Monday 12 November 2012

Just how grey can you get?

The safari had not much doing this morning although visibility beyond half a mile or so was more or less none existent.
early morning high tide: A Grey Seal was unexpected at this time of year and would have been a bonus yesterday – it’s still surprising how many people are surprised to learn that seals are regularly seen here, although we do get far too many people telling us they’ve seen ‘sea-lions’ in the water – without wanting to sound rude the level of general ignorance is sometimes hard to bear...more ammunition for some proper natural history to be taught in schools at all levels – should there be a GCSE in natural history/environmental management/basic ecological principles? – Discuss.... Just to illustrate our thoughts; with the ‘recent’ Ash disease outbreak we did a quick poll around the office to find out what people knew about it. Most had seen it on the news but didn’t know anything about it or how it might affect the landscape but perhaps the most worrying thing was that nobody actually knew what Britain’s third most numerous native tree looks like and could identify it. In our rather limited test it was variously identified as an Oak or even a type of Pine but never an Ash!
Anyway rant over and back to this morning about 500 Cormorants, way more than we've ever seen here before, 30 Great Black Backed Gulls, 2 Guillemots, 4 Red Throated Divers and 3 Great Crested Grebes. Must have been a cetacean or two out there shame about the visibility.
Far to grey and dingy at lunchtime hardly able to see the sea and no chance of making out a horizon – we’re living in cloud – it was totally dismal; so no chance of being able to find out if our cetacean friends are still about or not
Good Starling action on the way back to Base Camp this evening - not huge numbers but a raptor was buzzing through them. Unfortunately when we were stopped by the lights we couldn't see the action so don't know if it was a Peregrine or Sparrowhawk. 
Where to next? What chance the mist and drizzle will have cleared by tomorrow and if it has what chance our cetacean friends have cleared off with it?
In the meantime let us know what, if anything, you’ve been unable to see in your outback.

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