Gateshead and Beyond

Wednesday, 22 August 2018

Scilly Pelagics 3 (Big Saturday 18th August 2018)

This was an epic day where no anchovy was safe! It was clear just a few minutes after leaving port that a lot was going on. Large numbers of shearwaters were streaming past us towards distant spots of boiling sea, each speared by hundreds of Gannets. Reaching the first of these feeding frenzies we could see the manic, dolphin-sized Bluefin Tuna breaking the surface as they feasted on the panicking Anchovies. The latter leaping clear of the water in clouds as they tried to escape the carnage.

Bluefin Tuna

Anchovies

Carnage

We moved from feeding frenzy to feeding frenzy, seeing huge numbers of Cory's, Great and Sooty Shearwaters feeding, travelling and resting up in large rafts.

Cory's Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Great Shearwater with Anchovy

Great Shearwater

Sooty Shearwater

The bulk of the shearwaters were of course Manx, with the very occasional Balearic. The Balearics were fleeting and difficult to pick out in the swirling flocks, but one showed distantly, resting on the sea.

Balearic Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

Gannet

The day continued with bigger and bigger feeding frenzies and a couple of glimpses of Minke Whales at their edges. For me the highlight of the day was when we parked close to a feed where first a wave of Tuna charged just a few feet from the boat and then a Minke Whale broke the surface just 30 yards away. This was the first time that I had seen a whale hunting, rapidly twisting and turning just below the surface, then breaking through with open mouth to scoop up the fleeing Anchovies. Bella, the ship's dog went wild about the whale and the Common Dolphins that zipped through.

Minke Whale

Through the day we had several Bonxie, Storm Petrel and to keep the run going, 3 Wilson's Petrel.

Bonxie

Wilson's Petrel

Totals for the day were 3 Wilson's Petrel, 5000+ Manx Shearwater, 750+ Great Shearwater, 350+ Cory's Shearwater, 5 Balearic Shearwater, 50+ Storm Petrel, 20+ Bonxie, 12 Arctic Tern, 300+ Bluefin Tuna, 3 Minke Whale, 30+ Common Dolphin, 1 Blue Shark and 2 Ocean Sunfish. This was an unforgettable day!

Monday, 20 August 2018

Scilly Pelagics 2 (Great Night 17th August 2018)

With plenty of time to kill before the 5pm start of the pelagic trip, I headed to Tresco with Jim and Dave to hunt for the Solitary Sandpiper. It took a few minutes to pick the bird up from the hide as it crawled through reeds on the far side of the lake. Looking like a very slight Green Sandpiper I really wanted to see it fly to confirm the ID. A trip round to the other side of the lake and a bit of a wait paid off with closer views and brief, but clinching flight views.

Solitary Sandpiper

The trip out on the Sapphire was all about Great and Sooty Shearwaters. At least 50 Bluefin Tuna attacking shoals of Anchovy caused huge feeding frenzies with gulls, Gannets and masses of Shearwater joining the feast. The shearwaters resting in huge rafts between bouts of action.

Great Shearwater

Sooty Shearwater

Sooty and Great Shearwater

Sooty Shearwater

Cory's Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Totals for the day were 100 Great, 1 Cory's, 75 Sooty, 4 Balearic and 1000+ Manx Shearwater. A late Wilson's Petrel rounded the night off.

Scilly Pelagics Trip 1 (Wilson's Bonanza 16th August 2018)

Just finished an amazing short break to Scilly. Four trip out with Scilly Pelagic was the purpose, with fingers crossed for a few vagrants. I was far from disappointed on both accounts.

I arrived on St Mary's without the time to pop over to Tresco for the Solitary Sandpiper and made do with a quick look around the island before boarding the Sapphire with a few familiar faces.

Common Sandpiper at Porthellick

Not far out from port we started bumping into shearwaters. First Manx, then quickly a Great was shooting past the boat. Cory's and Balearic were more distant.

Great Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

The boat was really out for shark fishing while we birders tagged along. This was where tonight's target showed as we drifted with bags of chum hanging over the side. Eventually we had an amazing 10 Wilson's Petrel, with 4 at one time, feeding around the boat. Good numbers of Storm Petrel joined the feed and like the Wilson's, proved to be a nightmare to photograph.

Wilson's Petrel

Wilson's Petrel (look at those yellow webs!)

Storm Petrel

Totals for the night were 10+ Wilson's Petrel, 3 Cory's, 1 Great, 1 Balearic and 300+ Manx Shearwater, plus 40+ Storm Petrel and the fishermen caught, tagged and released a Blue Shark.

Fulmar

Gannet

Thursday, 21 June 2018

Semipalmated Sandpiper

With mid-summer doldrums having set in, the last couple of days have got the blood flowing again. Yesterday I'd barely taken my seat at Whitburn Obs when I picked up a White-winged Black Tern about 600m out. Already south of us, it was battling into the wind and allowed decent views for Paul and I for the next five minutes. This was immediately followed by the usual pod of about 30 Bottlenose Dolphin heading south.

This morning a quieter seawatch with the highlight a smart, close Roseate Tern. From there it was to Washington WT for the mystery peep. Seen almost immediately on arrival it was clearly not a Little Stint and good scope views of it on hard ground revealed the diagnostic semi-palmations of a Semipalmated Sandpiper. The day improved further when a Spotted Crake appeared just inches from the Sandpiper. Unfortunately this dashed into the sedge, having been seen by just three of us.