Marsh Lane to be renamed Dusky Lane

The last few days on Galley have been fairly quiet on the mig front since getting back from Shetland but I've still been banging in the year ticks pretty regularly. Catching up with spotted flycatcher and greenfinch was a top priority, while jamming a cattle egret from the Majik Patio (tm) was a bit of a bonus.

A spotted flycatcher, yesterday

Even the lake has started doing the business, with up to two (count 'em!) coots, a fine lapwing, a flyover spotted redshank yesterday and today a brace of pintail turned up - top stuff!

Out again for more this am, and bumped into a nice ringtail Hen Harrier over the fields, which showed well before it booted off east across the bay.

A hen harrier, er, today

 No shots of the distant pintails, but I just had a feeling that there could be something else out there today so sacked off opening brown envelopes and went for another wander down marsh lane. I could hear something going "tac" but when I looked, I could only see a phyllosc. It took a wee while to confirm that it was indeed the phyllosc going "tac", and with better views I was happy that it was in fact a dusky warbler!! 

Wahay!

It was really getting dark by this point!

Took a while to get a reasonable shot, as the bird was pretty mobile, never sitting still for long. It was calling nearly every time it moved so it was quite easy to tell which bush it was in, just difficult to get prolonged views! Hopefully it sticks around tomorrow, and that these south-easterlies bring in a few more goodies!!

Dawdling along

 It's been a while since posting anything, mainly cos there's been very little to shout about.  

August passed by without notice.  Managed to pick up six species for the month: kestrel, dunlin, golden plover, ruff, bonxie and common tern, all making up the numbers.  

September was no better, except that I wasn't here for half of it; which was nice.  Sooty shear', yellow-browed warbler and a merganser was the months tally.  The merganser though was only my third for the patch, reflecting my lack of seawatching as it should be annual, if only I could be bothered.

Anyway, these rather meagre pickings hauled me up to 116 for the year and 94.82%.  

The good news is there's still 8 species to be found before the end of the year which have been recorded 80% of the years, so should be almost bankers.

Happy days

Bushveld

All going on at Galley

 Yes indeedy, the autumn has definately begun all right! It was a lovely still morning here so I thought it might be worth a quick punt around Galley. Bit of a bad start when I remembered my wellies were drying in the house rather than resting in the boot of the car but hey, crocs are inappropriate in all weathers right?

I was idly checking some meadow pipits when I happened across a similar sized bird with a bright eye ring and creamy malar stripes, but pretty clean otherwise on the breast, with a pinky red bill - "not a pipit" I mused, before I began to think about ortolan. Before I could take the thought much further the birds booted off and I watched it fly off to a distant phone wire where it landed with a couple of linnets. As I stalking closer in my trusty crocs, it dropped into stubble with more linnets and then the whole flock booted all around, leaving me none the wiser as to where it had gone.

Luckily, it hadn't gone far, and was back up on the phone wires, allowing better views and I could finally be sure it was an ortolan, especially when it began calling like one!

Once Old Spoons had been set in motion, we were able to refind it again and he even got shots

An ortolan bunting earlier

The excitement wasn't over as barely had I reached home but Old Spoons was on the blower babbling about an untagged juvenile white-tailed eagle over his gaff and heading my way. A quick sprint to the Majik Patio (tm) and hey presto - there it was! Huzzah! Reckon its prob OK to tick this wan for the patch hey?

A white-tailed eagle heading my way earlier (pic C. Cronin)

Marvellous!

Big Royzah Goes Seawatching

 They say lightning doesn't strike twice and they should know but at long last we have had some news from Big Royzah (everywan's favourite deceased tap-dancing trumpeteer) (for it is he) and indeed he has even eventually, after weeks of questioning, even released his percentage score as of yesterday.

In addition, he divulged that he had indeed been seawatching and had indeed sekured the following species for his year list:

2 (count 'em) bonxies

2 (count 'em again) arctic skewers

1 manx shearwater

1 long-tailed skewer

After another few prods, he also coughed up his patch percentage to date, which you can see over on the right - just above Shakey's score, who is safely in last place. Nice to see.

So there we have it - more Royzah updates as they happen!

In other news, now that it is finally September, I've been getting in amongst it with the autumn migs at Galley netting a fine tree pipit yesterday (first since 2014) and a whinchat courtesy of old spoons today. Marvellous.

A few more additions

 Yes indeedy, the seawatching has continued to be quite good, although the overall numbers of things other than Cory's has been quite low. However, as always, one is enough for the year list! Since my last update, even Basil has dragged his sorry ass out for a cursory glance at the sea and he even strung gleaned a few year ticks, but I'll leave them for him to declare, when he gets a moment...

So, over the last week or so I have netted a fine brace of grey phalarope, a species which for some reason (most probably apathy) has oft evaded me on patch. In addition, a cracking adult sabine's gull and a common tern while following the sab's, have both been most welcome. Numbers of cory's shearwaters have remained quite high, while great shearwaters have been chugging past but in much lower numbers.

Corys on the left; greats on the right

Up into third place in the league table, although undoubtedly this will not have been updated for ages by the other playas. Looking forward to the mig season getting underway any day now - all to play for!

Seawatching scores

 Yes indeedy, there have finally been some decent south-westerlies, and a result, there have finally been some decent seabirds passing the patch's outer limits! A massive 10.5 hr seawatch on Sunday plus another 6 hrs on Bank Holiday Monday resulted in a minimum of (count 'em!) 1,611 cory's shearwaters, 118 great shearwaters, 3 wilson's petrels (missed another 5 - ouch!), 2 long-tailed skuas, 5 balearic shearwaters, 2 pomarine skuas, 3 arctic skuas and 2 bonxies.

Not a bad couple of days birding! 

a telescope, yesterday

Still behind the goggly-eyed proccies in 5th place on the overall table tho - irksome!

At least it's stopped raining now...

 There goes another June and July, only this time without any sun and very few birds.

June did produce the only full fat patch tick of the year so far, in the form of an avocet on the Notsogreatpool on the 25/6.  This was followed by an Arctic skua cruising along the cliff tops on the 26th.

July delivered mute swan and swift both on the 9th and there's been nothing else since.

With a ten year average of two ticks for June and three of July, this years tally of two for each month is bang on average.

The forecast looks set fair for the beginning of August which could lower the water levels and provide some nice muddy edges for some nice waders; fingers crossed.  And I might look at the sea at some point. But for now the year list sits at 106 species and 86.65% of the total, which nudges me up into silver medal position.

Happy days

Bushveld