High winds but low expectations!
Well, my sunrise visit to Goldcliff today was met with low cloud and high winds. As a result, there was no sunrise to speak of and I only managed this half descent photo of some Sun through a brief break in the clouds.
The high winds generally kept the birds hunkered down, and I only managed 30 species of birds. I made my way from the car park and headed straight to the sea wall, noting along the way Song Thrushes, Ravens, Magpies, Greylag Geese, Herring Gulls, Grey Heron and Mallards. Once on the sea wall I scanned for the Black Redstart I found on Thursday - but it was nowhere to be seen. The howling wind soon brought tears to the eyes and putting my hood up prevented me from getting sore ears. Not the best birding weather but us birders are made of strong stuff.
Scanning across the third lagoon I could see Shoveler and Teal and several Lesser Black-backed Gulls were battling against the winds as they passed. A Wren and a Moorhen were calling and a Buzzard passed over. On the foreshore there was a selection of Wigeon and Shelduck with Black Headed Gulls and Curlew mixed in.
The winds got the better of me so I headed down to hide three to get out of the cold and enjoy my flask of tea. Along the way I stooped to look at what appeared to be a female Tufted Duck. There was a definite small tuft at the back of the head as in Tufted, but the top of the bill had quite a bit of white (as in Scaup). However, it didn't seem quite right for Scaup and I wondered if this was the female Tufted that was present earlier in the year causing similar confusion? I have submitted a photo so hopefully I will get some more idea soon of which species it was.
In the hide and out of the wind, I settled down with my flask and some nibbles, watching four Great Black-backed Gulls drifting past. A dead Oystercatcher on the island caught the attention of a pair of opportunist Crows, and suddenly from the nearby Pill, several hundred Lapwing took flight and immediately started 'pumping'. This is a term described for the technique of them gaining height as a group as quickly as possible, to prevent a Peregrine from gaining the advantage of getting height to enable it to swoop.
This is an effective method that seems to have plenty of success. Sure enough, the usual male peregrine came into view and dropped down to settle on the right hand edge of the island. As I watched, the Wigeon took flight, but it wasn't the Peregrine that had startled them - this time it was the female Marsh Harrier. She also failed in finding some breakfast.
Lapwing pumping together to gain a height advantage from a Peregrine - an effective evasive tactic.
The high winds generally kept the birds hunkered down, and I only managed 30 species of birds. I made my way from the car park and headed straight to the sea wall, noting along the way Song Thrushes, Ravens, Magpies, Greylag Geese, Herring Gulls, Grey Heron and Mallards. Once on the sea wall I scanned for the Black Redstart I found on Thursday - but it was nowhere to be seen. The howling wind soon brought tears to the eyes and putting my hood up prevented me from getting sore ears. Not the best birding weather but us birders are made of strong stuff.
The winds got the better of me so I headed down to hide three to get out of the cold and enjoy my flask of tea. Along the way I stooped to look at what appeared to be a female Tufted Duck. There was a definite small tuft at the back of the head as in Tufted, but the top of the bill had quite a bit of white (as in Scaup). However, it didn't seem quite right for Scaup and I wondered if this was the female Tufted that was present earlier in the year causing similar confusion? I have submitted a photo so hopefully I will get some more idea soon of which species it was.
In the hide and out of the wind, I settled down with my flask and some nibbles, watching four Great Black-backed Gulls drifting past. A dead Oystercatcher on the island caught the attention of a pair of opportunist Crows, and suddenly from the nearby Pill, several hundred Lapwing took flight and immediately started 'pumping'. This is a term described for the technique of them gaining height as a group as quickly as possible, to prevent a Peregrine from gaining the advantage of getting height to enable it to swoop.
This is an effective method that seems to have plenty of success. Sure enough, the usual male peregrine came into view and dropped down to settle on the right hand edge of the island. As I watched, the Wigeon took flight, but it wasn't the Peregrine that had startled them - this time it was the female Marsh Harrier. She also failed in finding some breakfast.
Lapwing pumping together to gain a height advantage from a Peregrine - an effective evasive tactic.
A single Common Snipe and a Greenshank passed over, and after about an hour I braved the wind again to make my way back to the car, only seeing several Chaffinches and a Blue Tit on the return. At least the morning blew the cobwebs away, and a few other things too!.
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