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Seawatching 2014 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Colin
- Start date
paul moore
Well-known member
Tufted Puffin photographed off the NE coast of the US recently, picture here http://blog.aba.org/2014/06/rare-bird-alert-june-20-2014.html , about the fifth for the Atlantic Ocean. If that didn't whet the appetite for seawatching I notice the sea temperatures around Ireland at the moment appear to nearly four degrees (cant find the symbol for degrees on my keyboard, and its actually 3.5 degrees but I don't want to start a pun loaded discussion on The Three Degrees) above normal. Roll on the wet and windy weather.
Paul
Paul
Are you insane? We´ve only just started swimming! Seawatching can wait a few weeks!
paul moore
Well-known member
Still a bit early to say but next weekend could be interesting with the first big blow, a very big one by the looks of it. Paul
http://www.windguru.cz/int/
http://www.windguru.cz/int/
jogresh
Bimble and patch
Worth keeping an eye on. There's a low predicted to move up the N American coast before quickly crossing the Atlantic from Newfoundland, looks great for the Bridges, and be nice if it dropped some early waders on B & I. However, as you say, it's still too early to say how it'll pan out, and i've seen a few of these fizzle out, but you never know.. :t:
Helsinki Birder
Stealth Birder
Jane Turner
Well-known member
After weeks of no pelagic birds at all, I've managed 3 Artctic Skuas, 225 Manxies and 6 Fulmars today.
John o'Sullivan
Well-known member
I'm stuck writing up the dissertation for my Msc so didn't get to Strumble yesterday where they had an excellent seawatch. The consolation is that next Monday I'm part of a crew sailing from Padstow to Lagos (Portugal). What are the rules for ticking birds on pelagics. Is it as long as you are in British offshore waters they count? I've never seen a British Cory's and this is a definite possibilty.
Saw the blog re. Strumble yesterday John. Some great birds. Might try and get there myself over the next couple of weeks.
www.strumbleheadseawatching.blogspot.co.uk
Rich
Jane Turner
Well-known member
Right... I'm ready for the sea-watch season with a few improvements to my seawatch "hide". I widened the window ledge to mean I can lean back in the comfy chair and not scrape my knees against the wall, I've made a more permanent brace to hold the left had window open in a force 10, fitted a rain guard to stop the squalls that come over the top of the window at bay and finally I'll finished off the turntable for My big Bertha Sea-watching bins, that so far have made the scope redundant - I can see more detail through them on the 20x setting than on the scope at 40x, the field of view is immense and the 100x Objectives mean you can more or less use them in the dark. ON top of that the depth of field and sense of 3-d is something that makes it hard for me to use a scope at all now! I've now got the 75x lens in the Nikon which is hopeless for sea-watching but excellent for fine detail on waders!
The only additional improvement I could come up with now is a single glazed plate glass central window and external windscreen wiper in case of squally conditions and too much north in the wind. Of course you should be cold, wet and thoroughly uncomfortable to sea-watch properly. What you can't see is the valve radio tuned to long wave for the Shipping forecast, the hot and cold running drinks the library and the duvet to hide in (it seems pointless to turn the radiators on with the window open.)
The only additional improvement I could come up with now is a single glazed plate glass central window and external windscreen wiper in case of squally conditions and too much north in the wind. Of course you should be cold, wet and thoroughly uncomfortable to sea-watch properly. What you can't see is the valve radio tuned to long wave for the Shipping forecast, the hot and cold running drinks the library and the duvet to hide in (it seems pointless to turn the radiators on with the window open.)
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Jane Turner
Well-known member
Have fun John!
I'm not sure what awaits me in Heaven, Jane, in the unlikely event that I should get there, but I'm sure it will include an approximation of your sea watching room. With the addition of a good old-school hi-fi, and Vinyls of Led Zep IV, Deep Purple "In Rock" and "Machine Head", and all Gary Numan's works. Mind you, I found my first Fea's a few weeks ago, and curiously I wasn't cold, or wet, and was just about to leave and go for a nice swim. (Sometimes the God of Birding smiles upon us, and says "Verily unto ye Believers, I say, today ye shall not suffer but shall reap Reward".
Jane Turner
Well-known member
You'd not want my sea-watching room in Cheshire though! West coast of Ireland. You'd need a Vinyl waller to flip the records!
I'm contemplating heading down to Strumble Head tomorrow. I think the winds are light Easterly. Would it be worth the hour and 40 minute drive or would it be better to wait for different conditions?
Thanks,
Rich
Thanks,
Rich
Cheshire Birder
Well-known member
High pressure not helping the opportunities here in Cheshire!
CB
CB
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