Friday 29 August 2014

making an arse of it

Good seawatching yesterday eve, banging in 366 cory's shearwaters and 112 great shearwaters, which was nice! Also had an adult skua which I first picked up with a couple of great shears - I actually thought it was a great shear at first, but then it turned into a skua and then I was arsing about with it, starting with arctic, before then going for long-tailed (without the streamers) - and I was getting quite into this idea, prominent dark cap & pale cheeks, very little white on the wing etc, but then I remembered I'd first seen it with great shears and it couldn't be LT on size and "look, how deep chested it is" etc. So plumped for pom. Twat. The bird was a lovely chocolate brown from the lower chest down to the vent, pom or arctic would have big white chest & stomach. and pom would most like have had a breast band!

so. ad long-tailed skua then. And some homework needed! still. they all count!

On a brighter note, saw a balearic shearwater off Galley tonight - someone else pre-verified it so no doubts with that one! and well ahead of the proccies now!


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