A day out at Scarborough wouldn't be complete without a walk on the Marine Drive, to see the local Peregrines. The pair were very active this morning with regular flypasts and easily seen perching from their cliff vantage points.
The harbour at high tide. With the garden more or less in order for Spring, I've somehow picked a dark, cold and windy morning to venture to the East coast. I have some catching up to do with my year list, so a seabird session at Bempton is an ideal place to start. A grey outlook from the cliffs but at least the sea was calm. It's still a little early for the activity Bempton is renowned for however, I had no difficulty in seeing many Gannets assembling on their breeding ledges where they will remain for some months now. Both Razorbills and Guillemots are arriving too. If not on the cliffs, they are present in large rafts on the sea. Razorbill having a wing stretch. Assembled Guillemots - a nice 'bridled' form in the centre. Fulmars are also arriving on the cliffs. On the sea, 3 Puffins were seen, a Red-throated Diver, 4 Eider, 2 Common Scoter and 3 Shag.
Walking the clifftop fields, I found my first Wheatear of the year. Unfortunately, the wind whipped it away all too quickly and I didn't find it again. A Redwing and a flyover Brambling reminded me that we're not out of the woods yet! Later at Flamborough, 3 Chiffchaffs were together near the lighthouse, always good to hear them in late March. Yes, that's me above. With all my documentation checked, I was off to Portugal for my Winter holiday and boarded the bus with my fellow canine companions. It took three days before I arrived in the Algarve and it was so hot!! Fortunately, I was staying in a lovely cottage with the biggest water bowl I have ever seen. A nice man came every morning, giving me a pat and checking the temperature of the water for me. Some days it was so hot, I went out in the countryside and splashed about in a small river - a great way to keep cool. This was all new territory and I had a lovely time here for a couple of weeks. I then moved to another house at Vila do Bispo near Sagres. There were lots of other dogs here to play with. Next door was a big dog I called 'Big Dog' and he had a scruffy little friend I called 'Scruff'. Sometimes they would talk rather loudly for hours on a night and keep me awake, which was a little annoying. Further up the road, two black noses appeared under a gate every morning and they were really noisy too. This turned out to be a marvellous place to stay. Most days I would go to a place called Cabranosa and have a good run in the woods. Then I would sit on top of a mound where there were lots of people looking at the sky. There were some really nice people there, who shared their sandwiches and biscuits with me. I enjoyed being near the sea too. I think my favourite beach was at Boca do Rio which had a lagoon to play in, as well as a dog-friendly beach. I used to meet lots of pals here. Sagres has a smashing harbour with many fishing boats bringing local fish in. I called the fish quay 'Cat World' as I'd never seen so many cats - they were everywhere!! The trouble was, even though I pulled at my lead and looked menacing, they just stared at me and weren't in the least bit frightened. After a couple of months, I moved to Alvor where there's the most incredible beach, so long, I didn't know which way to run first! At one end of the beach, there were even caves to hide in! But the best thing in Alvor was probably my sunbed, where I could snooze in the warm sunshine, all Winter!!!
My Winter stay in the Western Algarve is drawing to a close. It has once again been a special time of exciting birding and a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded friends, old and new. To my Portuguese friends, in particular Carl, Lars and Tiago, together with those at Cabranosa who share their raptor skills with us like Sergio, Nuno and Luis - I value your friendship and knowledge immensely and have benefited from your company in many ways. Muito Obrigado. To all my U.K. friends with whom I have spent happy birding hours, let's hope we will continue to enjoy this wonderful country and the superb birding it offers in the not too distant future - with or without Brexit!! My Winter list of species found amounted to 223 species and my Algarve List currently stands at 271 species. Here are a few of my special moments:- **********************Hope to see you all in September.************************
I awoke this morning to the roughest sea I have seen this Winter and a fresh wind blowing from the South-East. This wind was driving sea-birds along the bay in a Westerly direction and Gannets were passing in the hundreds. From my apartment I was just able to capture a few of the scarce passage birds appearing during this spell of bad weather. It wasn't long before a Common Scoter appeared and it was my first for this year. Common Scoter passing an adult and juvenile Gannet. I was quite surprised to see two Cory's Shearwaters passing. I see them at Cape St. Vincent but never along this section of coast. Small flocks of Common Scoters came through, twenty three birds passed in the time I was watching. More expected were Great Skuas with three birds, two staying far out and one fairly close in.
Sitting by one of the saline lagoons behind Meia Praia beach, I was aware of something breaking the water's surface only a few metres out. Small fish, particularly the mullet frequently appear at the surface. It may even be one of the terrapin species I see on the wetter areas, I thought. Approaching the water's edge, I saw a creature I have never seen anywhere, in this shape and form. In order to identify it, I would have to know exactly what family of amphibious creatures it belongs to and, I haven't the faintest idea!! This creature is around 15cm in length, swims with flapping fins (like a Ray) and has a head resembling a seahorse crossed with a hippopotamus! It really is most peculiar. If anyone can let me know it's identity, I would be most interested. 03-03-2019 Thanks to Natalie and Lars, I am now much wiser in the world of sea slugs and in particular, the Atlantic Black Sea Hare or Sea Horse (Aplysia fasciata). Found on the West Atlantic coast from France down to West Africa and in the Mediterranean also. Some more images from around the area. My only sighting of dolphins from the apartment this Winter, two days ago. Adult Caspian Tern at Alvor. Azure-winged Magpie at the apartment. Singing Bluethroat in a tree (!) at Sitio do Fontes. Glossy Ibis passing through rice fields. Curlew in flight. |
|