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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jos Stratford" data-source="post: 3249496" data-attributes="member: 12449">25 June. Cap Rhir, Seawatching Bonanza.Peered out to sea at 5.30 a.m., semi-emerged from the sleeping bag and swung the scope into place ...not a breathe of wind and the sea calm, bucketloads of Cory's Shearwaters already skimming the waters, all on a northerly trajectory. Interspersed, lines of Gannets also heading north, Yellow-legged Gulls and Audouin's Gulls hugging the coast. Oo, this was looking good!Clambered out of the sleeping bag to enjoy the spoils, the next four hours were simply phenomenal. Pretty consistent for the whole morning, the Cory's Shearwaters and Gannets were passing in their hundreds, never a moment without at least a few in view. Early on, a single Balearic Shearwater passed close offshore, my only one of the two days, then a Great Skua and the first of six Arctic Skuas. Next up, two very distant Borolo Shearwaters, very distinctive with their rapid flapping, followed by a third much closer in. At 05.50 a.m., a purple patch indeed - a true feast for the eyes, two Sooty Shearwaters zipping north cut directly across the path a pale petrel dancing over the very gentle swell. Immediately switched attention to the petrel, the bird looping back and almost hopping and bouncing across the water's surface on rather long legs. Ashy mantle and coverts, white underside, phalorope-like face mask ...I had hit the jackpot, one splendid White-faced Storm Petrel picking its way north, sailing in broad arches one moment, bouncing across the surface the next. One more Borolo Shearwater came zooming through, mid-distance, again northbound.And so the action continued, non-stop Cory's Shearwaters as 6.00 a.m. and 7.00 a.m. came and went, parties of Gannets regularly punctuating the skies, three more Barolo Shearwaters, then incredibly (so I thought) another White-faced Storm Petrel at 7.15 a.m, this one very close indeed, truly a stunning bird.Many Sandwich Terns offshore, three Lesser Crested Terns also passing, then a Risso's Dolphin joining in the action, breaking the surface a couple of times before vanishing into the deep blue. At about 8.00 a.m., Cory Shearwater numbers seemed to climb even further, estimated numbers for the remainder of the watch being about 440/hour north. Still no let up in the 'added extras' either - yet another three Borolo Shearwaters flew past, while in a five-minute period from 8.30 to 8.35, three more White-faced Storm Petrels appeared, first a single, then close in their wake a pair!By 9.00 am., heat haze was beginning to knock out the middle distances and another half an hour beyond that, birds were begining to become blurry blobs. This seawatch had by far exceeded my expectations - especially in regard to the multiple White-faced Storm Petrels - so it was with quite a warm glow that I called it a day.Still fairly early in the morning, we decided to spend the rest of the day visiting the historic walled city of Essaoura a couple of hours further north. Black-eared Wheatear, Lesser Kestrel Moussier's Redstart, Woodchat Shrike and Cirl Bunting on route, lunch and ice-cream in the town. A most picturesque city, the main attraction for the birder however is the small island just offshore. Strolling through the fish market, trillions of Yellow-legged Gulls packing in, the harbour walls just beyond offer excellent views over the island - and what a view it is, abundant gulls and Great Cormorants breeding on the low plateau of the island, but just above them a swirling flock of Eleonora's Falcons mingling with the gulls! Said to be about 90 pairs breeding on the rocky cliffs of the island, usually at least ten or twelve birds on show at any time, occasionals zooming low over the sea to pass directly overhead.So with that, we departed back to Cap Rhir, I again managed to not find any Bald Ibises and, with the winda again climbing and sun all wrong, didn't bother with any seawatching. We drove back to a resort town towards Agadir for pizza, then returned to camp again at Cap Rhir.</blockquote>

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