Wednesday 19 January 2011

Best find for 2011

OK, I know it's old news, but I want to record for posterity that I'm staking a claim for the best find of 2011. A humpback whale I saw swimming just off the rocks in the village at 9:00 a.m. on New Year's Day.

I know it's not a bird (it's a fish really), but it's f**king rare (I might well have used that word at 9:01 a.m. on 1st January 2011), and blew my mind at the time.

And I know that by rights, I shouldn't have been sober enough to breathe at that time, but I was awake, reeking of booze and staring down my scope when I saw that bushy blow. It surfaced twice, so I got a good view of the dorsal fin, the head and when it dived the last time, of the tail stock. George saw it as well, so I wasn't completely in la-la land, and there were other sightings around that time, including nearby at Stonehaven. Interestingly, it had a deep vertical cut on the anterior part of the dorsal fin, so it ought to be recognisable if anyone else gets a decent view.

So, that's the story (morning glory - I feel a song coming on), and unless I can top that, it's my claim for best find of 2011.

Captain A Haddock

4 comments:

  1. its a great find but don't count for de purposes of clinching that snowy owl trophy! You mite win sonething in the alternative finds contest, but even there, its not quite what we're looking for! Anyway, early days yet - you're sure to get a good bird this year!

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  2. I can see both sides. Cetaceans in my mind should be honorary birds, but then where do you draw the line? Cound finds of interesting butterflies, arachnids or a particularly interestingly shaped dog turd?

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  3. A particularly interestingly shaped dog turd could make it into the alternative finds list all right, but otherwise, records of fish, butterflies, spiders, mots (if you're from Cork) etc don't count for nuts, as far as Old Snowy is concerned!

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  4. I support the idea of the alternative find trophy. It could be anything from a pile of pirate tresure to a top quality pie. No prize though.

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