Purple Patch

A good run for patch started on Friday with a HUGE twitch, a Little Egret on the Wetland! Massive mega for St. Mary's and a patch tick!

Great Bird!

It carried on yesterday with a day of Adult Birds on a manic seawatch:
- First bird I saw when I started seawatching was a full adult Black Tern (my 3rd for Patch).
- I then spotted a HOBBY flying north (massive patch tick), it started chasing dunlin around before giving up and carrying on north!
- I then went home, sat down, thought to myself 'ahh that was a nice day, I'll get myself a nice Coke and watch the Ashes', oh no. Andrew Kinghorn rang and told me I had 30 minutes to get to St. Mary's to see the 4 Adult Pom Skuas coming north, and dear me they were good!

2 out of 4 Poms!

175 - Patch Life.
136 - Patch Year.
223 - British Year.

Pomarine Skua 30/10/11

Went to Sunderland today to see the pomarine skua on the north pier. When I first arrived there was no sign of it and I had missed it by 10 minutes, I was hoping for it to come back soon as the sun was dropping fast. 20 minutes later I spotted in flying in again in amongst the fishermen, about 30 or so, it dropped in the middle of them and fed off the scraps that were thrown to it. A great bird to watch and to see. It went up to the other end of the pier shortly after that and started hovering above 5 fishermen. Then I saw a guy about 20 on a bike with a red hoody on pick up a stone and he threw it at the skua. I spoke to one of the fishermen who was next to me about and he went over to sort him out, he left soon after. Why anyone would do that is completely beyond me, such a graceful bird in the air and so wonderful to watch.

Lovely Colours on this juvenile pom, a very approachable bird too.