Jos Stratford
Tuesday 8th November 2005, 15:00
Though I left the good ol Blighty nigh on a decade ago with a half respectable UK list of something up over 410 or 420 or so, there were still a few glaring gaps, birds relatively common, that somehow I had never bumped into. And those gaps need filling...
...so, a little story of a flying visit, my one and only birding day in the UK this year!
On a return ticket costing less than £30, in I flew late Saturday and then pondered what to do with Sunday. With the forecast little better than disgusting, I toyed with a return to my former local patches in South Wales, but didn't fancy getting drowned for next to no reward, so looked a little more national. Thought about the Pied Wheatear, not a new bird for me, but nice all the same - but what kind of nutter scrambles about in some grotty quarry in torrential rain ...nah, if I was going to get wet, I at least wanted to do it somewhere picturesque!
With one or two potential new birds on the offing, there was really only one way to go ...to the south-west, surely the nicest place in the UK regardless of birds, so at least would fulfil the picturesque bit.
Teamed up with a good birding buddy and set off at 3.30 a.m. for the long drive down the M5. Gordon bennet, where the hell did all that rain come from?! Absolutely bucketing it down at Gloucester, absolutely bucketing it down at Exeter ...same as we entered Cornwall ...same as we neared Penzance! On top of that, we'd be lucky to stand upright with the wind battering all and sundry. My day in the UK was looking like heading for a wash out!
Passing Hayle though, it did seem to be clearing up ...unless I was halucinating. But no, my birding buddy said it looked fair too! Got to Penzance and peered out of the window - rain stopped! So stomped off up the beach for target bird number one - Laughing Gull. Within seconds, a gull promptly appeared - not the target, but a Mediterranean Gull, very nice indeed, something to kick the day off with. Also dozens of Turnstones running about the carpark and Grey Wagtail, neither birds I see too often now, living out of the UK. Well, though one nice gent told us it had been there a few minutes earlier, there was definatley no sign of the 'Larfer', so what to do? Ah ha, look at that, what a little corker of a bird - not the gull, but a Grey Phalarope appeared in the surf, paddling on the sea not a metre from the beach. Always great birds, that was good enough reason to go off have a celebratory breakfast in the cafe near the Scillonian jetty.
A good English breakfast later and back we went to the Laughing Gull site - 'just flown off, mate' said a familiar face, a birder I knew from my university days. But not all lost, 'landed on the end of the harbour wall, Newlyn' said the other birder. So, took a little walk and five minutes later, there was a very fine 2nd winter Laughing Gull - sitting, having a bit of a fly round, taking a passing interest in the bread being chucked ..but best of all, giving all-round fab views. Remarkably, having dipped a few in the past, this was a UK tick for me.
Well, by now, the skies were showing signs of blue, the wind was disappearing and all was beginning to look good! Went off to Hayle, via a nice hour in the tyre change place after a bit of enthusiastic parking on a rather tough kerbstone! At Hayle, no sign of a Long-billed Dowitcher which would have been nice, no sign of the Green-winged Teal which would have been nice too ...but sat on a nice bench in the sunshine, all did look very picturesque - a good dozen or so Little Egrets, another Mediterranean Gull (adult this time), a Spotted Redshank ...and a pager which reliably informed that the Franklin's Gull further up the coast at Newquay had appeared and then disappeared. Having had our fill of one nice little estuary, we took the decision to reallocate to the other nice little estuary, so half hour or so later, we were standing in the sun on the Gannel Estuary just by Newquay - no sign of the bird, but a few birders and a lot of optimism ...each of the previous days, it had returned to the estuary at 3.00 pm. After a while, my birding buddy decided to go off to look for another Laughing Gull which had appeared nearby. I stayed on at the estuary ...no sooner had his car safely zoomed off and the old pager said "2.29 p.m. Franklin's Gull, 2 miles south of Newquay". Jeepers, my watch said 2.30 p.m., so that meant now, the car park was emptying and I was about to be left carless at the wrong place, so I just jumped in the nearest car and went zooming off too. Birding buddy would find me later. Got to the allotted spot and no sooner had I set up my scope to find the bird and my phone went off - birding buddy wanted directions how to get there! Explained, then tried to find the bird ...oh 'eck, all the gulls were up and swirling, but thanks to a bit of good directions, I managed to get onto the bird, even though views were a tad distant. Where was it going? Straight back in the direction of the estuary! Just as the bird vanished, up drove my Birding Buddy, so I piled into the car and back we went to where we started. Had a look round, some horses trotting up and down, plenty of dogs being walked, then ...what's that guying flapping his arms about for? Bit demented if you ask me ...or maybe not, straight onto the sand bank in front of us, in had flown the Franklin's Gull. Excellent - yankee gull number two of the day and UK tick number two! The two great glaring gull gaps in my UK list closed. :)
You could tell it was an American gull, 'cos whilst all the British ones busied themselves with preening and having little flights, this was definately the laziest thing in town - was more than happy to stuff its head in its wing and have a good nap. Occasionally, it would exert itself and shuffle a metre or so, before re-stuffing its head in wing. And so continued the nice afternoon - a few Wigeon and other local birds strolled past, the gull did nothing much and slowly the sun began to sink. Eventually, the local horse trotters decided to do a derby straight up the estuary and up went all the gulls, residents and vagrants alike. Did a bit of searching, but never found the franklin's again, but a Little Gull dropped in to add to the day's tally. Time to think about the long drive back, but first a quick stop off at the local boating pool - maybe, just maybe, the other reported Laughing Gull would be about ...and it was! Got there and it was sitting by the water's edge not two metres from a birder! Very obliging and gave stunning views that you just couldn't get better, but it absolutely was not interested in British bread ...should have brought a McD burger to chuck at it!
Finished the day with a major dip - couldn't find a decent chippie anywhere in town, so had to settle with a Little Chef on the way back! Great day out, great to be back on the great British birding scene.
Monday was 'business' day - needed to go down to London to pick up a visa for my India trip ...but zooming down the M40, I saw what wasn't there when I last lived in the UK. Just about near junction 5, I saw five Red Kites on the way down and an incredible 15 on the way back, including 11 together. Full marks to those involved in the reintroduction, a great thing to see over the road, but not sure about road safety - they sure did their best to distract my attention and help me plough into a lorry, but I somehow managed to avoid it.
Well, now back in my little corner of Eastern Europe, but already got my eyes on another trip fairly soon...
...so, a little story of a flying visit, my one and only birding day in the UK this year!
On a return ticket costing less than £30, in I flew late Saturday and then pondered what to do with Sunday. With the forecast little better than disgusting, I toyed with a return to my former local patches in South Wales, but didn't fancy getting drowned for next to no reward, so looked a little more national. Thought about the Pied Wheatear, not a new bird for me, but nice all the same - but what kind of nutter scrambles about in some grotty quarry in torrential rain ...nah, if I was going to get wet, I at least wanted to do it somewhere picturesque!
With one or two potential new birds on the offing, there was really only one way to go ...to the south-west, surely the nicest place in the UK regardless of birds, so at least would fulfil the picturesque bit.
Teamed up with a good birding buddy and set off at 3.30 a.m. for the long drive down the M5. Gordon bennet, where the hell did all that rain come from?! Absolutely bucketing it down at Gloucester, absolutely bucketing it down at Exeter ...same as we entered Cornwall ...same as we neared Penzance! On top of that, we'd be lucky to stand upright with the wind battering all and sundry. My day in the UK was looking like heading for a wash out!
Passing Hayle though, it did seem to be clearing up ...unless I was halucinating. But no, my birding buddy said it looked fair too! Got to Penzance and peered out of the window - rain stopped! So stomped off up the beach for target bird number one - Laughing Gull. Within seconds, a gull promptly appeared - not the target, but a Mediterranean Gull, very nice indeed, something to kick the day off with. Also dozens of Turnstones running about the carpark and Grey Wagtail, neither birds I see too often now, living out of the UK. Well, though one nice gent told us it had been there a few minutes earlier, there was definatley no sign of the 'Larfer', so what to do? Ah ha, look at that, what a little corker of a bird - not the gull, but a Grey Phalarope appeared in the surf, paddling on the sea not a metre from the beach. Always great birds, that was good enough reason to go off have a celebratory breakfast in the cafe near the Scillonian jetty.
A good English breakfast later and back we went to the Laughing Gull site - 'just flown off, mate' said a familiar face, a birder I knew from my university days. But not all lost, 'landed on the end of the harbour wall, Newlyn' said the other birder. So, took a little walk and five minutes later, there was a very fine 2nd winter Laughing Gull - sitting, having a bit of a fly round, taking a passing interest in the bread being chucked ..but best of all, giving all-round fab views. Remarkably, having dipped a few in the past, this was a UK tick for me.
Well, by now, the skies were showing signs of blue, the wind was disappearing and all was beginning to look good! Went off to Hayle, via a nice hour in the tyre change place after a bit of enthusiastic parking on a rather tough kerbstone! At Hayle, no sign of a Long-billed Dowitcher which would have been nice, no sign of the Green-winged Teal which would have been nice too ...but sat on a nice bench in the sunshine, all did look very picturesque - a good dozen or so Little Egrets, another Mediterranean Gull (adult this time), a Spotted Redshank ...and a pager which reliably informed that the Franklin's Gull further up the coast at Newquay had appeared and then disappeared. Having had our fill of one nice little estuary, we took the decision to reallocate to the other nice little estuary, so half hour or so later, we were standing in the sun on the Gannel Estuary just by Newquay - no sign of the bird, but a few birders and a lot of optimism ...each of the previous days, it had returned to the estuary at 3.00 pm. After a while, my birding buddy decided to go off to look for another Laughing Gull which had appeared nearby. I stayed on at the estuary ...no sooner had his car safely zoomed off and the old pager said "2.29 p.m. Franklin's Gull, 2 miles south of Newquay". Jeepers, my watch said 2.30 p.m., so that meant now, the car park was emptying and I was about to be left carless at the wrong place, so I just jumped in the nearest car and went zooming off too. Birding buddy would find me later. Got to the allotted spot and no sooner had I set up my scope to find the bird and my phone went off - birding buddy wanted directions how to get there! Explained, then tried to find the bird ...oh 'eck, all the gulls were up and swirling, but thanks to a bit of good directions, I managed to get onto the bird, even though views were a tad distant. Where was it going? Straight back in the direction of the estuary! Just as the bird vanished, up drove my Birding Buddy, so I piled into the car and back we went to where we started. Had a look round, some horses trotting up and down, plenty of dogs being walked, then ...what's that guying flapping his arms about for? Bit demented if you ask me ...or maybe not, straight onto the sand bank in front of us, in had flown the Franklin's Gull. Excellent - yankee gull number two of the day and UK tick number two! The two great glaring gull gaps in my UK list closed. :)
You could tell it was an American gull, 'cos whilst all the British ones busied themselves with preening and having little flights, this was definately the laziest thing in town - was more than happy to stuff its head in its wing and have a good nap. Occasionally, it would exert itself and shuffle a metre or so, before re-stuffing its head in wing. And so continued the nice afternoon - a few Wigeon and other local birds strolled past, the gull did nothing much and slowly the sun began to sink. Eventually, the local horse trotters decided to do a derby straight up the estuary and up went all the gulls, residents and vagrants alike. Did a bit of searching, but never found the franklin's again, but a Little Gull dropped in to add to the day's tally. Time to think about the long drive back, but first a quick stop off at the local boating pool - maybe, just maybe, the other reported Laughing Gull would be about ...and it was! Got there and it was sitting by the water's edge not two metres from a birder! Very obliging and gave stunning views that you just couldn't get better, but it absolutely was not interested in British bread ...should have brought a McD burger to chuck at it!
Finished the day with a major dip - couldn't find a decent chippie anywhere in town, so had to settle with a Little Chef on the way back! Great day out, great to be back on the great British birding scene.
Monday was 'business' day - needed to go down to London to pick up a visa for my India trip ...but zooming down the M40, I saw what wasn't there when I last lived in the UK. Just about near junction 5, I saw five Red Kites on the way down and an incredible 15 on the way back, including 11 together. Full marks to those involved in the reintroduction, a great thing to see over the road, but not sure about road safety - they sure did their best to distract my attention and help me plough into a lorry, but I somehow managed to avoid it.
Well, now back in my little corner of Eastern Europe, but already got my eyes on another trip fairly soon...