Out of the grey

The Safari was once again thwarted by a very lazy Frank We didn’t get far up the hill and are seriously beginning to wonder if we’ll ever get another early morning full round of Patch 1 and are now worrying about missing all those lovely spring migrants.

Patch 2 was a very grey affair but we could just about make out the horizon. Common Scoter numbers were probably about as high they have been in recent days but we couldn’t see all of them. Close in, well close to the water’s edge on the other side of the surf were eight Great Crested Grebes, with the tide well out they weren’t actually that close at all.

Overhead we head several Pied (Alba) Wagtails making their way northwards and a couple of Grey Wagtails (P2 #44) flew north over the beach together. Still no Meadow Pipits!

At lunchtime on the way across the road we spotted some Starlings trying to reach a pie inside a plastic bag 

 Well one of them had to be first!

– a perfect subject for a lecture on Bird Behaviour we’ve been invited to give at Maroo Wildlife Refuge later in the year.

Out to sea it was significantly greyer than earlier and the horizon was lost in a not too far away grey-out. Nothing could be seen except a couple of Cormorants both of which captured and then struggled to swallow reasonably large flatfish.

We didn’t give it long before deciding to call it a day but we had a last scan, just in case, and copped for a really good bird for the patch – a nice male Goldeneye (P2 #45) flew by, going south, but soon landed and started all the head throwing display even though there was no other bird of any species within 500 yards of it!

A little later a trip to the outside storeroom gave us a single Jackdaw making it’s way north through the thick low cloud.

So what looked for all intents and purposes like being a bit of a grotty day turned far better than expected in the end – and that’s why we like this safari-ing m’larky...you just never quite know what is going to turn up.

Where to next? More lack of visibility or more bonus birds?

In the meantime let us know what appeared out of the gloom in your outback.