Cruel sea

The Safari was looking forward to renewing our acquaintance with Patch 2 after the enforced three week lay off, especially as the strong winds had been turning up some decent sea birds up and down the coast over the last day or so. Unfortunately there is still no crossing point at work and the long march is still a necessity. Once we were propped against the seawall it wasn’t long before we could feel the sting of blown sand on our cheeks, oh how we’ve missed that sensation – NOT. The rising tide promised much and delivered nothing. A few small flocks of Oystercatchers flew past off to roost over the tide. A Whimbrel dodged between the crashing waves but with only fleeting glimpses and nothing for a size comparison it could just as easily been a Curlew. A Dunlin was able to be identified as, unusually for this species, flew at some height above the waves. There was very little over the sea, just a few large gulls and at the very start of the watch a distant Gannet. On the beach a handful of Black Headed Gulls poked around the flotsam and jetsam being thrown up before the tide reached the base of the seawall covering the sand. Bird of the day flew over them; a second summer Common Gull – the first of this species of the ‘autumn’.
So somewhat disappointingly no Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars, Terns, Skuas or Storm Petrels, but at least the torrential rain of the morning had stopped and the sun was reasonably warm on our back…
Where to next? Better luck tomorrow?
In the meantime let us know what failed to put in an appearance in your outback.