Where are all the seawatchers?

[burhinus]

There must be alot of seabirds passing our coastline now. Is'nt anyone doing any seawatching.

Please post your sightings.

Where is your favourite site?

Where do you watch from? A car, back against a rock, a senior citizens shelter on the promenade or the luxury of a hide?

burhinus

[paj]

Now there's something I keep promising myself to do more of, especially as I am surrounded by water here on the Wirral.

[burhinus]

Remember to take plenty of tissue with you. It is difficult to be optimistic with a mistyoptic!

burhinus

[Harry Hussey]

Well,I'm doing a fair bit of seawatching from the Old Head at the moment.On Wed 14th final totals were 345 Great Shearwaters,1 Cory's,21 large shearwaters,86 Sooties,2 Balearics,77 Bonxies,3 Arctics,1 Common Scoter,29 Stormies and about 30 Puffins(others added 6 more Greats later in the evening)Also 19 Greats and another Balearic the previous evening(and a few Sooties)
Prospects look good for the weekend,so I'll be there early tomorrow.Wish me luck,hoping beyond hope for a "Soft-plumaged"!;-)

[paj]

Harry Hussey

What a list! Have you died and gone to Heaven!!
Sounds like your having a great time, keep us informed.

Regards

pajarero

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Pajarero,
No,it's just that conditions have been favourable lately.To put this into context,today I was at the Old Head between 9 and 11 or so,and only had 1 Bonxie and a scattering of Manx.Winds were very light,and the sun was shining!Rain and southerly gales tomorrow.....
Besides,seeing as how you get lots of stuff in the UK that we don't(both in terms of breeding birds like Nuthatch,LS pecker etc. and rarities(many of the regular Fair Isle birds have yet to be recorded or have been recorded once or twice;we still haven't had a Booted Warbler here either!)),so we need SOMETHING to show off about over here!;-)
(prob.lots more Yank passerines over here too,but not found due to low observer numbers)

[paj]

How true, each of us has something of what the other would like.
A local speciality on Wirral after high north west winds is Leach's.
They get blown into Liverpool bay close to shore.
Tern passage is going well, with Common, Little & Sandwich although Sandwich is tailing off now.
Let us know how you get on tomorrow.

Paj

[Harry Hussey]

Leach's is very rare on the south coast here,more of a west coast bird(the only one that I have yet seen was from the Bridges of Ross,Co.Clare)
Know they are regular in Merseyside.
Will send a summary of the weekend's seawatching on Monday or Tuesday.

[Harry Hussey]

Seawatching was actually quite poor over the weekend:on Saturday the winds may have been too strong?20 Greats,20+ Sooties,15 Bonxies in the morning(9-11:30),with only 2 Bonxies there in the evening,but a close Basking Shark was nice.
Sunday was rubbish for seawatching,so I didn't realy do any,except for a 1/2 hour off of Galley Head:1 Stormie!!
Hope to do more soon:now in the peak period for "Soft-plumaged"!;-))

[Motmot]

Hello everyone. Here in Costa Rica I also love watching seabirds (not many here) and specially shorebirds. My British buddy Robert and I try every month to visit a place called Chomes on the pacific coast of C. Rica, an amazing spot to watch waders, terns, herons, ibis, spoonbills etc.
We have found there lots of good stuff including a few rarities here in CR, like Long-billed Curlew, Dunlin, Surfbirds in July in breeding plumage, Wilson's Phalarope, Elegant Terns,and a few more, all of them very difficult to find here in southern Central America.
Saludos

[paj]

Motmot

Hola, que tal?
What you lack in seabirds over there in Costa Rica you certainly make up for in other areas.
Here are some figures I found:
850 bird species, 3000 species of butterflies, 200 mammal species and 350 species of reptiles and amphibians.
Some list!!
Enough to make any nature lover green with envy!

Is it true that 5% of the world's wildlife is in Costa Rica?

paj

[Motmot]

Hi pajarero
Yes it is true. This tiny country is full of life. Around 2.000 species of trees compared with around 80 in Europe, it is said there are more butterfly species here than in all the african continent (amazing), and if we talk about moths... they don't know how many there are here, more than 10.000 species.
Birding here is GREAT. We have an impresive list with more different birds than the whole USA and Canada together! I have lived here for three years now and seen during that time almost 700 species!, only around my home in Monteverde I 've found more than 320 species, 174 of them in my garden. As you can imagine, many of the birds here are very difficult to find and watch (and identify!), it requires lots of time and effort to find every bird from 600 on, but it is worth the effort.
Saludos

[paj]

Most of us in the UK could only dream of a garden list 174 species long!
You could run birding holidays in your garden alone!!!

paj

[Motmot]

Today Aug 28th I went to Chomes to birdwatch. This place is a group of shrimp ponds,old salinas, coastal lagoons and extensive mudflats in the pacific coast of Costa Rica. Here is the list of the Waders, Terns and Gulls that I saw
Least Tern 50
Caspian Tern 4
Common Tern 9
Royal Tern +100
Elegant Tern 17
Sandwich Tern 50
Gull-billed tern 6
Laughing Gull 20
Franklin's Gull 1
Black Skimmer 30
Grey Plover + 200
Short-billed Dowitcher +1000
Long-billed Dowitcher 2
Willet +300
Marbled Godwit 20
American Oystercatcher 3
Black-necked Stilt 50
Whimbrel +100
Wilson's Plover 20
Collared Plover 3
Semipalmated Plover +500
Ruddy Turnstone 40
Surfbird 4
Wilson's Phalarope 1
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 10
Spotted Sandpiper 10
Sanderling 20
Western Sandpiper ++1000
Semipalmated Sanpiper +100
Least Sandpiper 40
Red Knot 4

As you can read, Costa Rica is good for Waders and Terns and very poor for Gulls.
Saludos

[paj]

Looks like you had a good day Motmot.
Virtually the whole list would be sought after species over here in Britain!

paj

[MikePearson]

I have never done any serious sea watching but when I finally get moved up to N.Norfolk I would like to do some, any tips welcome

[Camberley red]

Sherringham is the place, up on the left as you look out to sea, the shelters are where the die hards hang out, can be very good, spring and late summer probably best I think.

Paul

[MikePearson]

Thanks Paul, Sheringham will be added to my list of must tries come the season.

[cjay]

On the East Coast today whilst sea watching I noticed a lot of Cormorants moving South. Whilst watching we had a Little Gull go south & a few Common Scoters too. The Southerly wind was not conducive to sea watching but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

[burhinus]

Hi JacobC
Where were you on the East Coast? What part of East Anglia do you come from? I live in Norfolk in the northern breckland region.

burhinus

[burhinus]

Not sea watching as such but whilst walking on the beach at Hunstanton yesterday saw about 50 Eider and 2 Scaup

burhinus

[cjay]

Lowestoft Suffolk. Good Sea watching area. Very hard work on the land side though.

[peter hayes]

Sea watching seems to be a bit of a mystery to many people, including some pretty keen birders. Why don't we have an official Bird Forum sea watch trip one day so we can try it out?

[cjay]

Great idea. Try Southwold in Suffolk or Sheringham Norfolk where both have shelters & chip shop's nearby.

[T0ny]

Excellent idea - and Sheringham I can actually get to !!! (eventually).

Tony

[cjay]

I have seen lots of Cormorants today off the coast of Lowestoft.
It seems they are feeding on the sprat shoals that are begining to arrive. In the new year Minsmere is a popular place to see Red throated divers, fairly close in as they too gorge on the sprats.

[peter hayes]

Good. What about it, Steve?

[cjay]

The 2001 Suffolk Bird Report cites between 400 & 700 Red throated divers overwinter here in Suffolk. Off the beach at Minsmere many of these can be seen feeding on the sprat shoals.

Taste buds whetted?

CJ

[peter hayes]

Steve - what about it?

[marcus]

Oh boy, I just wish I could do all that seawatching. Just being able to see a Common (Great) Comorant in a river in D.C. about 2 years, and hundreds of Ospreys at Chesapeake Bay (ever heard of that?), is closest thing to seawatching I've ever done.
Marcus

[Camberley red]

Marcus,

Its probably a bit of a trek to the Delaware coast from DC, but I had a great time there in the summer of 98, lots of gulls, terns and skimmers, plus some great shore birds. Most UK birders would kill for the Osprey (and Bald eagles) experience around Chesapeake Bay, they are a bit like Buzzards along French motorways!

If ever I get the chance to visit DC again we'll make the effort to get to the coast and due some tax free shopping on the way back!

Happy New Year

Paul

[marcus]

Thanks Paul
I sure wish that I could go to the Bay all the time. I doubt if there's anybody in Maryland or Delaware who wishes they could go birding more than me.
If your in Delaware, I suppose you've been to Bombay Hook lotsa' times. I've been there twice, and that's where I've seen my first Buffleheads and so far my only Goldeneyes. I can't believe that I never heard of Bombay Hook before another birder I've met here in Maryland took me there about 2 years ago.

[NCLady]

I was at Wrightsville Beach here in North Carolina yesterday. The weather was warm enough to just sit and enjoy the birds. I got some photos of 2 Ruddy Turnstones (and lots of gulls), but the thing I loved watching most was the Pellicans. They fly in formation, one after the other, skimming the water for fish. They all seem to follow the leader; whatever he does, the others do a split second after, one after the other. It's really neat.

[Steve]

ill post a BF official boating day out, but you have got more chance of walking on the moon than getting me in a boat any smaller than the QE2

[peter hayes]

Steve's last posting is an absolute disgrace. To think we are a seafaring nation! Good God man, we built an empire once!

[Reader]

Peter

It's an aquired taste and not to everyones required taste either. This morning I sat at the beach at Titchwell, having got there at 08:00am this morning. It was bright, cold and blowing a south easterly gale. My eyes kept watering and I was missing bird after bird as they seemed to be swallowed up by waves. I gave up after 90 minutes. Out on, & over, the water I got Great Northern Diver, Eider, Common & Velvet Scoter, Goldeneye as well as the usual gulls. Not too much for 90 minutes allthough I was pleased with the Diver and Velvet Scoter.

If you want to get close up to see birds may I recommend the Scillonian 111 Pelagic out of Penzance in August. It is absolutely brilliant and goes out up to about 90 miles out to sea after the Wilsons Petrel. Along the way you can pick up all sorts of birds. If you make a long weekend of it (as it always sails on a Sunday) try doing a Seawatch at Porthgwarra in the morning and behind Pendeen Lighthouse on the late afternoon. That will hone your skills and on that particular weekend all the experts will be at those sights to help you find some amazing birds.

[peter hayes]

John

Humour me! I'm only able to take such a chirpy view of things because I've never been seawatching! I realise it's very different, and can be tough. That's why I'd like to try it out for myself to see exactly what's involved.

Interesting you mention the Scillonian 111 Pelagic. Do you fancy going along for a trip this August? I'd certainly love to join you sometime in the West Country, if not the WM.

Thanks a lot for your advice.

Peter

[pauco]

peter
good idea for your seawatching day, but dont forget the fylde
coast it has some great seabirds, med gull, bonapartes, ring
bill, for just a few, food for thought. bert.

[peter hayes]

Bert - thanks a lot. I hadn't considered going across the border. I'll have a good think about that.

Peter

[Silverthorn]

Hi folks,

Just thought I'd 'register' as a seawatcher... I watch the sea & birdlife from the comfort of my house.. which overlooks the bay just a few feet away. *buffs nails*

Silvy

[sparrowbirder]

i live on a coastline with plety of dunes,not very helpful getting sand in your optics (and other places) so i avoid seawatching now, unless i have an east coast jaunt!! used to be a regular though,until access was denied to my usual haunt

[Gerry Hooper]

Agreat White Shark has been sighted off the N. Devon coast last week.
To look for them a boat will be Chumming off the N. Cornwall coast for the next three weeks. If the winds are right it could be good for some Shearwaters and things.Anybody going near Gurnards Head or surrounding area keep your eyes open 'n let us know if you see the boat or a Shark or anything.

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Gerry,
Good luck with your Great White,though,as far as I'm aware,all records to date have been insufficiently documented,and many relate to misidentified Basking Sharks.
Still,what with climate change and changing sea currents,it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if one did turn up sooner or later...
Harry H

[Michael Frankis]

Given the diet of GW Shark - who do you throw overboard to attract it in? :-O

Michael

[Gerry Hooper]

Michael Fish probably.:t:

[Andrew]

I saw that on the local news, they are acting on the word of one 14 year old holidaymaker in North Devon.

[Darrell Clegg]

The vast majority - if not all the reports of Great White Shark turn out to be Porbeagle - a relatively common shark in the South West. Here is a report of one from The Caradon Field and Natural History Club report 2000
"On 22nd March a lady reported to Brixham Coastguard that she had seen a gull taken from the water's surface by a shark just below the Saltash Bridges. Several experts commented and amazingly all suggested that the most likely shark to have been involved was a Porbeagle. These sharks also seem commonest in the South West in the winter months."

Darrell

[Andrew]

Porbeagles fight well!

[Tony_InDevon]

It only just occured to me that on Sunday whilst I was watching the Cirl Buntings at Prawle point that a guy came over and asked if I was there to photograph the basking sharks. As I was pre-occupied and pointing my lense away from the sea, I didn't get around to asking him about it. First I had heard.

[Ian Virco]

Hello all, i've been going down on holiday to the end of Cornwall,UK, at the end of summer for ten years or so just for the sea watching, one thing i have noticed is the number & variety of birds varies from year to year,someone suggested that this is due to the summer weather,good weather warming the sea that might boost the food chain production & hence the number of birds feeding on them.
does anyone know weather there is any truth in this,i know that you need a good blow up the 'South West Approaches' to have a good day on the cliffs,but the birds have to be somewhere in the vacinity to get blown by! cheers,IAN.

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Ian,
I don't know about that,but if that's true,then I'm even more hopeful for the two pelagics that I'm booked on this weekend!
You are right about the need for a good south-westerly(or NW winds on the Irish west coast),though:very quiet from the headlands so far this year.
Harry H

[cjay]

Any News on the Scillonian pelagic from 10th August?

[Darrell Clegg]

Very very poor Scillonian Pelagic this year.

Yes there were 3 Wilson's Petrels so those who needed it as a lifer were rewarded, but the number of birds seen was very low. No big Shearwaters at all, and very few skuas - some Bonxies and a couple of Arctics.

Ian and Harry are right - the seabirds are just not around this year in the usual places. Maybe it has something to do with the good weather we've been enjoying, or maybe it's a food issue, I don't know. The reports coming from Ireland, Cornwall and even the Biscay ferries all indicate that unless we get a good blow theree's no point in heading to the headlands.

Darrell

[Darrell Clegg]

Seems as though I spoke a bit too soon!

Sorry Harry but this'll upset you - I see a Fea's was seen at the Bridges of Ross this morning!!!

Darrell

[Michael Frankis]

Bridges of Ross seems to be the place to go - BirdGuides has Fea's Petrel there today, plus a good mix of other stuff

Michael

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell and Michael,
Yeah,I've heard!As usual,it wasn't a tick for the guy who had it either!It was a few visiting Brits who had it(there is ALWAYS a Fea's and/or a Little Shear when Brits come over for the long weekend(not a Bank Holiday weekend in Ireland))
It seems that my long wait will go on indefinitely,but the winds are SW(which makes it seem strange to me that the Bridges should do so well),so I hope to do Galley Head later.
Then there's those two pelagics as well,so I hope that this weekend will be the one!!
Harry H(fuming as I write this!)

[Darrell Clegg]

Originally posted by Harry Hussey
It was a few visiting Brits who had it(there is ALWAYS a Fea's and/or a Little Shear when Brits come over for the long weekend



You have my sympathies Harry. It seems that we always get Little Shears when people come from Nuneaton for their one afternoon of seawatching per year.
That's after they've spent the morning finding Aquatic Warblers ;)

Darrell

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Harry,
Good luck with your pelagics! I've got one on 31st as well

Hi Darrell,
Same phenomenon up this way too! 'xcept I think it was someone from Wolverhampton with the last Little Shear up here

Michael

[Darrell Clegg]

Hi Michael,

it's amazing isn't it! - I mentioned Nuneaton because I was seawatching at Portland a few years ago, when a car load of birders from Nuneaton turned up. Within seconds they had got on to a Bonxie. I couldn't see it anywhere and put it down to one that had got away. Then they saw another - again I couldn't see it and neither could my birding buddy (Steve Madge - who as you know is quite good!!)
Then it clicked. They were watching juv Herring Gulls and calling them out as Great Skuas. After that it became quite funny, especially when the local racing pigeons suddenly became Sandwich Terns.

After an hour they all packed up - got back in their car and headed off to Radipole having had a good morning.

Darrell

[CJW]

You'd think with these SW winds that once the birds passed Ireland they'd head up the Irish Sea.......
I'll have a look tonight ;)

[Stephen Dunstan]

Sounds like some friends of mine have hit the jackpot over in Ireland, not for the first time in one case.

Fea's do very occasionally end up in the Irish Sea as far up as the Isle of Man, as birds at Formby Point and Walney Island show.

Stephen.

[Ian Virco]

I'm waiting for a good blow from the South West or West then i'm off to Gwennapp Head or Pendeen at the end of Cornwall to sit in the wind & rain staring out to sea! & we think fishing is an odd hobby!
there have been reports of all the expected sea birds plus a few rarities so far so i'm hopeful of a good passage of birds come the right weather,oh & just to upset some,i had FEA'S past Gwennapp on the 26-8-1999!

[Harry Hussey]

Hi all,
Darrell/Michael:While those birders from Nuneaton may have been stringy,these guys(unfortunately)aren't!
Stephen:Give my regards to Chris,and ask him how he does it?;-)
Ian:No-one likes a sore winner...;-)
CJW:If these winds WERE SW,then why did I only have 2 Sooty Shearwaters at Galley Head from 3:30-8pm yesterday,with very few common seabirds either?
Fingers crossed for this evening,but time is running out for another year...
Harry H

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by Harry Hussey
If these winds WERE SW,then why did I only have 2 Sooty Shearwaters at Galley Head from 3:30-8pm yesterday,with very few common seabirds either?

Hi Harry,

It was pretty near straight west yesterday morning, and not very strong in southern Ireland :
http://217.160.176.95/wz/pics/archive/2003/brack/bracka20030821.gif
- not good conditions for seabird passage along the south coast. Probably best somewhere like Donegal yesterday (or even more so, the Outer Hebrides), closer to the centre of the depression

Michael

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Michael,
That explains things,but it WAS forecast to be SW!When are we going to get a decent day down here?Maybe next year?
Pelagic last night was very quiet:3 Bonxies,1-2 Great Shears and 2 Sooties.Good no's of Stormies,but no Wilson's.
Admittedly,the coast off of Cork Harbour isn't renowned for feeding concentrations of seabirds(though we did have a Wilson's on the only previous pelagic from Cobh in Aug.2000),and hopefully tomorrow morning's pelagic in west Cork will be better.
We'll have Killian on board,so it should be possible to ID stuff like Brown Skua,Madeiran Storm-petrel,Fea's/Zino's to species etc if present...;-)
Harry H

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Harry,

Good luck, enjoy your White-faced Petrel o:D

Michael

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Michael,
"Good luck, enjoy your White-faced Petrel "
Wouldn't mind that at all,or anything that I haven't seen yet!
Harry H
P.S.My outside bet is for some species of albatross:a friend of mine was talking to a fisherman who has seen a huge bird "like a glider" in the rough area,bigger than a Gannet and longer-winged...

[Ian Virco]

Atention all sea watchers in England (& beyond!) the long range weather forcast pridicts a low comming across the Atlantic latter in the week, normally ideal conditions to go to the end of Cornwall & seawatch,if it does look good i'll be down there!
So check how much 'sick leave' you have & keep an eye on the weather forcast! IAN

[Jasonbirder]

Where are all the Seawatchers?

This ones arrived back home despondent...after a fortnight in Cornwall and a daily watch at Porthgwarra i`ve come home with nothing but a perverse satisfaction in counting Storm Petrels!!

2 Weeks produced 2 Sooty Shearwaters and about 20 Balearics...not a single Big `shear in sight.

And to add insult to injury the Scillonian III pelagic was very poor too...reckon its Ireland for me next year after seeing the mouthwatering reports from Bridges of Ross, a site i`ve never visited.

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Jason,
It's not all coming up roses over here in Ireland:a very poor seawatching season so far!That said,it's not too late yet.
The West Cork pelagic this morning was better than the Cobh one,with pride of place going to a Wilson's Petrel,though this was very elusive and not everyone on board saw it(I did).Also of note were a few Bonxies(at least 7?),5-6 Great Shears,similar numbers of Sooties,a juv.Little Gull and both Common and Arctic Terns.
Spectacle of the day were the Common Dolphins that sped along just in front of the boat(one of them sprayed me when exhaling through its blowhole,they were that close!)
Biggest excitement of the trip was when a birder called a possible Soft-plumaged from the back of the boat,but regrettably this related to poor views of a Great Shear(I may point out that the birder in question is quite experienced,and called the bird so that we could get on to it rather than wait until he was 100% sure,by which time it may have gone had it been one!).
Harry H

[Ian Virco]

The long range forcast was right,a low has come across the Atlantic but its gone & parked itself in the Bay of Biscay leaving the UK with a run of generally northerly winds(east through the Channel) i'm off to west Cornwall for a few days,probably wont be much good for seawatching but i might give it a go,could even be worth trying the Lizzard Point in Easterly's,still i'll report in to this forum when i get home again. IAN

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Ian,

Don't know if you've seen my posts from St Mary's Island, but the seawatching on the NE English coast is excellent these last 3 days

Michael

[Darrell Clegg]

Cornwall is still very quiet. I spent yesterday morning in the rain scanning the ocean in the hope of something good.

4 Common Scoter was the best I could do


Darrell

[POP]

St Ives can be very good with NWs winds,might be a tad early.

John

[Darrell Clegg]

It's not too early for St Ives. Anytime from mid July to mid November can be good there. NW winds are essential, but they have to occur after a couple of days of SW's or else you don't get much passage.
The reason St Ives is so good is that it's at the head of a bay. SW winds push birds into St Georges Channel and keep them there. when the wind goes round to the NW birds can continue, but being tired they are pushed into the bay by the NW wind and have to pass right under the noses of Seawatchers on St Ives island in order to make it back to the open sea.

Straight NW winds, will produce some passage but not enough to make it a 'classic' seawatch

Darrell

[Ian Virco]

Just back from Cornwall today (saturday),Sea watching non-existant,someone did have a Cory's off Pendeen this morning & a few birds where seen past St Ives yesterday,but the wind was in the wrong direction for a good passage of Sea birds.
A point worth noting was although it was bad for sea birds the wind direction blew lots of passerines to the end of Cornwall, Chats & Flycatchers,plus scarcities like Red Backed Shrike, Wryneck & Ortolan Bunting.almost all sites that are good for sea watching are also places (or near to places) where migrant land birds turn up,so if your planned sea watch turns out to be just that, watching an empty sea there is probably other good birding to be had at or near your chosen venue,i would still like a good on shore blow down the south west,but as you see all was not lost! IAN.