and includes a photo of Steve impersonating the bird, so I shan't repeat the tale here. Instead, here is the description which went into the notebook I still used in those days...

Small and dainty – seen up close with naked eye (down to 20-30ft) looked small. 2 white primary shafts obvious – no other white noted [in upperwing]. Overall cold brown (greyish tinge?). Intermediate phase – dark breast band, slightly paler head, and very pale belly, which contrasted quite strongly with sharply cut-off breast band. Upper and under tail coverts strongly barred. Tail had blunt central feathers, quite prominent. Upperwing (and upperparts generally) had strongly marked pale edgings to dark feathers. Underwings strongly barred. Bill quite short and dainty, bluish base and dark tip (outer1/3). Slim bird – not deep chested at all.

There were three of us - Steve, Ian and me - and our views were ridiculous. In my mind's eye I can clearly see that bird coming towards us along the beach, into the wind, slowly passing just a few metres away. Unforgettable. It eventually headed away NW, inland over the town!

I haven't seen a Long-tailed Skua since the four 2012 birds, but plan to rectify that tomorrow. The juv described above occurred on a day of strong (force 6-7?) SSE, quite unusual conditions here, and tomorrow is forecast to bring a southerly wind of reasonable strength (though I think not force 6-7) following brisk easterlies and a lot of rain, also quite unusual late-autumn weather. Apart from the date and the 'quite unusual' weather bit, there is absolutely no other similarity between the two situations, so my implication that there is some logical basis for the prediction of a Long-tailed Skua sighting tomorrow is pathetically tenuous. There is actually no basis whatsoever, beyond a fervent wish.

So, as I say, probably the kiss of death.

Meanwhile, a quick mothy update...

 

Monday night, 16th October

This is the only time the trap has been out since the last update. The catch was tiny (11 moths of nine species) but two were new for year, and one new for the garden. Definitely worth the trouble then...

Although a first for the garden, the Sallow is clearly not uncommon, with 24 Bridport area records on the Living Record map. A pretty moth.

The Sallow may be pretty, but Merveille du Jour deserves a far more generous adjective. It really is a beautiful moth. Very slightly more numerous locally, but we only caught one in 2022. I thought we might have missed our chance of one this year, but thankfully not.

Between now and the next NQS post there should have been some seawatching. And probably a serious reality check.