Fregata!

Well I never.  Black-bellied Storm Petrel in the Severn estuary!  Fucking hell!!
The last few days have seen crazy bastard south-westerlies pounding our coastline and some big mega claims of big mega seabirds have been made, with this Black Bellied Stormy, a Masked Booby off Cornwall, and a Frigatebird sp. over Huddersfield!  Huddersfield?
Fucking Huddersfield?
I reckon it was a teenage girl's black straggly top from Dorothy Perkins with a white motif on the front that'd blown off the washing line in the gales!

25th November, Huddersfield, wind - SW Force 7, observations from 0915 - 1310.

3 Black headed Gulls
1 Girl's Fashion Top, south.

Now there's a possible Swinhoe's Petrel in Cornwall too!  Fuck me!  This is crazy stuff!
The Black-Bellied Stormy was seen initially by 5 birders who had good enough views.  I read on a site that at least one of these guys was "white-hot".  What a record.
They were joined by some more birders, 3 of whom are rumoured to be cross-dressers and today were all wearing striking little black numbers, one of which was a saucy off-the-shoulder cut.  At this point I must say that the choice of footwear was inappropriate (heels on Severn beach?) although they argued that would take style over function any day.  The marvellous large-brimmed hat that Roger was wearing didn't last long in the gales and was last seen off Pendeen in Cornwall going west and reported as a 'possible Swinhoe's Petrel'. 
Hey!  That explains these crazy sightings then! 
Let's look at the facts.  These mega seabird claims have only been made in the gales, yes?  What happens in gales?  Correct, fashion items of cross-dressing birders get blown away either from washing lines or, in Rogers case, out in the field!  So that's the Swinhoe's and the Frigatebird solved.
Sorted.  But from now on I think the likes of Roger should adhere to a more sensible style of birding/transvestite wear, because if hats, scarves and boob tubes keep flying about past headlands around the country, god knows what further claims are going to be made!


The Black-Billed Stormy Fregata was last seen surrounded by large gulls so presumably ended up it's epic journey from southern hemisphere oceana in the mouth of the Severn in the mouth of a Herring Gull.
A first for Britain, but a tasty snack for a Larid.

Black-Bellied Storm Petrel.

A new addition to the British List, if accepted, which it should

be because the finders are meant to be proper top birders.

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Trailer trashed

Went to help my brother move a broken trailer onto a wagon.  The trailer was broken when some thieves stole it, broke it stealing it, so left it cos they'd broken it.  What bastards!

So, on Beverley Westwood loading said trailer onto said wagon when a Crossbill flew over.  Erm, west. Or is it south?  No, no, west it is, I've worked it out.  It was flying.  Just flying without a care in the world, flying off somewhere, fly, fly away tiny Crossbill, fly, little bird, fly.

Which could've read:

Beverley Westwood, 1 crossbill, west.

Or it could've read:

Piss off and die bastard Crossbills.  Don't come here and try and nick trailers that don't belong to you you fucking thieving bastards. No fucking wonder you're flying off west, come back here and face the music you twat.  Come on then, Crossbill bastard, come on, get outside then.  Let's fucking 'ave it, come on.


Not really sure which is the best.

I'm bored.  Can you tell?

So here is a drawing that I've pretended I've drawn of

a Crossbill but really I've just fucked about with

a photo that I've ripped off the net and monstered in Photoshop.

It's true, I really am that bored.

................

Fucking shite

Twenty fucking sixth of fucking October you fucking bastards.
"Why are you so angry Mr Quigley?"
"Fuck off"
"No come on, don't be like that"
"Fuck off and leave me alone Twat"
"Listen, there no need to be offensive Mr Quigley, just tell me what's wrong and maybe I can help you".
""I went to Spurn, alright?".
"And Mr Quigley was it bad?"
"I had a Robin-shaped bastard with a blue tail in flight at the top end of the canal"
"That's great, you've always wanted to find a Red-Flanked Bluetail at Spurn, Mr Quigley"
"I fucking know.  I stood there then thrashed the bushes, then stood there some more"
"Did you see it again, Mr Quigley, thus confirming Spurn's fourth record of this eastern gem?"
"What the fuck do you think fucknuts?  I STOOD THERE FOR FUCKING 3 HOURS AND EVEN SHOUTED ANDY THAT I'D GOT A POSSIBLE THEN IT WENT OVER THE RADIO THEN A FEW PEOPLE CAME TO FUCKING HELP AND FUCKING FUCK ALL CAME OUT OF THE BUSHES THEN EVERYONE DRIFTED OFF LEAVING ME TO IT, NO DOUBT THINKING THAT THERE WAS NO BLUETAIL!!"
"Oh".
"On reflection I think it looked very good for one, my description would be as follows:  Robin sized bird, similar build, only seen once in flight, seen only with the naked eye..."
"Continue"
"....from around 15 yards...."
"Go on"
Generally brown in plumage apart from a dullish blue tail, definitely not as bright as the previous week's bird but this may have been down to poor light....."
"Poor light Mr Quigley?"
"Yes, poor fucking light..."
"I see"
"I never got anymore on the plumage or underparts......"
"Okay"
"Will you stop fucking interrupting me.  For fuck's sake, I'm pissed off enough that it never showed again never mind you fucking interrupting me when I'm trying to talk about it.   Take THAT!  And THAT you bastard".  (picture me hitting you with a big stick in your minds).




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RFB

When we were lads wandering around Spurn the conversation would often turn to 'the bird you most want to find at Spurn' and Red-Flanked Bluetail was always high on everyone's list, an unimaginative choice, perhaps, but correct all the same.  These days they are common as muck and not even worth looking at.  If I were told a Bluetail was 'just over there', I wouldn't even bother looking at it! I'd walk straight past.  They're that rubbish now that today there were TWO Bluetails at Spurn!  See?  Common as shite, fuck 'em.  Fuck Red-Flanked Bluetits whatever they're called!
Only joking.
Yes, Red-Flanked Bluetails may have lost their mystical, mega rarity tag due to both a westerly range expansion and increased population, but they're still top notch birds, yes?

So today, yes TWO Bluetails were found (the second not being confirmed until the next morning) the first time a site has ever held two in the same day they reckon. One had been trapped in the Crown and released in Little Hedge which is an area inaccessible to the public and only viewable form the canal, canal scrape hide or the road. 
So why the flying fuck was it released here?!
I'll tell you why. At the weigh-in, the bird was found to be light, so it was decided to release it in a place of solitude where it would have chance to feed in peace without being booted all over the place by birders wanting a look. 
Fuck that!
We shouldn't interfere with nature.  It CHOSE the churchyard as it's CHOSEN haunt and that's where it should've been released (we'd have got much better views).  It's like big Dave Attenborough getting his cronies to stop a lion killing a cute baby Zebra.
Exactly the same.
The Bluetail has overcome diversity to get to that car park, with several factors contriving to dump this little beauty on our shores, and it's chosen area to be unceremoniously dumped were the trees in the Crown car park.  A vagrant is exactly that, a vagrant.  It is just unlucky that it is way off course and may never actually get back on course so I say let it take it's chances!  Fuck it.
I asked Ivan Drago out of Rocky IV what he thought about it.  "If it dies, it dies" he said. 
At least we'd get better views before it did croak it!  Hahahahahahahahaha only joking.  It was a wise and educated decision to release it in Little Hedge and everyone saw it ( I think).

After half an hour, it popped out. Briefly.
Then it popped out again.  Briefly.
Then the lads in the hide had it bathing on the scrape. 
Then I had it fly into the phrags at the side of the scrape after which I never saw it again.  This one never showed the next day but the one down the point showed on and off for the next two days (amazingly this bird was found again in the trap some 7 days after last being seen!  Elusive?  Fucking right the fucker's elusive).

A Radde's Warbler had been trapped at the Crown also. I went for a quick look for it but couldn't find it.  A Jack Snipe and a couple of Brambling were about the best of the rest.

"I will crush you, Tom Selleck, whatever you are called" Ivan also commented.

Was it really Tom Selleck who played Rocky?  I didn't seem to think it was.

Not that I'm gonna argue with Ivan who incidentally, is Tony Drago's twin brother.

The snooker player.

Honest.

............

Sprites

I wanted to see a Firecrest, they're good aren't they?  Good bastards.  There had been a couple of them knocking around at Spurn, with one lingering in the canal hedge.  Bashed canal hedge to no avail, in fact fuck all mamma.  One Robin and a distinct lack of birds in general.  The Mipits had stopped moving, mid October there should still be at least a few.  Then a couple of Reed Bunts, then an odd Greenfinch (a perfectly normal Greenfinch actually, not odd as in 'weird' but odd as in 'only one'), then the local teenage Goldfinches hanging around in a field racing a couple of Honda c50's around said field, 2 Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff.  There were things around but no numbers of anything, jut singles or doubles of several species.

A Pallas's Warbler ranging between the Church and the Crown car park showed extremely well in the garden of Kew Villa.  Fucking stripey little cunt.  Bit of an outburst there.

Stood in the Churchyard for about 45 minutes, my mind starting to drift towards the dead that lay before me and for a moment thinking deep poignant thoughts as to the flimsy unpredictability that is life, compared to the final, inevitable, very predictable fate that awaited all of these fallen souls and of course bequeath them.  Added to this the bittersweet irony of being laid to rest in the house of our Lord, safe in the knowledge that there is no Lord and life itself is spawned from the greatest designer of all time, evolutionary process.

Speaking of design and evolution, two species that are truly superbly designed then came to pay there respects above the headstones.  The Pallas's from earlier and 2 Yellow-Browed Warblers.  No Firecrest, but these 3 showed very nicely with 2 Goldcrest (pah!) and a Chiffchaff (pah!).

All hail the Sprites, the leaders of the Phylloscopus family and guardians of our souls in our final resting place.
2 Barred Warblers were representative of the Devil at the gates of Hell, although I'm not quite sure why.



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Visible migration (viz-mig)

Local viz-mig going on near my house:

24 Skylark
3 Meadow Pipit
12 Greenfinch
30+ Goldfinch
c100 Pink Footed Geeses

What a very sensible post.

No Bonxies

Zigzth of Ogdober.
It was quiet today.  Not much anywhere.  On land, 7 Tree Sparrows at the Warren were the contradictory 'highlight'.  I stood and watched the river for a while as Gannets were moving east, which is a bit unusual, some 25 passing in the ten minutes or so.  After the northerlies we'd just had, seabirds were relocating north and the now southerly direction of the wind were perhaps taking them into the Humber. So a look on the sea was perhaps the only chance today.  It wasn't.  It was shite.  3 Gannets.  Ducks though.  Parties of Teal were hurrying through, some of them even pissing in the sea the dirty bastards.  We've got to drink that.  Then some Common Scoter, nearly 13 of them (12) went south with a Velvet.

A gull flew in front of the scope.  So I followed it.....erm.....looks like a Med.  1st winter Med Gull.  It landed.  Although it landed with another one that looked exactly the same.  Two Med Gulls?
Then another Gull landed.  Adult Med Gull!  What the fuck is going on?  It's gone Med Gull-tastic here at Easington beach.  Then a Black Headed Gull landed then ANOTHER 1st winter Med Gull flew in.  Four Med Gulls, 3 1st winter and a smart adult.  On the beach.  The ducks carried on moving but little else apart from a possible Bonxie that was nearer Amsterdam than me and I need a new scope, it's not the best, so it goes on record as......erm....fuck all.  Off the record then.

Total number of official Bonxies seen today:  None.  Sorted.



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