JWN Andrewes
Poor Judge of Pasta.
Excellent effort Gander, this continues to be an informative thread. Fingers crossed for a productive spring!
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North Sea Thread (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Gander
- Start date
Yes, hopefully better than last spring. We had strong, persistent easterly winds throughout, and it was all over for us before it began. I'm out for three weeks starting next Wednesday, so I'm hoping to see something start to come through.:t:
Iceland Winter Continues.
Back onboard and looking forward to some migratory action.
Good start to the trip with three Iceland Gulls, an adult and two juveniles, present this morning. A couple of GBBGs, a couple of Fulmar and a single Gannet made up the rest of the count. Since then (06:45 hrs), a couple of Kittiwake have also turned up.
Back onboard and looking forward to some migratory action.
Good start to the trip with three Iceland Gulls, an adult and two juveniles, present this morning. A couple of GBBGs, a couple of Fulmar and a single Gannet made up the rest of the count. Since then (06:45 hrs), a couple of Kittiwake have also turned up.
Waiting
Very quiet here on the bird front. A small Glaucous Gull visited a few days ago, as you may have seen from the Bird ID Q&A pages, but no small migratory birds yet.
Birds starting to pass through some other installations though. Stonechat, Woodcock, Pied Wagtail and Chiffchaff all recorded this month by others.
My wait continues.
Very quiet here on the bird front. A small Glaucous Gull visited a few days ago, as you may have seen from the Bird ID Q&A pages, but no small migratory birds yet.
Birds starting to pass through some other installations though. Stonechat, Woodcock, Pied Wagtail and Chiffchaff all recorded this month by others.
My wait continues.
Halfway
That is me halfway through my trip and I am currently stewing in impatience. The first few days we had White-Winged Gulls around, but no sign of them now for over a week. Very little else about. Kittiwakes make up the highest proportion of birds spotted with counts up to 10 on some days. There are four resident juv GBBGs. The rest of the counts are made up of a few passing Fulmars and the odd Gannet.
Lots of Seal action though, both Grey and Common.
Weather would seemingly be ideal to bring migrating birds through. Mild, south westerly and westerly winds of light to moderate strength. I'm guessing that it is just that bit too early yet.
That is me halfway through my trip and I am currently stewing in impatience. The first few days we had White-Winged Gulls around, but no sign of them now for over a week. Very little else about. Kittiwakes make up the highest proportion of birds spotted with counts up to 10 on some days. There are four resident juv GBBGs. The rest of the counts are made up of a few passing Fulmars and the odd Gannet.
Lots of Seal action though, both Grey and Common.
Weather would seemingly be ideal to bring migrating birds through. Mild, south westerly and westerly winds of light to moderate strength. I'm guessing that it is just that bit too early yet.
Spoke too soon!
Wrong on both counts. I exited the accommodation block at lunchtime to be met by a fresh Iceland Gull. Minutes later a small, brown bird whizzed past me. Too quick for me to ID and I couldn’t relocate it, but it was finch/bunting sort of size.
Later, I grabbed a couple of shots of the Iceland Gull. As I did so, a bird I did recognise landed on the structure close to me. Our first Goldcrest of the year had arrived. Quite pleased with that, as it stayed still long enough to get a record shot – unusual for Goldcrests.
Later in the afternoon, I spotted a second (probably a second) Goldcrest on the metal skirt around one of the platform legs. This skirt sits in the splash zone normally, but with little wind the sea was becalmed a few feet below the bird. It was pecking away in the seaweed doing a good impression of a micro Turnstone.
Later still in the day, I received a call about a bird in another area of the platform. It was gone by the time I got there, and I couldn’t make anything of the undetailed description I received. Certainly not a Goldcrest, as it was pigeon sized. Another one that got away, but at least they are moving through now.
Wrong on both counts. I exited the accommodation block at lunchtime to be met by a fresh Iceland Gull. Minutes later a small, brown bird whizzed past me. Too quick for me to ID and I couldn’t relocate it, but it was finch/bunting sort of size.
Later, I grabbed a couple of shots of the Iceland Gull. As I did so, a bird I did recognise landed on the structure close to me. Our first Goldcrest of the year had arrived. Quite pleased with that, as it stayed still long enough to get a record shot – unusual for Goldcrests.
Later in the afternoon, I spotted a second (probably a second) Goldcrest on the metal skirt around one of the platform legs. This skirt sits in the splash zone normally, but with little wind the sea was becalmed a few feet below the bird. It was pecking away in the seaweed doing a good impression of a micro Turnstone.
Later still in the day, I received a call about a bird in another area of the platform. It was gone by the time I got there, and I couldn’t make anything of the undetailed description I received. Certainly not a Goldcrest, as it was pigeon sized. Another one that got away, but at least they are moving through now.
Attachments
I found what I think was the mystery bird from my earlier report. A Woodpigeon. Certainly pigeon sized. Now a Woodpigeon may not sound like much, but it is the first one that I can remember seeing out here. In the NSBC annual report, they are stated as common in the central sector or the North Sea, but scarce in the northern sector. I'm in the Central sector, but quite near to the northern, so that fits.
I also received several reports of what was variously described as a small black and silver or black and white bird. One witness suggested Pied Wagtail, but maintained the very small size. This has led me to think maybe Long-Tailed Tit, but that would be a very rare sighting, with only two in thirty years (and one of those under review). Desciption were far too sketchy to report it as L-TT, but hopefully I might catch up with whatever it was tomorrow.
Turned out to be a great day. One offshore lifer and two year ticks.
The 2017 List Updated
1. Herring Gull
2. Great Black-Backed Gull
3. Glaucous Gull
4. Iceland Gull
5. Fulmar
6. Kittiwake
7. Long-Tailed Duck
8. Common Scoter
9. Gannet
10. Guillemot
11. Greylag Goose
12. Collared Dove
13. Goldcrest
14. Woodpigeon.
New Arrival
Despite a foggy start to the day, I was still hopeful of a few fresh arrivals. The fog soon cleared and left us with another bright and warm spring day. Wind was light and coming at us from the south west.
Found nothing in my travels in the morning apart from three Fulmar, a couple of GBBGs and a Woodpigeon. The Woodpigeon I believe to be the same bird spotted yesterday. In the afternoon, I spotted another SBJ in the air, but failed to identify it with only a brief view. If I was to guess, I'd say Pipit, but it would be purely a guess.
Throughout the day, reports continued to reach me of Goldcrest spotted the day before. One Goldcrest was spotted about lunchtime by someone else. Mid-afternoon brought the return of yesterday's Iceland Gull. Probably lured into the platform by fish scraps from the feeding activity of our resident Common Seal.
Late afternoon brought the highlight of the day though. I received a call that there was a hawk up on the Pipe Deck. I quickly climbed the stairs to this deck and arrived to find the container, but with no bird. Scanning the area, I moved partially up another stairway to get a better vantage point. As I did so, a bird took to the air from slightly behind my right sholder. It flew speedily past me at close quarters, disappearing behind the accommodation block. My first offshore Peregrine.
I've had Peregine reported to me over the years, including last year, but this is the first time I've actually witnessed one. It's appearance is very typical in that we had small birds arrive first. Sometimes the hawks we get will hang around for a few days, especially if there are food species about. I'd make myself scarce if I was that Woodpigeon.
The 2017 List Updated
1. Herring Gull
2. Great Black-Backed Gull
3. Glaucous Gull
4. Iceland Gull
5. Fulmar
6. Kittiwake
7. Long-Tailed Duck
8. Common Scoter
9. Gannet
10. Guillemot
11. Greylag Goose
12. Collared Dove
13. Goldcrest
14. Woodpigeon.
15. Peregrine
Despite a foggy start to the day, I was still hopeful of a few fresh arrivals. The fog soon cleared and left us with another bright and warm spring day. Wind was light and coming at us from the south west.
Found nothing in my travels in the morning apart from three Fulmar, a couple of GBBGs and a Woodpigeon. The Woodpigeon I believe to be the same bird spotted yesterday. In the afternoon, I spotted another SBJ in the air, but failed to identify it with only a brief view. If I was to guess, I'd say Pipit, but it would be purely a guess.
Throughout the day, reports continued to reach me of Goldcrest spotted the day before. One Goldcrest was spotted about lunchtime by someone else. Mid-afternoon brought the return of yesterday's Iceland Gull. Probably lured into the platform by fish scraps from the feeding activity of our resident Common Seal.
Late afternoon brought the highlight of the day though. I received a call that there was a hawk up on the Pipe Deck. I quickly climbed the stairs to this deck and arrived to find the container, but with no bird. Scanning the area, I moved partially up another stairway to get a better vantage point. As I did so, a bird took to the air from slightly behind my right sholder. It flew speedily past me at close quarters, disappearing behind the accommodation block. My first offshore Peregrine.
I've had Peregine reported to me over the years, including last year, but this is the first time I've actually witnessed one. It's appearance is very typical in that we had small birds arrive first. Sometimes the hawks we get will hang around for a few days, especially if there are food species about. I'd make myself scarce if I was that Woodpigeon.
The 2017 List Updated
1. Herring Gull
2. Great Black-Backed Gull
3. Glaucous Gull
4. Iceland Gull
5. Fulmar
6. Kittiwake
7. Long-Tailed Duck
8. Common Scoter
9. Gannet
10. Guillemot
11. Greylag Goose
12. Collared Dove
13. Goldcrest
14. Woodpigeon.
15. Peregrine
Productive Morning.
The cork is definatly out of the bottle now! I exited the accommodation this morning before first light. Crossing the Skid Deck, as is my habit, to check for birds, I walked around the corner of a shipping container and disturbed a bird that took off across the deck and landed a short distance away on a tote tank. We stood there watching each other for a while, before my first Sparrowhawk of the year decided to head up to the the top of the accommodation block. A female, it clutched a small bird in the claws of its left foot. Sadly, I never got a good enough look at the predated bird to identify it.
I returned to the area after sun up, but there was no sign of the Sparrowhawk, or yesterday's Peregrine. I did however find a male Blackbird, which is another first for the year.
Out on the sea suface, I noticed a few more gulls than there have been of late. A good scan with the monocular revealed another first for the year, this time in the form of Common Gulls.
Other birds observed today have been Iceland Gull, GBBG, Kittiwake, Fulmar and Gannet. I've also managed to confirm the identity of the black and white bird that was spotted by several people a few days ago (see post #171). Its smallness seems to have been over emphasised by the witnesses, as one of them was one hundred percent sure it was a Pied Wagtail, when I showed him pictures. He had certainly had a good view as the bird had been hopping about on the deck at his feet.
The 2017 List Updated
1. Herring Gull
2. Great Black-Backed Gull
3. Glaucous Gull
4. Iceland Gull
5. Fulmar
6. Kittiwake
7. Long-Tailed Duck
8. Common Scoter
9. Gannet
10. Guillemot
11. Greylag Goose
12. Collared Dove
13. Goldcrest
14. Woodpigeon.
15. Peregrine
16. Sparrowhawk
17. Blackbird
18. Common Gull
19. Pied Wagtail*
The cork is definatly out of the bottle now! I exited the accommodation this morning before first light. Crossing the Skid Deck, as is my habit, to check for birds, I walked around the corner of a shipping container and disturbed a bird that took off across the deck and landed a short distance away on a tote tank. We stood there watching each other for a while, before my first Sparrowhawk of the year decided to head up to the the top of the accommodation block. A female, it clutched a small bird in the claws of its left foot. Sadly, I never got a good enough look at the predated bird to identify it.
I returned to the area after sun up, but there was no sign of the Sparrowhawk, or yesterday's Peregrine. I did however find a male Blackbird, which is another first for the year.
Out on the sea suface, I noticed a few more gulls than there have been of late. A good scan with the monocular revealed another first for the year, this time in the form of Common Gulls.
Other birds observed today have been Iceland Gull, GBBG, Kittiwake, Fulmar and Gannet. I've also managed to confirm the identity of the black and white bird that was spotted by several people a few days ago (see post #171). Its smallness seems to have been over emphasised by the witnesses, as one of them was one hundred percent sure it was a Pied Wagtail, when I showed him pictures. He had certainly had a good view as the bird had been hopping about on the deck at his feet.
The 2017 List Updated
1. Herring Gull
2. Great Black-Backed Gull
3. Glaucous Gull
4. Iceland Gull
5. Fulmar
6. Kittiwake
7. Long-Tailed Duck
8. Common Scoter
9. Gannet
10. Guillemot
11. Greylag Goose
12. Collared Dove
13. Goldcrest
14. Woodpigeon.
15. Peregrine
16. Sparrowhawk
17. Blackbird
18. Common Gull
19. Pied Wagtail*
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markspirito
Well-known member
Interesting to see things are moving now, keep up the posts... !
Mark
Mark
Change of wind
The wind changed yesterday, and we now have a north easterly instead of a south westerly. This seems to have stopped the birds for the moment, even though it is no more than a stiff sea breeze. No sign of the hawks, so it does not look like they have opted to stay a while as they sometimes do. This is probably due to a scarcity of prey. The Woodpigeon has also moved on and so has the Iceland Gull. Only birds today have been GBBGs (3), Fulmars (2) and a single Kittiwake.
Another week to go, so hoping for the wind to change back again.
The wind changed yesterday, and we now have a north easterly instead of a south westerly. This seems to have stopped the birds for the moment, even though it is no more than a stiff sea breeze. No sign of the hawks, so it does not look like they have opted to stay a while as they sometimes do. This is probably due to a scarcity of prey. The Woodpigeon has also moved on and so has the Iceland Gull. Only birds today have been GBBGs (3), Fulmars (2) and a single Kittiwake.
Another week to go, so hoping for the wind to change back again.
Wind has turned around again and is now coming at us out of the south west. It has also started to bring a few more migratory birds. I got a glimpse of a bird diving into cover, but was not able to relocate it. I got the impression that it may have been a Robin, but can't confirm. Also, a bird reported to me by another worker sounds like a Yellowhammer. I'll need to go through some pictures with him before I confirm though.
Wonderful Fog.
I've been through some pictures with him, and he is convinced that the bird he saw was a female Yellowhammer. Also, the description he gave first was spot on for female Yellowhammer. I've checked the NSBC annual reports for the last three years, and Yellowhammer does not feature, so it looks to be a scarce bird offshore.
Today started off foggy. And as so often happens when we get fog, we get birds. First spot was a flock of circa fifteen birds circling around the platform. I did not get a definite ID, as they were moving at speed in the half light, but I would say Blackbird if pushed.
Crossing the skid deck at first light, a small bird flitted up onto some overhead pipework. It showed long enough for me to pick out the bright yellow in the wing and the red face of a Goldfinch.
A little later, up on the pipe deck, a male Siskin landed a few feet away from me on a steel cable. Seconds later, a robin tumbled out of the mist onto the deck beside me. It looked like it had been having a tough time in the twenty five knot south wind.
Mid-morning found me crossing the Cellar Deck that is suspended under the main body of the platform. A couple of birds escaped identification. One I felt was probably another Robin.
Late morning, I again had reason to be down on the Cellar Deck. Glancing over the side, my eye was attracted to movement down on the skirt of the platform's NW leg. It was very hard to tell, even with the monocular, as the angle of view was straight down from ninety feet above, but the impression I got was Pipit, and quite possibly Rock Pipit. I left and returned later with a camera. Amazingly, the bird was still there, pecking away amongst the seaweed. I've not had a chance to view the shots on a computer screen yet, but will post update when I have.
Yellowhammer, Goldcrest and Siskin will all be first ever reports for the platform, as will Rock Pipit, if the photos bear out my ID. Who said fog isn't wonderful?
I've been through some pictures with him, and he is convinced that the bird he saw was a female Yellowhammer. Also, the description he gave first was spot on for female Yellowhammer. I've checked the NSBC annual reports for the last three years, and Yellowhammer does not feature, so it looks to be a scarce bird offshore.
Today started off foggy. And as so often happens when we get fog, we get birds. First spot was a flock of circa fifteen birds circling around the platform. I did not get a definite ID, as they were moving at speed in the half light, but I would say Blackbird if pushed.
Crossing the skid deck at first light, a small bird flitted up onto some overhead pipework. It showed long enough for me to pick out the bright yellow in the wing and the red face of a Goldfinch.
A little later, up on the pipe deck, a male Siskin landed a few feet away from me on a steel cable. Seconds later, a robin tumbled out of the mist onto the deck beside me. It looked like it had been having a tough time in the twenty five knot south wind.
Mid-morning found me crossing the Cellar Deck that is suspended under the main body of the platform. A couple of birds escaped identification. One I felt was probably another Robin.
Late morning, I again had reason to be down on the Cellar Deck. Glancing over the side, my eye was attracted to movement down on the skirt of the platform's NW leg. It was very hard to tell, even with the monocular, as the angle of view was straight down from ninety feet above, but the impression I got was Pipit, and quite possibly Rock Pipit. I left and returned later with a camera. Amazingly, the bird was still there, pecking away amongst the seaweed. I've not had a chance to view the shots on a computer screen yet, but will post update when I have.
Yellowhammer, Goldcrest and Siskin will all be first ever reports for the platform, as will Rock Pipit, if the photos bear out my ID. Who said fog isn't wonderful?
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MTem
Well-known member
As am I (and many others I suspect). It does serve to highlight the risks that migration bring to our feathered friends, though.
Mick
