North Sea Thread (3 Viewers)

Something to crow about.

As is now my habit before starting a nightshift, I popped up to the little access mezz between the helideck and the upper accommodation block, at about four thirty this afternoon. I usually creep up the stairway there until I can see the first part of the flat roof. Then I creep a little further up the stairs till I can see over some ducting and across to the rest of the flat roof. This has proven to be a very productive area for me, but not for the last few days. A cold wind from the north seemed to have stopped any bird movement, and even the GBBGs have moved on. This mornings total count was two Fulmar and a Gannet.

So as I poked my head up over the ducting this afternoon, I got a bit of a shock. My shock came in the form of an explosion of crows. There were crows everywhere. They scattered initially, then joined up in the air, wheeled around the platform then finally landed on the Pipe deck, approximately level with my position, but across the Skid deck that sits between the Accom block and the Drilling module upon which sits the Pipe Deck.

I started counting. Thirty four crows. My previous best for crows out here in the last twenty five years, was two. Now, as I scanned them I noticed two birds that stood out. Both had silver jackets. Hooded Crows - a lifer for me and a first for the platform.

I headed back into the accommodation block and looked up Hooded Crow. I was almost certain, but I had mistaken a hybrid for the real thing last year. By the time (17:15 hrs) I headed outside for my shift, I had convinced myself that I'd found two hybrids. There was no sign of the crows.

At about six, I went for a quick lap of the platform. Still no crows, but I did see a little bird that just evaded me by diving into the shadows of an in accessible area. It looked about the size of a Goldcrest, but seemed to have a dark olive back, and may have been slightly bigger than a GC. Another one that got away, but at least with the wind having turned to being a north westerly, I was starting to get birds again.

Later, at about seven this evening, I headed out and about again on my work rounds. I took a camera just in case. Reaching the Pipe Deck, I found the flock of crows again. They were perched out on the flare stack. I grabbed a few photos (see below) and am happy to say that two of the birds are indeed Hooded Crows. I have put the photos up on the Bird ID pages, just in case, but I'm sure they are Hooded.

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*
20. Yellowhammer*
21. Goldfinch
22. Siskin
23. Robin
24. Rock Pipit
25. Ruff (d)*
26. Golden Plover
27. Swallow
28. House Martin*
29. Chiffchaff
30. Blackcap
31. Willow Warbler
32. Kestrel
33. Carrion Crow
34. Hooded Crow

Nice platform tick !..shame about the warbler type that got away

Mark

Nothing much to report today. The crows moved on during the day, having roosted through the night up on the flare boom. I counted about twenty five in the half light of dawn, including one of the Hooded Crows, although there may have been a few more plus the second Hoodie as they had spread out a bit.

I am informed that when they first arrived at the platform yesterday, that there were actually over forty of them. Highest previous count recorded by the NSBC was twenty four back in 1997. That pretty much makes us the crow capital of North Sea.:t:

At tea time today, there was only one Carrion Crow remaining, and even it was gone by the time I came on shift. I did receive a report though, of a very small looking hawk swooping past a startled worker on the Skid Deck. Sounded very Merlin like, but not enough of a description to go by.

I carried out my daily count at about seven. A grand total of one Fulmar to report and our resident Common Seal asleep on a leg skirt.

No Amazons

It has been quiet again for a few days. I had a report of a couple of small birds being spotted during the day yesterday, when the wind was from the west. Description was, "sparrows with white chests". I'm guessing some kind of bunting, but they go down as unidentified. :-C

Very little sea bird activity. The odd group of GBBGs moving through. A few Fulmar and a lone Herring Gull.

Wind has now changed to being an easterly. Not promising, but this morning at first light I found three Swallows (photos below). They are still here this evening. They seem to like the heat coming off our turbine exhausts, as they are roosting above them. Can't be much food here for them though, so I hope they move off soon.

Also attached is photo of our resident Common Seal.

Going Balearic.

Heading up the external stairs following another long (12hr) nightshift, a bird whizzed past me at fairly close quarters. Initially, I thought it was one of the Swallows from the previous evening, but as it swooped back and forwards, the obvious white rump declared it as being a House Martin. It was soon joined by a second.

During the day, while I slept, there were at least six Swallows around the platform. This evening, I found one House Martin, but no Swallows. Good to see that they are moving through.

Highlight of the last twenty four hours though occurred when I exited the accommodation block at about 17:15 hrs. Wind was up a bit (30 Kn+), but sun was shining. As I reached the north west corner, my attention was arrested by a bird out over the sea. My first thought, due to the size of the wings and the way it was flying, was juvenile Gannet, but I dismissed that in seconds, even before I got the monocular on it. No, this was something new to me!

As soon as I got the bird in view, I knew it was a Shearwater. I just didn't know which one. I started making mental notes. Upper parts were a kind of inconsistent, smudgy brown. Belly was pale, gradually darkening to brown at the tail. Feet protruded beyond tail. Collar evident. Underside of wings were dirty looking, but with a pale central core.

I've checked a few guides now and am as sure as I can be that the bird was a Balearic Shearwater. I feel confident enough to report it as such, as my bird looked spot on for the Balearic pictures I've looked at, and not right for the Manx pictures I've also looked at.

I have a vague memory that I've seen the odd Shearwater from the platform in the long distant past. Previous to me starting to take the birding seriously in the last couple of years, I'd have known enough to recognise a Shearwater, but not enough to differentiate between species. As such, I think it is fair to say that having positively identified this bird, that it counts as a lifer. Certainly feels like it. :t:

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*
20. Yellowhammer*
21. Goldfinch
22. Siskin
23. Robin
24. Rock Pipit
25. Ruff (d)*
26. Golden Plover
27. Swallow
28. House Martin
29. Chiffchaff
30. Blackcap
31. Willow Warbler
32. Kestrel
33. Carrion Crow
34. Hooded Crow
35. Balearic Shearwater

Don't want to put a dampener on things but a Balearic shearwater would be extremely unusual at this time of year, at that latitude, and that far out to sea (I'm assuming you're a fair way north?) also, if it was a similar size to a gannet then it was much to big to be a Balearic shearwater.

Apologies if I'm meddling - you saw the bird so it's your call to make!

Fat Paul Scholes said:

Don't want to put a dampener on things but a Balearic shearwater would be extremely unusual at this time of year, at that latitude, and that far out to sea (I'm assuming you're a fair way north?) also, if it was a similar size to a gannet then it was much to big to be a Balearic shearwater.

Apologies if I'm meddling - you saw the bird so it's your call to make!

Click to expand...

Hi Mark,
It is not meddling at all. I need all the help I can get.

My initial thought when I saw the bird was juvenile Gannet because of similarities in the way it moved and the darkness compared to the gulls around. I dismissed that thought almost at once because I am only seeing adult Gannets out here at the moment and because it became apparent that the bird was brown not black looking.

Once I got my Monocular on it, I can confirm 100% that it was a Shearwater, and as you say, it was noticably smaller than a Gannet. I probably should not have mentioned Gannet, as it was just a passing thought in the initial "What on earth is that"? moment I had when I saw something I did not recognise.

Being absolutely certain it was a Shearwater, my challenge has been to determine which one. I was expecting Manx, but the bird just wasn't right for it. Not dark enough and not clean enough, especially under the armpits. I did check the range of Balearic and that is OK for where we are (approx 124 miles SE of Sumburgh, 115 miles ESE of Wick) - Not that far north. More sort of north part of central sector. As you say though, it is early for Balearic.

I am open to suggestions as any alternatives the bird may have been, and will check out some more Shearwater comparisons later myself. Any feedback is always very welcome.

If it's a Balearic then it's an excellent record! Balearic shearwaters are very uncommon indeed at that latitude - it's a description species in North East Scotland which I guess would be roughly similar to where you are - with only one or two records per year (in a good year) - and records are exclusively from July - September. Also, Balearics are much less pelagic than other shearwater spp - but, birds don't always read the rules!

I'll check the North Sea Bird Club annual reports that I have in the morning, to see if there have been any other sightings between 2013 and 2015. I suspect it will be a description bird with them also. Don't know if my description will be enough (one of the reasons I put the description down in original post was to get it down while fresh in memory), but at the end of the day, I'm just happy to have seen a Shearwater of some kind.

Should also mention that the 30+ knot wind has been from the SSE today. My bird last seen heading along with it, so if one turns up at Shetland, don't be surprised. :t:

End of trip.

Heading home tomorrow, so my thoughts are now turning to onshore birding. Looking back at this trip, it has been interesting, however, I can't help but feel being on night shift has meant that I have possibly missed out on a few spots I should have got.

Yesterday and the day before, members of the day shift have reported a "brown hawk" to me. The original reports made it sound Sparrowhawk like, while yesterday's reports seemed to indicate a small hawk, with Merlin being suggested. Not enough detail given for me to be sure, so it will just remain as a hawk sighting.

Bird of the trip for me has been the Hooded Crows, although the Shearwater made for an interesting couple of days. I spent an awful lot of my free time looking at Shearwater pictures, and although prone to self doubt in some bird identification, I am still convinced that what I saw was a Balearic Shearwater. I have now sent a detailed description in to the NSBC to see what they make of it. I checked the records I have access to, but there is no record of Balearic being spotted in 2013/14/15, and Manx are predominantly seen from a platform off Morecombe Bay.

This will be my final post for this trip, although I turn onto days this afternoon, so if anything new pops up, I'll post again. Other than that, I'll catch you all in three weeks time. :t:

Pop Ups

Gander said:

This will be my final post for this trip, although I turn onto days this afternoon, so if anything new pops up, I'll post again. :

Click to expand...

Well, we have had a few birds pop up. The hawk that has been around the platform for a few days has been confirmed as a Merlin. I didn't catch sight of it my self, but it has been seen and described by multiple workers, with one having a very close encounter when he came across the bird perched on a nearby handrail. Apparently it just sat there, a matter of feet away, staring him out.

Another observer who is an experienced birder has also seen the bird and confirmed it as a female Merlin.

Also, new in the arrivals department were a flock of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls this morning. First of the year. Just need BHG now to complete the set of the more common gulls.

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*
20. Yellowhammer*
21. Goldfinch
22. Siskin
23. Robin
24. Rock Pipit
25. Ruff (d)*
26. Golden Plover
27. Swallow
28. House Martin
29. Chiffchaff
30. Blackcap
31. Willow Warbler
32. Kestrel
33. Carrion Crow
34. Hooded Crow
35. Balearic Shearwater
36. Merlin*
37. Lesser Black-Backed Gull

Correction.

I have been sent a photo of a bird that was seen offshore yesterday. Due to the power of suggestion by reports I received of a Merlin just before I left, I foolishly jumped to the conclusion that the pictured bird is a Merlin.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Of course it is a Kestrel. I know it's a Kestrel. Even after three weeks of nightshifts I shouldn't for a moment have thought that was a Merlin!

What a Dimwit!

Fortunately, I had enough of a subconscious doubt to run the photo past the Bird ID Q&A page. Now I've got Kestrel egg all over my face.

This has left me with a problem. I never saw the bird that was around for two days before this one was photographed. Based on the descriptions I received from several personnel, I was happy to go with Merlin. One of the observers is an experienced, although lapsed birder. Another who saw it at close quarters, picked out Merlin from photos. I even asked them both if they were sure it wasn't a Kestrel.

Of course, this could be a fresh bird, but I have that niggling feeling that an error has been made. In the interests of absolute accuracy, I am taking Merlin off the list. Unless someone can convince me otherwise (and that will take some convincing), I'll report the Mon/Tues bird as unidentified hawk.

Now I'm away to beat myself up some more.

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*
20. Yellowhammer*
21. Goldfinch
22. Siskin
23. Robin
24. Rock Pipit
25. Ruff (d)*
26. Golden Plover
27. Swallow
28. House Martin
29. Chiffchaff
30. Blackcap
31. Willow Warbler
32. Kestrel
33. Carrion Crow
34. Hooded Crow
35. Balearic Shearwater
36. Lesser Black-Backed Gull

Haven't been on this forum for some time, and have just discovered this fascinating thread. Thanks Gander. I'm onshore on NE Scottish coast (Easter Ross), so find the content of your posts really absorbing. Hope your onshore birding over the next few weeks is fruitful.

timtagel said:

Hope your onshore birding over the next few weeks is fruitful.

Click to expand...

Thanks. It's been going really well.

Update

Back to work tomorrow. Not too sure what to expect at this time of year. The main Spring migration will be over, but hopefully I'll get a few stragglers.

Nice update on the North Sea Bird Club Facebook page. A Dark Bellied Barn Owl (Guttata) and a Shorelark are the highlights.Great picture of the Shorelark. :t:

https://www.facebook.com/northseabirdclub/

A quiet start

Not a lot about at the moment. It was wet and windy yesterday when I arrived, and although it is now dry with a west wind, it is quiet.

Count this morning was twelve Fulmar and a single Collared Dove.

More Crows

It seems that June is the worst month for birds out here. Last year, I only had three species recorded. A small flock of Fulmar were present, the odd passing Gannet and the occasional GBBG. This year, we have bettered that, but not by much.

We have a few Fulmars, the odd passing Gannet, and have had a GBBG. In addition though, we have also had the Collared Dove I mentioned in my last post, a visit from a LBBG and a couple of Carrion Crows.

The first Carrion Crow I found on Thursday afternoon. I was told that there were a couple knocking about the platform, but apart from that one sighting, I saw nothing for the rest of the week until midday today, when I sighted a Carrion Crow up on the boom of our north crane. It could be the same bird as seen on Thursday, or it could be a fresh arrival. I don't know, but either way, it cements the platform's position as crow capital of the North Sea.

Doldrums

The slow crawl towards autumn migration continues, however, despite wallowing in the bird doldrums, we continue to have a better than usual June.

A few Herring Gulls have visited. Unusual at this time of year, although they probably came with a trawler that was fishing nearby yesterday. It certainly had a large flock of birds in tow, but they were too far off to ID.

Our Fulmar count has been running at between four and ten, however yesterday it hit twenty eight. Again, I think the presence of the trawlers was the cause of that.

Also visiting yesterday was a Guillemot. You would think that seabirds such as Guillemot would be an easy spot in the North Sea, but that is not the case. In fact, some of our more common seabirds are hard to find this far out. For example, in twenty five years, I've only seen one Cormorant. No Shag. No Razorbill. No Little Auk.

Today, we had another Carrion Crow. I say another Carrion Crow as I've not seen a crow since Tuesday, however, it was perched in exactly the same spot as the Tuesday bird. It may be resident or it may be jumping back and fore between us and the nearby platforms. Hard to tell.

Also reported to me today was a possible Swift. I would not be surprised, as we have had a few large black flies buzzing about. I would guess the Swift may have followed them out on the soft westerly. I won't be reporting the Swift as the observer only got the briefest of views and was pretty unsure. A pity as it would have been a platform first.

What are the chances?

Gander said:

Also visiting yesterday was a Guillemot. You would think that seabirds such as Guillemot would be an easy spot in the North Sea, but that is not the case. In fact, some of our more common seabirds are hard to find this far out. For example, in twenty five years, I've only seen one Cormorant. No Shag. No Razorbill. No Little Auk.

Click to expand...

A few days after posting the above, our first ever Shag turns up. What are the chances?

LOL Paul, he must be able to read!!