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Recent content by Steve Keen

  1. S

    Sanday 2024

    September 27th The last day, and so a sad one. Always hate to leave Orkney, even without the thought of a 700+ mile drive to come and then work on Monday. Despite more of a pub session last night than anticipated, still got out to Neuks early for what I hoped would be another excellent...
  2. S

    Sanday 2024

    26th September With it blowing a hooley outside, packing needing to be done ahead of moving out of the accommodation in the morning, and a pub invite later meaning all the usual evening stuff needs to be brought forward a bit, it's an early finish today (albeit only by an hour or so). This...
  3. S

    Sanday 2024

    25th September Firstly, a correction to yesterday, I've been told that the fact that my seawatching here is that bit nearer to sea level (probably only about 5 metres above it) than on patch the horizon is probably only about 3km or so off, so the humpback sighting would've been down to about...
  4. S

    Sanday 2024

    24th September Strong winds, from the NNE, were the order of the morning, but thankfully without the driving rain that had accompanied them overnight. Not really the conditions for finding small birds, so it was off to Neuks again for another seawatch. In fairness, it probably wold have been...
  5. S

    Sanday 2024

    23rd September A bit of a bump back down today, but not too bad really, and pretty amazing it's taken until day eight to get one with a disruptive amount of rain. After being woken by heavy stuff at about 5, it was still pretty damp when I headed east full of hope for more migrants dropped in...
  6. S

    Sanday 2024

    22nd September Ok, so I feel a bit more positive about life now . . . Getting a few good birds has definitely helped, I'd be lying if I said otherwise, but so too did mixing it up a bit this morning. I even allowed myself a minor lie in, not getting out until 7.30, although under the heavy low...
  7. S

    Sanday 2024

    21st September Firstly, the camera: it worked this morning. Then it didn't for a while. Now it does. It's clearly not just a momory card issue that the error code implies it should be, because it has a new memory card since yesterday. It is what it is however, and photographic opportunities...
  8. S

    Sanday 2024

    Wise words, although in fairness I didn't waste much time taking photographs. It's a bridge camera, is permanently on auto settings (because I don't have the time, patience or dexterity to be changing settings on the go, and don't understand the jargon anyway) so I basically point at some stuff...
  9. S

    Sanday 2024

    20th September A tough day today, partly because of inflated expectations, partly the weather. The easterly wind/cloudy and occasionally drizzly day bird bonanza didn't happen for some reason. And whilst the weather was just what was needed birding-wise (or so I thought), and it wasn't actually...
  10. S

    Sanday 2024

    19th September Very much a day of mixed emotions. After a false alarm in the middle of the night when I thought my alarm hadn't gone off but in fact it was just very light due to the full moon, and it was actually 3am as hoped, I headed over the the east end of the island at dawn. On the way...
  11. S

    Sanday 2024

    When I booked this return visit back in February I was full of virtuous ideas of investigating new areas, walking new routes . . . But now I'm here, especially with the weather so clement, it's really very hard to think beyond the east end of the island. That said, even though the wind at dawn...
  12. S

    Sanday 2024

    17th September First full day on the island, and what a very full day it was! Overnight the wind, such as it was was, had switched southerly, and a bit of pre-dawn rain had me hoping for an arrival of birds, and whilst there wasn't much in the way of migrant passerines there was plenty to...
  13. S

    Sanday 2024

    First things first, and apologies to Mark for overlapping with his thread on his visit last week. Far easier to do these things on the night when one is here alone (as I am) though, so it is what it is. After missing out on visiting last year due a very poorly timed wedding (my son's) I was...
  14. S

    Spurfowl, Tsavo West, Kenya

    njlarsen: yes, have looked at a lot of pics on eBird and elsewhere, but can't find any that are quite so brightly-billed THE FERN: yes again, it was just the brightness of the bill that had me a little puzzled, and because I was puzzled at the time, I've let it get in my head a bit. But with...
  15. S

    Spurfowl, Tsavo West, Kenya

    Been stewing on this one since I saw in, in Tsavo West 2/2/23, not too far from Ngulia Lodge. It would've gone down as Hildebrandt's were it not for the striking red bill and legs, more reminiscent of Scaly. The only other spurfowl seen that day were a couple of Yellow-necked, so nothing to...
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