The House of Death

Our house is about 22 or 23 years old, and so are most things in it. I am finding that an awful lot of stuff seems to die around that age. For example, this year we've read the last rites to our garage door and the gas fire. Mind you, I hated the gas fire. Sure, it had redeeming features like keeping us toasty warm last winter - with chattering teeth I would arrive home from a few hours outdoors and the gas fire would spark up and bathe me in instant heat. And then, basking in its glow, I'd start to feel guilty that I had just spent time enjoying - yes, enjoying - the spectacle of freezing Woodlarks scrabbling in the snow, Skylarks fleeing W from the freeze in their thousands and Lapwings heading straight out to sea in search of warmth and food on the continent...and there was I thawing nicely in front of a homely flame...it's hard not to hate something that makes you feel guilty. I also hated it for its tacky looks. Not its fault, I know, but...yes...the ugly pig deserved to die. And now I'm feeling guilty about how it's dead and I can't honestly say I ever loved it...not in my heart. I can't even look at its photos...

Anyway, we got a new gas fire - also ugly - and a new garage door. The new garage door is great, and a vast improvement on the dead one, which was really stiff and used to make me duck all the time. Sometimes I forgot, or didn't duck low enough, and then it made me say bad things. Yes, if I'm honest I'm glad the old garage door turned up its toes.

It seems gas fires and garage doors don't have the three-score-years-and-ten spec that most of us do, but in my experience they don't deserve to anyway.

So, there I am then, disgracefully celebrating the death of bits of our home, when suddenly the boiler develops a really sore throat. Aaagh! No! Did I mention that death is also really expensive? Despite our best attempts at first-aid and tender nursing the boiler goes terminal and pegs it. I am very upset. But my wallet is absolutely distraught. No-o-o-o-o-o....not the boile-e-e-e-e-e-e-er!!

This morning the House of Death and Gloom welcomed Smiling Mister Heating Engineer into its loving bosom. Look...

Sandra surveyed the scene of devastation and said "Have we got any of that yellow paint left?" Before I could answer she added "Mind you, I've gone off it now anyway..."

Should I read anything into that?

Oh! Birds! This afternoon I got out for a late look at the estuary to take my mind of various depressing debit columns. I bumped into Steve and we saw a 2nd-winter Med Gull, or maybe two, and enjoyed some mutual Caspian Gull lust. Phwooarrr. Tomorrow I must earn an awful lot of money.

The Seaton Audouin's Gull - 14 August 2007

After a night of strong southerly wind and heavy rain I went straight to the Beer shelter at first light. I should have stayed in bed. No visibility. No birds. I went home, resolving to try again later.

I was just enjoying a late morning coffee when Steve called...
"There's an Audouin's Gull at Seaton Marshes."
The obvious response is "I'm on my way RIGHT NOW!" but what came out was "Really?" What an idiot! Was I expecting Steve to chuckle merrily and confess to a jolly jape? Four seconds later I was in the Seaton Marshes car park. Just Steve's car there.
I rang Steve.
"Still there?"
"Yes it is. I'm in the hide."
The path to the hide is a few minutes of pleasant strolling as a rule. When running it transforms into a gruelling 2-mile uphill slog. And I did run!
In the hide Steve helped me get my scope on the exact spot. The bird was at least 500m away, through light drizzle, nestled among a sizeable cluster of big gulls, in longish grass. Nightmare. I could see its mantle, wing tips, and the back of its head. It could have been anything. It then simply dissolved into the flock, and I'd seen absolutely nothing on it of consequence. Marvellous.
Several very tense minutes went by, punctuated by a great deal of anxious muttering from Steve. Suddenly I realised I could see it - a beady-eyed, white head was poking out, with a STONKING red bill. I was absolutely stunned!
"I can see it, I can see it!"
It quickly melted away again.
Steve was frantic with relief - he was late for all sorts of crucial appointments and simply had to leave, but would get back as soon as he could.
I promised to keep my eye glued to the spot and wait for reinforcements. Steve left and I just stared down my scope, terrified that if I lost concentration for a second the bird would slip away forever and I would have to be tarred and feathered.
After what seemed an age, others began to arrive. The bird was an absolute pig to see, and in the next hour and a half it gave only tantalisingly brief and incomplete views. Eventually, though, it stood in full(ish) view for several minutes, preening. By this time the hide was packed and I could tell that some were really struggling to get on the bird, despite our efforts to give directions. Although I felt incredibly selfish doing so, I took the opportunity to get a series of digiscoped shots while it was on view, suspecting they would be invaluable - perhaps essential - to a successful BBRC submission. There were a lot of frustrated birders now jostling for a little bit of hide slot - the kind of scenario I detest - and I squeezed out as quickly as possible, and left.
I am pretty sure that quite a few didn't see the bird at all, despite being there while it was visible. They either couldn't get on it, or couldn't get into the hide far enough to see out properly. Hideous. Soon after I departed, the flock apparently took to the air and dispersed. Later in the day I came across birders up and down the valley, searching for it. But in vain. It seemed to be the end of the story...

Late that evening Stuart Piner and Dan Pointon had given up the search and headed into Seaton to look for a Tesco. Seaton didn't have a Tesco then, but they weren't to know that and stopped outside a utilitarian building that looked promising. Emerging from the car they realised it was just a stupid holiday camp and were just about to torch it in frustration when Dan idly checked the gulls on the roof. One of them was the Audouin's! There was hugging and kissing and a few minutes of digiscoping in the gloom. Despite a rapid response from the few twitchers remaining, the bird flew off towards the sea moments before anyone else arrived on the scene...

And that really was it.

Finally, a few photos and, right at the bottom of this post, the description I submitted to BBRC. The Seaton Audouin's Gull was accepted as an adult or 3rd-summer bird, and was Britain's fourth, the previous three all being 2nd-summers.

These three all digiscoped from the hide at 500+m through the drizzle...and it shows

The next one was taken by Stuart Piner. Again, digiscoped, but it was dusk so there is almost no colour in the pic...

© Stuart Piner

Ironically, the holiday camp building which Stuart and Dan took for a Tesco has since been demolished. The land was purchased by...Tesco. The eponymous store is opening later this year.

And here is my favourite photo of the bird. Steve did return after all his errands, and blagged his way into a house that overlooks the relevant bit of marsh. This digiscoped photo was taken through a double-glazed window and a tree!

© Steve Waite

And here's the description...



Seaton Audouin's Gull - 14 August 2007 - Description -

A Revelation!

I learned something profound today. Something which has completely changed the way I will approach tricky gull ID in the future...

It all began with yesterday's 2nd-winter Yellow-legged Gull, and the feeling I had that it wasn't a 100% 'typical' example of the breed. Of course, that doesn't make it not a YLG, and it got me looking at our teeming swarm of argenteus Herring Gulls, and wondering how many of them were 100% typical of the breed. Herring Gulls are hugely variable at all ages, in plumage, size and structure. This variability translates into an undeniable fact - Herring Gulls do not come out of a mould. This is true of all species of course, but is incredibly evident in gulls, big ones especially.

"What does it all mean?" I asked myself last night, quite unable to get to sleep.
Well matey, it means size and structure are only helpful on 'typical' birds, and big gulls are therefore even harder than you thought!
"Yes, yes, I know all about the different sizes of male and female, wingspan, bill length, etc..."
Fine, but if you really want to blow your mind, check out weight variability...
"Really?"
Really! Now go to sleep and look it up in Malling Olsen & Larsson first thing in the morning.
"Ok..."

So I did. It's perhaps no surprise that YLGs differ in size and structure (and colour) depending which population they're from, but get this - their weight can range as follows [quoted from Malling Olsen & Larsson]....

S France:  adult male (1,040g - 1,500g)  adult female (800g - 1,400g)
Spanish Mediterranean  (500g - 1,250g)
Spanish Atlantic and Cantabria  (420g - 1,600g!!!)

Now imagine a four or five stone child next to a sixteen stone rugby player. 420/500g is lighter than some Common Gulls! Any preconceptions I still had about YLG size and structure went flying out the window...

______________________________________________________________

I managed a little birding this afternoon, catching up with Phil and his fascinating recent experiences on the Azores. Nothing much on the river, so we had a little seawatch. Lots of Kittiwakes moving in the brisk SW, but apart from a Red-throated Diver, 2 Med Gulls and 2 Common Scoter, little else. I saw another 1st-winter Med Gull on the estuary a bit later, then it was home to read all I possibly could on gull weights. My life is full of thrills.

Living Dangerously

A very quick jaunt to Beer Head before work. Sunny and cloudless, but not many birds. I heard Crossbill once, Siskin lots of times, and actually saw a Redpoll. Perched on things were a Wheatear, a Stonechat, a Blackcap and 2 Goldcrests. I'd forgotten my phone, so before I rushed off to slave my guts out all day I collected it from home. Three messages. One from Mark B told me about a Dusky Warbler near Exmouth, and two from Steve told me about Short-eared Owls at Beer Cemetery Fields...and a Dusky Warbler near Exmouth. Even though I'm not really part of the Devon 'circuit' it strikes me that birdy gen seems to get out pretty quick here, which is good. News of a Dusky Warbler might well have distracted a man with a poorly focussed work ethic, but I'm not like that...

No, really, I went fairly straight to work, even when Ian M texted about a Firecrest in the Beer Head Underhooken.

Instead of listening to Radio 4 all day like I usually do, I decided to keep my ears open for overflying rarities. I was rewarded with Skylark and Siskin, and not having to hear the Archers theme tune. For this dedication to the birding cause I treated myself to a spell by the river this evening, right up to dusk. I patrolled up and down the Axmouth side, and was glad I did - whenever I glanced across to the Tower Hide there were thousands of people poking out of it. The few gulls present were much further downstream anyway. The light was very harsh but, even so, this gull was clearly a little darker than the Herrings...

It's a 2nd-winter Yellow-legged Gull, but quite an interesting one to a Learner like me. Rather short-legged for a YLG, and without an obvious eye mask; the bill isn't the usual hefty tool either. The next photo shows it with Herrings - look at that primary projection! Wow! You're as blown away as me I'll bet...

I'm always a tiny bit worried that something horrible will happen when I publish a photo and unequivocally name the species, that I'll get one of those helpful, constructive comments setting me straight...

'Yellow-legged Gull? You are kidding, right? Just playing the ignorant plankton for a laugh, yeah? Kind regards, Klaus Malling Olsen'

I really should make better use of those handy qualifiers 'possible' and 'probable'. Now you understand just what an act of bravery it is to do a blog with regular gull stuff. Look, readers! No safety net!

This one I can do with total confidence - it's an adult Med Gull with a red ring which I annoyingly cannot read.

Other river dwellers included 6 Dunlin and a Knot. And Colyford Marsh scrape dwellers included 3 Gadwall - a drake and 2 ducks. The Knot and Gadwall are all new to me, and just further indication that this is a time of year with lots and lots of bird movement. Anything can happen. Any minute. So, from the Farm Gate viewpoint I carefully checked every single Teal in view. If there's a Green-winged Teal to be had, I want to find it. If Steve finds it that'll be pure selfish greed...

Gulls - Why Bother?

Instead of the promised tale of the Seaton Audouin's Gull (in prep) here is the first post that will be linked from the Gull Page. This is my attempt at 'inspirational'. Of course the Audouin's account is going to be pretty motivating too, but maybe some fundamentals first, So...

Gulls - Why Bother?

A fair question, so here's a stab at an answer.

I saw my first Mediterranean Gull on 3 October 1982. A 2nd-winter in a field with Black-headed Gulls, near Kelling in Norfolk. In my notebook there's a proper description and a little sketch of the head pattern - a nice reminder that I was conscientious once. My second Med Gull was an adult that flew over the Staines Reservoir causeway less than three weeks later. A self-find tick, and one of only about 8 birds seen in the London recording area that year. Yes, they were once very scarce. Quite a buzz!

Thus was kindled an interest in gulls.

For a beginner, picking a Med Gull from a flock of BHGs is a challenge, and each little white-winged beauty found is a triumph. You might then graduate to picking out the trickier 1st-winters and, again, there's that feeling of achievement when it happens. If, like me, you live somewhere that Med Gulls are not too common, they'll always be a treat. And this is where much of the appeal of gull-watching lies - winkling a gem from the dross. A big flock of BHGs looks like a seething mass of clones...until you look closely. The principle extends to a big flock of any gulls, that hidden somewhere among their dirt-common number couild be something incredibly rare. Something to give you the mild shakes or, maybe, not so mild!

Birding is a pleasurable pursuit at many levels, but for lots of birders the biggest thrill comes from finding something scarce or rare. It's a motivator for most of us I expect. So if you lived somewhere with good numbers of waders, say, you'd be daft not to check through them regularly, especially at passage times, right? You'd spend maybe 5 or 6 months of the year with high expectations, and no doubt score occasionally. Great. However, wader concentrations are few and far between, but I'm sure if your patch has one you hammer it. Gulls, on the other hand, are everywhere! And provide virtually year-round entertainment. They are also hugely mobile and very unfussy. The number one criterion required for a good chance of a rare gull is...other gulls. Oh, and birders looking. I reckon it's a safe bet to say that wherever gulls get a regular looking-at, scarce and rare gulls will have been found. Quite possibly the chances of turning up a Barred or Pallas's Warbler within 10 miles of your house might be slim to zero, but I'll bet the chances of an equivalent gull are not too bad at all.

If you regularly check through gulls, you will find good ones. Guaranteed.

So why does gull-watching appear to be a minority sport? Ask a birder why he doesn't do gulls...
Yuk, horrible things...I hate gulls...Gulls? Bo-o-o-o-oring!...Poxy flying rats!
And yet they're off like a shot for that Glaucous-winged. All tosh. What's the real reason then? Would I be treading on thin ice if I dared suggest...laziness? Not so much 'can't be bothered to look through them', but more 'can't be bothered to learn all that tricky ID stuff'. There's a comments box below if you want to refute that one, but my defense is that it was true of me, and I'll bet I'm not unique. Could you pick out a 1st-winter Med Gull? Fine. An adult Ring-billed? Excellent. What about a 1st-winter Ring-billed? A 1st-winter Bonaparte's? Or what about some of the big brown stuff, say a juvenile Yellow-legged or 1st-winter Caspian? Etc, etc. I wonder how many American Herring Gulls get passed right over by birders who are simply blind to the possibility? Or, perhaps aware of the possibility but totally unaware of the clues!

The point is, there is a challenge here. I've never come across anything remotely like it in my birding career - learning quite tricky identification stuff and getting a chance to practice it almost every time I go out! A challenge beyond the most fiendish Sodoku sometimes, but a challenge to rise to.

So, gulls, why bother? The answer is simple really - the rewards. To find a scarce bird that a good number of birders wouldn't have looked twice at is great, of course, but it's not just that - it's the satisfaction that comes from stretching yourself a bit and discovering that what was once impossible, suddenly is not!

They're not all tricky - there's an Iceland Gull in this lot. Mind you, if there was anything else decent I missed it!

I Should Also Point Out...

...that gulls can do your head completely in.

Yes, they might be a fun (if screwy) challenge, and every gathering of them loaded with potential, but gulls can also leave you (well, me) completely baffled sometimes.

Again, a little estuary-dawdling this afternoon. As I peered across from the road I could see at least 2 intermedius type Lesser Black-backed Gulls and what looked suspiciously like an adult Yellow-legged, though it was mostly hidden behind an island. 'Let's just pop over there and have a quick look,' said the deceitful Mr. Skive.

It was fast asleep, but a nice shade of grey - between graellsii LBB and argenteus Herring - and did have yellow legs. A slightly worrying amount of head-streaking though...

The LBB on the right is quite possibly an intermedius - a lot darker than graellsii

I had to wait forever before it unfolded, and this was the result...

Hmmm. Almost certainly not YLG. Too much head-streaking, for starters. Also, judging by the stubby little wing-tip projection it's still in primary moult, and adult YLG should probably be all done and dusted in that area by now. Jizz-wise it looks altogether too Herring-ish really. I wondered if it might be an argentatus with yellow legs (apparently not that rare) but there seemed to be too much black in the primaries for that. At this point I realised I was clutching at straws and came to the inevitable conclusion - I was clueless.

And that's how I remained.

A couple of open wing shots provided me with further evidence that I was out of my depth. If I've got this right, on the underwing you can see that p9 is part-grown and has no mirror, and the tip of p10 is just poking out from the coverts, while on the upperwing there's only a tiny black mark on the outer web of p5, where YLG should really have a complete black band across both webs. Conclusion? It's a horrible lump of grey doo-doo.

If you've got this far through the post I'd like you to just check and see if your teeth are gritted. Yes? Relax. It's posts like this that build stamina. So pace yourself - there's a long winter ahead...and a lot of gulls

PS. If you are a whizz at gulls, and know what this bird is, feel free to publicly humiliate me with an erudite comment.

In the end I counted 3 of these rather swish intermedius type LBBs

The Gull Page

Birding today has been limited to some lengthy dawdling as I drove up the estuary between jobs. Adult and 2nd-winter Med Gulls on the river, and a sleeping Tufted Duck. I first saw the Tuftie from the Tower Hide yesterday, as it flew around in the stormy weather and dropped onto the Axe. Seeing it first in flight allowed me some brief excitement as I fantasised about other, rarer species that it might be, a pleasant experience not usually afforded when the things are already on the water. I thanked it accordingly.

So, to the topic at hand - The Gull Page.

I have agonised somewhat over this page. When I first created it, and the little tab appeared beneath the blog banner, I was long on concept, short on specifics. As I gave it some thought I soon realised there were too many ideas for just one page. For a start, I wouldn't be able to compile it all in one go - it would have to grow, bit by bit. As it grew I was going to be faced with the problem of where to put new stuff, at the top or at the bottom? And as it got more cumbersome it would probably take longer and longer to open. And so on...all aggro.

Here, then, is the solution - The Gull Page will mostly comprise links. The links will take the reader to a post in this blog. For this to work means I am going to have to write some posts about gulls. Probably the word 'gull' will appear in the post title somewhere, allowing my aunt Lil to have a heads-up and thus avoid a narcoleptic attack. So, expect a few posts about gull stuff. As they drop off the bottom of the blog they will be immortalised by some nifty HTML code on The Gull Page, allowing you to revisit them every evening, or whenever you're feeling a bit low.

I have a few ideas for such posts. For example, some might comprise a lot of 3rd-rate photos of lovely, lovely gulls simply for drooling purposes. One or two will go for 'educational', though I confess the notion leaves me feeling a bit fraudulent - I am hardly more than a beginner myself. That said, I hope the overall aim is laudable: I simply hope to inspire one or two other birders to give gulls the time of day and maybe add something to their birding that wasn't there before.

To begin, the first post will be all about the finding of Seaton's Audouin's Gull. I hope the wounds of those who dipped are not too tender still after 4 years, but here's an advance apology just in case: sorry. So, coming soon - the day Steve was officially presented with his cape and external underpants.

Scanned from British Birds Volume 101 - Number 10 - October 2008 - Page 546

 'Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2007'

Be in no doubt - my name is only there because I sent in a description and photos...and know people. There is no question who deserves the Champagne!

Wittering in the Wet

As I type the SE wind is battering rain against my window. Seawatching might seem a sensible way to fritter the afternoon, but unfortunately the sea beat me into submission this morning. Apart from 16 Med Gulls (a surprisingly high count for here) all it would cough up were a couple of Bonxies, 10 Brent Geese and 3 Common Scoters. There were Gannets and a few Kitts, but not the flood of quality I was expecting after such a breezy night and yesterday's skua glut in Torbay. "A pox on't" I thought, medievally, and went to look at the Avocet which Ian M found in front of the Tower Hide. A nice local rarity which almost had me wishing I'd not fazed for several months, and had kept a patch yearlist instead.

Whilst at the seafront I occasionally had a go at photographing passing birds - the adult Meds looked absolutely stunning, illuminated from below by the light reflected off the surf. I did really well, succeeding in every single case to fire the shutter when the bird was comfortably past the ideal position for a snap. This 1st-winter Med Gull on the right perfectly illustrates my skills.

I should probably apologise for last night's post. Especially if that photo has taxed your patience in the past - I know how it feels to click on a crowd scene to see if you're in it, or who you can spot, only to find that everyone is still too tiny to identify. Sorry.

NQS began in June 2008, and postings were pretty regular. Then, spring 2010, it stopped, claiming never to darken the web again. That was a fat lie, and it sprang into life once more that very autumn. Back in May it stopped again. Then suddenly, without notice, it spontaneously combusted. Earlier this month it simply rose from the ashes as if nothing had happened...as if it had never dropped its loyal readership like so many hot bricks...no apology, no nothing. And currently its writer seems to have a compulsive need to publish at least one post every day, no matter what ill-considered dross it contains. What are we to think? And what are we to expect in the future? Probably a lot of tutting, exasperation and 'Oh for goodness' sake! What's he up to now?!" ...unless you'll let me write about trying to cycle up stupid hills instead of moths and dragonflies in the summer...

There is a BirdForum thread entitled Scilly vs Shetland 2011. The autumn is slowly drawing to a close now, and it's pretty clear that Scilly is going to win, based on the scoring system outlined in post #1. In the light of a recent trend to trash Scilly mercilessly I feel a triumphal post coming on...

 Ian's Avocet

Ten Brent Geese, perfectly captured several yards past the point for a perfect capture

Gratuitous Pre-Midnight Post

Here's a photo which appeared on this blog's previous incarnation, but I guess some current readers may not have seen it before. Taken October 1984 on my first visit to Scilly. The exact location is the ivy-covered wall alongside the Garrison footy pitch. A nice reminder of how things were. These days the Scilly crowds never climb on dry stone walls - not because of a better developed sense of moral responsibility, but because they're all too fat and old to get up there...

Can you guess the species that provoked the 2,000 birders present to such naughtiness? Or identify anyone in the photo?

Hmmm, my dodgy memory is telling me I've asked those questions before....humour me, it's late.

Oh, nice 2nd-winter Med Gull on the river this afternoon, and a heaving mass of bodies all over the marshes - most of them in the Tower Hide. It was awful.

Quiet Evening

I happened to coincide this afternoon's visit to the Tower Hide with 11 other people. One of them was very small, and sporting a full nappy. Nice. Two or three others were young lads, who were actually quite interested in having a Med Gull pointed out to them. One of them even noticed that the egret on the far side had a yellow bill, and said so in a way that suggested he knew it was significant for some reason. Although I suspected he'd probably guessed its identity anyway I told him it was a Cattle Egret, and a great bird to grip off his mates at school with. "Mega! What a stonking crippler!" was not actually his reply, but he'll get there I'm sure...

It was quite encouraging to see a bit of interest from the very young - I despair at the ubiquity of grey heads on the current birding scene.

 Aren't they small!

There were at least 4 adult Med Gulls present too, one with a red ring but too distant to read. I sat it out until dusk. There was quite a strong SSE wind brewing up, and it was very soothing to watch the trickle of gulls sail downriver against it. Nothing upset the nicely chilled ambience, but you can't have gullish thrills every day, and anyway there's a whole winter yet...

Just an Innocent Bystander

When news reached me of a Scarlet Tanager in Cornwall I immediately thought of my friend Paul. The last available UK bird was at Higher Moors, Scilly in October 1982, and Paul dipped it by seconds. I smiled slightly cruelly, thinking of the emotional carnage this little waif was undoubtedly wreaking in London...and then forgot about it.

So, when my phone rang yesterday morning I certainly wasn't ready for what was coming.

"Gav, it's Paul. I'll be at Exeter Services in about an hour...Tanager...want to come?"

Before I could stop it, a great big fat blurt rolled out of my stupid gob and down the phone. It sounded like "Yes, why not?" I had instantly given myself all kinds of grief involving a promised night out and a cross wife. "Just make sure you're back by six!" has never sounded so tricky or doom-laden.

We arrived at St Levan and quickly gleaned the latest gen. It all sounded rather gloomy, and the hope of a quick tick-and-run, followed by the promised arrival home before six and a joyous evening out seemed highly unlikely. Along with the other birders present, we spent the next few hours in a frenzy of mutual geeing-up...

"It's got to be here still"
"Where's it going to go? Look, it's a tiny area and there's loads of us looking"
"It's gonna pop up in that pear tree any second!"
"It was seen yesterday around about...ooh...right now"

Fellow Devonite Brian kindly indicated the time and pointed out that getting home before six was now out of the question. Around 4:30 we left, and I spent a long time on the phone implementing the contingency plan that would save my marriage.

On the drive back, Paul plugged into the hands-free and reported the day's events to various would-be Tanager twitchers. It was during one of these conversations, approximately an hour into our journey, that Paul's pager beeped. He glanced at it...

"AAAGH! It's BACK! Seen again at 5:30! No! No-o-o-o-o-o-o!"

I took the steering wheel for a few minutes while Paul dealt with his anguish. When the blubbing and writhing finally eased, I helped the poor chap consider the options. Drop me off at Exeter, turn around and stay overnight in Cornwall? Stay at my place, and drive down for first light? The next few minutes were hell, as fleeting moments of rationality were suddenly drowned in another wave of grief. The man was broken.

Another beep from the little plastic Führer. Paul read it and went suddenly limp. The relief was palpable.

"5:30 sighting erroneous! 5:30 sighting erroneous...5:30 sighting erroneous...5:30 sighting erroneous..."

I took the wheel again for a while.

Finally, Paul composed himself and there was a brisk exchange with RBA, no doubt one of many that the hapless Stuart at the other end would have to field from RBA's highly strung customers. Apparently Birdnet had put out a message saying something like '5:30 - Scarlet Tanager, St. Levan, Cornwall' and RBA had picked it up, copied it, and punted it eagerly into the ether. What Birdnet had meant to say was '5:30 - No news of Scarlet Tanager, St. Levan, Cornwall'. Oops. If you work for the NHS, and suddenly found yourself very busy just after 5:30 pm yesterday, now you know why.

Twitching. It messes you up.

Mind you, I had a great time. Good company, some nice chats, and pulled off a superb recovery manouevre for the planned evening out. Oh, and saw a Goldcrest. Result!

Tonight's Quiz

Here are three photos of people at a place.

After viewing the photos see if you can guess the answers to the following questions:
1. What did I do today instead of responsible things?
2. How happy am I right now, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is 'very, very' and involves ink?

It's a bit late to add any detail right now, but I suspect I'll have to confess my sins tomorrow...

More Work-Dodging

A text from Steve (again!) interrupted my conscientious labours this morning. Greenland Whitefront from the Farm Gate. Now we've had European Whitefronts several times, but the Greenlandish version is a Class A Devon rarity, and new for the patch. Very nice it was too - if distant - but I had to wait until this afternoon to get any kind of snap...

...and in the event it was the rather naff kind

I like proper geese, and this was a beaut. Hefty, dark, thick belly-bars, big orange conk - what's not to love?

As I had now taken a coffee break I relaxed and enjoyed it. I discovered that a Spotted Redshank is perfectly identifiable from no more than a view of its head poking above the grass at 600 yards. Steve and I then whizzed off to Lower Bruckland Ponds, where we stumbled across the patch's first Cetti's Warbler of 2011. Our little breeding population was decimated by last winter's freeze, so this was a very welcome sight. Clearly a migrant, it was very vocal, and it took us a moment to nail the call. Ironically it gave better views than our residents generally did! Very nice. After a swift tour of the superb Lower Bruckland habbo it was off to Beer Cemetary fields to finish our coffee. No Richard's Pipit today, but a few Meadows and 3 Reed Buntings.

And so this afternoon, in very predictable fashion, I once again climbed the Tower Hide stairs. I counted 6 Med Gulls in the end (4 adults and 2 1st-winters) but couldn't winkle any thrills from the big stuff. Never mind though, because a bit of icing was provided by the Cattle Egret putting in another appearance, gradually moving down the river over the course of an hour or so...

 Ooh look - a Med Gull and most of a Cattle Egret in the same shot!

This post was constructed entirely from letters of the alphabet, whole numbers and digiscoped photos. All Hail the Finepix! Thank you Karen!

Also, by cutting down on the flowery stuff I've managed to squeak this in before midnight, thereby maintaining the output of at least one post per day. Will I run out of things to say? I doubt it...

Patch Purple Patch

If you are my aunt Lil, click away now.

Right, now the whinging old bag has left us...imagine you are perched upon the Tower Hide throne, scanning through a load of gulls. You have already notched up a couple of Meds, and the view through your scope looks very like the following pic...can you spot the surprise interloper?

I think I was moved to say something out loud to an empty hide!

Before I deal with this evening's jollity I must rewind to this morning. Steve and I exchanged a few texts...

Steve: Nice male ouzel up the cem.
Nice one. No RTP [Red-throated Pipit] yet? :o)
Not yet, but haven't got to the field yet
I won't be far away!

That was 10:25. Thankfully I'd already done some work by then, because 5 minutes later Steve has found a Richard's Pipit! In a fairly short time Ian M, Karen and some skiving work-dodger were on one side of a big overgrown field and Steve was over the other. Look...

 You can just about see Steve over on the right

Like all Richard's Pipits in very long grass, views on the deck were impossible. Never mind though, because the bird obligingly flew around a fair bit, calling plenty. If this was a BirdForum thread it would now degenerate into accusations of trespassing, flushing, and flagrant disregard of the bird's welfare. However, this was not a major twitch involving some elusive mega and lots of naughty listers, just a patch rarity (a 2nd in fact) and four responsible, well-behaved birders employing exemplary fieldcraft. Steve even got some nice recordings of the call I believe, as he patiently waited in one spot for hours without moving.

I very rarely visit the Beer Cemetary Fields. I don't know why not really. The place gets lots of regular migrants, very much has the potential to turn up something exceptional, and has amazing views. While we were there the male Ring Ouzel put on a skulky sort of show, and 9 Crossbills and a Woodlark flew over. Not too shabby.

 I once saw a Richard's Pipit at the Wraysbury Gravel Pits landfill site. Scenery very similar to this

I tried not to be too gutted that 3 of my fellow patchers had clawed back the precious blocker I'd hung on to since a Beer Head flyover in 2005, and went to enjoy lunch with my Larid friends...

 Coronation Corner, some lovely October sunshine, a far-away Med Gull and a nice bit of cheddar & chutney

Right then - on to this evening. Once again to the Tower Hide dear readers. Within moments I had picked up this beauty...

Almost text-book 2nd-winter Yellow-legged Gull, quite advanced...quite lovely

I have a confession to make. As I was photographing this bird there were something like four other people in the hide. Based on a couple of recent experiences where I pointed out a Med Gull and wished I'd not bothered, I presumptuously judged that nobody would be interested in a 2nd-winter YLG and therefore said nothing. Does this amount to suppression?

Next, I spied a falcon flying down the valley, quite high. When it was still far away I thought it was going to be a Peregrine, but kept watching because it didn't look quite right...sure enough, it soon became a female Merlin. I'm notoriously bad at seeing Merlins on patch, so was very pleased by now. A smart gull, and a smart raptor. Excellent!

The hide emptied and I was alone. Literally 2 minutes later I got the scopeful that you can see at the top of this post. I couldn't quite believe my eyes. The egret with its back to me, sitting quietly among the gulls downstream, had - I was sure - shown a teeny bit of yellow bill! Yes, there it was again! It had! It was a Cattle Egret! A self-find tick which had narrowly eluded me at least twice before was finally in the bag! It soon flew off towards Seaton Marshes, from where Ian M and I later watched it go to roost in the big trees by Coronation Corner.

Distant, but unmistakable!

After the Cattle Egret flew, almost all the gulls followed suit, but before leaving the hide I thought I'd take one more look through the handful left...

Adult YLG with two Herrings - another beaut!

Somehow this earlier rainbow seemed highly appropriate!

Let me gloatingly tell you what I've seen on our lovely patch just lately. Since the beginning of October...

Semipalmated Sandpiper
Whooper Swan
Arctic Tern
2 Great White Egrets
Hen Harrier
Bearded Tits [heard only]
Caspian Gull
Richard's Pipit
Ring Ouzel
9 Crossbills
Woodlark [heard only]
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
Merlin
Cattle Egret

Semi-P is a BB rarity of course, but four of the other species used to be! All of them are excellent in a patch context, and I've left out one or two things like Little Stint (x2) which might arguably be included. To be honest it's not supposed to be complete, just lustworthy. I like this patch.

If I were the type to dabble in arts and crafts, needlework and so forth, I would be sorely tempted to cut a small disc of purple material, embroider upon it Patch Purple Patch, sew it on to my special birding fleece with a neat blanket stitch, and show everyone my nice, new, purple 'patch purple patch' patch.

Buttons Update, and...er...

The observant will have noticed an addition to the list of Buttons Challengers. Me. I've taken a leaf out of Kev Rylands' book and gone for a seasonally appropriate selection: American Herring Gull, Franklin's Gull, Red-throated Pipit, Long-eared Owl and Green-winged Teal. If Steve doesn't hurry up and kick an RTP out of the Beer Cemetary fields I will probably change that to Dusky Warbler. Come spring and I will revise the selection accordingly. I like a game which invites a tactical strategy.

The Buttons Challenge already has 10 entrants. I am most grateful for this positive response, and I'll tell you why...

When you think about it, writing a blog is a strange undertaking. Having said that, I guess for some bloggers it is little more than an online diary, and perhaps that's all they want. Fair enough, and not so strange maybe. However, for me (and I suspect many others) it is much more than that - a rather curious mix of things really. To some extent a diary, yes. But also a place to air an opinion sometimes, to offer an observation, a viewpoint. I sometimes feel the urge to try to inspire, or to entertain, often both. I could go on quite a lot, but will stop right there, because I reckon even that little list of things makes it pretty obvious what many (most?) bloggers need. They need some kind of response from the readership. To an extent, a blog is a performance, and even the best performers need to know they've engaged with their audience.

So, if you enjoy and appreciate the blogs you read, and want them to thrive...give them some feedback from time to time. They'll like that.

Right, file this post under 'Slightly Confessional'

The Drawbacks of Self-Employment

Number 1.   It is too easy to take time off

Of course, to the shackled minion of Deskland this must sound like paradise, but is it really? All leave is unpaid, and I can never enjoy the naughty pleasure of a neatly wangled sickie.

Why do I mention this? Because I've just taken two days holiday and I want you to feel sorry for me and send me money. There are other drawbacks of course, and I will revisit this theme when I need some more pity.

Anyway, on to other matters...

Five days ago I posted a request on BirdForum. It basically went '...please recommend a compact camera to replace my dead Fuji F30 for hand-held digiscoping'. As I type it has received 157 views and 0 replies. I am not sure what to make of this silence. But never mind, because the other day I remembered that Karen once offered me her spare digiscoping camera, which just happens to be a Fuji F30. So I texted to see if it was still available...and it was.
'Big Bag of Buttons?' thumbed I.
'A barrowload!' came the reply.

I picked it up yesterday and introduced it to my scope today. Instant buddies. Look!

Wigeon on the Axe this afternoon

I noticed an accidental mention of gull on yesterday's post. Sorry. This afternoon I got out and looked at lots of ducks and waders. Oh, there was a dreadful 20 minutes looking at the sea for eagles, but otherwise it was all estuary and marshes.

A quick summary: 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Snipe, 1 Little Stint, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 70+ Lapwing (going up rapidly now), 7 Dunlin, no Spotted Redshanks.

Ian M texted this morning - Little Stint and Spotted Redshank on Coly Common. Spotted Redshanks are just about annual, so I was looking forward to seeing one. In the Tower Hide a helpful chap told me it was showing on the Wet Patch, by the new Field Studies Base. Off I trotted. As I approached the hide I thought I heard it call, so immediately asked the bloke inside if  the Spotted Redshank was on view. "Yes", he said. "It's over the back there, on the left." I could see the preening wader he meant with my naked eye so sat down and trained my bins on it. A Green Sandpiper, which promptly flitted away behind some Juncus. "Oh, that's a shame," said our friend, "It's just gone out of view." I said nothing, scanned every inch of the scrape, then left, wondering if I had imagined hearing a Spotshank call earlier. I wasn't much bothered by this farce (because I'm not daft enough to be yearlisting!) but it does illustrate the consequences of our patch suddenly having a whole heap more visitors since the development of Black Hole Marsh and its hides. They may carry optics, but...

Just after 17:00 I climbed into the empty Tower Hide and settled down for a pleasant evening's wadering. Let me tell you, it was bliss! Just me, the river, the marshes, the dimming light, and lots of autumnal birdy noises. All I needed now was a dirty great...

...scopeful of wader

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you should be able to pick out 2 Mediterranean Sandpipers in the middle - an adult and a 1st-winter. Not always easy to separate from the mass of Black-headed Stints.

Boy, did I get stuck in! I want another Caspian Plover! They're obviously out there, and I've got a thirst on. The other evening Steve and I were speculating about why the Axe seems to be so favoured, county-wise. We've had four of Devon's five Caspos. After all, there are plenty of other wader-conscious birders checking through the flocks in other places. We wondered if it was simply our position as the most easterly estuary in the county. Combine that tiny advantage with the skills and, well....

 In the fieldguides it will tell you about the 'plover-like gait'. Do not be deceived - these are sandpipers

I was very surprised to count a probable 10 Med Sands this afternoon/evening - 8 adults, a 2nd-winter and a 1st-winter. None was ringed, and it can be hard to keep track of individuals, but I'm pretty sure I didn't count any twice. That's a pretty big total for October here.

Nil Rosefinches. Yet another gratuitous bit of digiscopage

No Eagles

My little phone hasn't been so hot for ages. Dawlish stalwart Lee Collins had the ultimate patchworker's reward at midday. When the Warren's bird population all took to the air in noisy terror, it wasn't the expected Osprey creating mayhem, but a Short-toed Eagle, which promptly sailed over Lee's head and gave him an adrenaline rush of illegal proportions. It then flew across to Exmouth and circled around for several minutes, before drifting E towards....Seaton!!

Our little estuary is stacked with gulls. The town itself is stacked with gulls. And every single one of them is on a hair trigger, ready to go utterly berserk the moment a seriously big raptor flies over - Ospreys always do the trick. Now, I would like to report that this afternoon a Short-toed Eagle did the trick too. But no. Straight past us, and then seen flying E over the sea past well-known rarity hotspot and birded-to-death-by-its-horde-of-rabid-patchworkers Lyme Regis. Of course! Where else? Actually, I'm a bit gutted that none of us had the nous to check the most obvious place for passing eagles - the sea! What were we thinking, expecting it to enjoy the delights of warm air rising from the ground? This was clearly a bird that likes to work a bit to keep airborne. Stupid poxy brainless thing didn't even deserve the gasps of admiration that were waiting for it.

Anyway, there was a 2nd-winter Med Gull on the estuary later on, and on balance I prefer this species' attitude toward snakes. Yes, the eagle was not worthy of us.

Nil Caspian Plovers

My aunt Lil phoned today. She's been a regular reader of this blog since I asked her to be, but was ringing to have a moan. She'd just got back from A&E treatment for a locked jaw, which she claimed was brought on by involuntary yawning about four paragraphs into last night's blog post.
"Bloomin' gulls," she said. "When are you going to get a life, kid? You're killin' us!"
I told her how many hours it had taken to painstakingly edit the photos and video, and craft the golden prose.
"What?!" she exclaimed. "That's 7.3 episodes of Corry!"
I knew I was on to a loser...

A word came to mind. Esoteric. An interest in gulls is definitely an esoteric one, and I have it. I am most certainly a Gull Enthusiast. Gull Spotter? I make no apologies.

However, this has its drawbacks. And not just for me. Like, of the seven people who bothered to read yesterday's post, five of them were immediately compelled to visit the medicine cabinet and one had to call an ambulance. The other one was Steve, bless 'im, [good on yer, mate!] because Steve likes gulls too. If all my posts were about Bee-eaters the traffic on this blog would probably crash mainframes. But try explaining to your everyday birder that finding a Caspian Gull is just as pants-wettingly knee-trembling as I would imagine finding a Bee-eater must be, and they would simply laugh. I don't understand such ignorance, but I accept it.

So - I promise - no more gull posts. Let's talk waders. Oh, and ducks, so that I can mention the Shoveler I saw on the river with Wigeon first thing this morning - my first of the autumn. Waders then. Three Ruff and 4 Bar-tailed Godwits on the river this evening. The Ruff were viewed from the Tower Hide. Last night I had the whole thing to myself. Tonight I had no more than one square foot of it. Yuk. So, off to the riverside road, from where I saw the Barwits, and also counted four Mediterranean Sandpipers - an adult and three 1st-winters.

Steve and I sat on a riverside bench and enjoyed the beautiful, still evening and a nice natter about waders. Isn't birding great?

Result!

It's been a busy afternoon. First there was a call from Steve - Hen Harrier over the marshes. Steve must have put around ten billion hours into this patch tick - a nice self-found one too. This was my fourth, so I tried not to rush and cause grief on the roads. A ringtail, it headed S shortly after I arrived, and vanished.

Then I stood for a while at the Farm Gate. It can be quite noisy there with the traffic going by, but even through all that I suddenly realised I could hear the unmistakeable 'pinging' of Bearded Tits. Patch tick! It sounded close, and my instinct was to look up and scan around desperately. Nothing. A passing van was making it impossible to zero in, and the calls were quickly drowned out. When the van had gone I heard nothing more. So, invisible Bearded Tits. Can I count them? I think I would count a heard-only Quail, so...er...maybe. Oh, I suppose so... Really annoying though!

Later in the afternoon I repaired to the marshes, saw very little (a couple of Dunlin on BHM being vaguely notable) and wound up in the Tower Hide just before 17:30. A fair few gulls, so I picked through a load of little ones, then started on the big ones across the river. I suppose I was looking for young Yellow-Legged Gulls really, and I have a kind of system for this...

• Scan with bins, looking for contrasty juv-types with very dark tertials and pale heads
• Juv GBB Gulls often catch the eye this way, so next is to check size
• Miles bigger than the Herring Gull next door? Yes
• Move on
• Etc....

Anyway, I was doing this on some quite distant birds when one did indeed catch my eye. Very dark tertials, very pale head. It was standing in the far shallows with Herring Gulls - it was certainly no bigger. Right, scope out. The bird straightened up from its preening contortions and turned its head in profile. FLIP!!! Instantly I knew it was a Caspian Gull. Panic!!! I was sure it was too far away to photograph. I would have to just look at the thing analytically and do it the old-fashioned way - there are a lot of boxes to tick to successfully claim a Casp in Devon. After a minute I thought 'No, I'll have to try and get some photos too.' I dug out the camera, looked back...aaagh...no bird! Several anxious moments later I found it among some Great Black-backs, and closer. I was pleasantly surprised to notice a little trembling as I got the camera in position. After lots of stills I realised that a video might work, and had a go on maximum digital zoom.

So, here are a few pics, but first a bit of video - the quality is not exactly HD, but it gives a good impression of the bird's jizz as it preens. And at the bottom of this post is another clip (very short) showing it take to the air as all the gulls spook, with some pretty useful stills captured from the video.

Some Caspian Gull features shown by this bird include: very dark tertials with white tips; virtually white head with contrasting dark 'shawl'; slender, parallel-sided bill; negligible gonys; plain greater coverts; noticeable double wing-bar, etc, etc and so on...loverly :o)

 Shows tail pattern well

Although it isn't particularly obvious in these photos, you can just about see the '3-zone' coloration, ie., grey mantle/scaps, brown coverts, and black tertials/primaries - another useful feature of 1st-winter Caspian Gull. Oh, and the very dark lower scapulars are unmoulted juvenile feathers of course.

 You can see the white underwing coverts on this pic - well, quite a few of them

What a little beauty!

This video is pretty ropey, but just after the gulls all take off (and I sigh with annoyance!) there are 3 stills showing the underwing, upperwing and tail as it exits stage left. Hopefully quite instructive.

As readers of this blog's previous incarnation will already know, I am not one to blow my own trumpet. Not ever. Any mention of stuff like the fact that this is probably only Devon's fifth Caspian Gull, or that I rather jammily found the last two as well, would obviously tarnish this reputation for modesty, so I shan't say anything.

And finally, my apologies to those who received a joyous text from me this evening, despite their being able to do nothing about seeing the bird. Put it down to over-excitement!

It must be on the cards for another appearance tomorrow evening possibly?

In Which I Nearly Find Something...Maybe

Previously on this blog I have wittered on about self-finding, and my (possibly) contentious views on same. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that a nice find is the stuff of delight. So, following a brief look at the sea in the early-morning gloom (1 adult Med Gull out of the BHG roost) I hurried to Beer Head to find myself (correction - to find us) a nice Red-flanked Bluetail. I want to get one in before they are relegated to dross, earning only the tiniest of boxes on BirdGuides. Naturally I failed. Of the various light overhead movement the best was a little flock of 9 Redpolls. A couple of Goldcrests and a Blackcap were all I gleaned from the bushes. 'I know', I thought, 'I'll trundle up the river and see what the high tide has revealed...'

As I drove up the estuary my phone beeped. It was Steve: 'Two G W Egrets on saltmarsh oppo tower hide'

Well, bless my bunions, 30 seconds before I was about to pull into the very lay-by where Steve was now parked, I have a self-find tick whipped from under my nose.

But then I thought about it. These are surely the very same Great White Egrets which Phil found just over a fortnight ago? Could I in good conscience have counted them as self-found anyway? Perhaps this is why I don't much like the whole concept - too much grey, and not enough black and white!

Smart birds though....

No Birding, Obviously

I have had to amend the Patch List. I'd neglected to include Ian McLean's gripping Cory's Shearwater that cruised across the bay on 16th May 2009. Annoyingly it was too close in for the rest of us to be able to console ourselves with the notion that Ian was just a rampant stringer. Oh, plus it had been seen in Dorset already too. So, that's 275 for the patch. [Have I missed any others, my fellow patchers?]

Today has been consumed by all things non-bird, so instead of telling you of my latest thrilling vis-mig counts (and that would be nil of everything) I shall instead share a few 'images' which I 'captured' (despite their wriggling squirminess) with my tenth-rate Nokia when Sandra and I visited London and the home counties for our 31st anniversary celebrations.

To get the trip off to a satisfactory start we had our small fleet of classic Triumph TRs carefully driven to, and arranged outside, the nice Surrey pub where number one son currently slaves over a hot stove, producing amazingly delicious food in return for peanuts. It really is a scandal, what chefs are paid. Mind you, I seem not to care so much when my gut is swollen with gastronomic excess...

The Abinger Hatch (www.theabingerhatch.com)

Sandra has always wanted to attend a sheepdog trial. I kid you not. Naturally I have striven for these 31 years to satisfy such a humble desire, but sadly seem always to have found out about sheepdog trials the day after. Not so in August! Would you believe? Our visit to Surrey coincided with the English National Sheepdog Trials, held at Lower Box Hill Farm on the weekend 11-13th August. I was happy to oblige...

Surprisingly entertaining...

...and really, really cheap! How many spouses have such financially modest requirements? I am fortunate indeed. Actually, when it comes to paying for stuff I am famously tight. Especially car parking. And rip-off rides. Take the London Eye for example. I would rather have teeth extracted than prize open my wallet for that! And it would be the wallet too - no chance that you'd have the necessary change chinking merrily in your pocket - not unless you normally carry 3 kilos of coinage.

So number two son bought us tickets as a prezzie. How could I refuse?

Interesting masonry...almost to the horizon. I am very glad I don't live here any more.

Although you cannot see it in the photo, the looping arch of the new Wembley Stadium was clearly visible in the middle distance. I used to live quite close by as a lad, and on the day of the 1972 Arsenal v Leeds FA Cup Final my mate Pete and I scrounged (or maybe stole?) a load of pop-up cardboard team hats from his local newsagent. They should have been given away free with the Daily Mirror or something, but we took them into one of the tunnels and flogged them to supporters for 2p each. The Leeds fans were great and we were doing very nicely, but then a bunch of big hairy Arsenal oafs shuffled out of the Precambrian and nicked all our stock. When our eldest son decided to follow Arsenal as an innocent 9-year old I instantly slashed his pocket money by half. He quickly saw the wisdom in supporting Watford.