11 year-tick seawatch

 Yes indeedy, the seawatching season has begun as of this very morning. The first reasonable looking SW blow today but wasn't sure quite what to expect as July hasnt even started yet! The first couple of year ticks were easy bankers (puffin and storm petrel), however an immature long-tailed skua through livened things up a bit, before a nice, close great shearwater cruised past. A few sooty shearwaters next, and then a bonxie, followed by pomarine skua and arctic skua, and then a close cory's shearwater - it was all happening!

The icing on the cake was a wilson's petrel, which took its time going by, and then, as the weather closed in, a sabine's gull snuck through, followed by two more and then a flock of three! After that, there were a few repeats, with another great shear, and a cory's, plus three more arctic skuas, before I had to bail out.

Might try for a couple more year ticks this evening though....

Paddling through the June doldrums

 Yes indeedy, its June

Snooze-ville

Not much happening. Did glean a brace of stock doves when scoping a recently seeded field from the Majik Patio (tm) and also 3 (count 'em) swifts over le jardin but little else and little effort. Still, the first returning waders on the beach this morning (10 curlews and 5 oystercatchers) so ya never know - I still need redshank so hopeful of small gains to come....

and the seawatching will be starting soon too!

All to play for!

Philately

 The slowest May since records began produced a pitiful 11 patch ticks during the month. The lowest number of patch ticks in May... ever.  Coupled with no birds of note I'm looking forward to taking up a new pass time of stamp collecting or may be start doing some jigsaws.

89 species, 70.45%.

Happy days

Bushveld