Puffin enjoying the rain!
There is no doubt that after the prolonged dry, hot and sunny weather enjoyed over the last few weeks that rain is desperately needed. It would have been nice for the rain to fall during the night, but no, it chose todays daylight hours! Persistent and heavy at times it did not defeat my waterproofs but when it combined with strong winds, eyes soon began to sting and optics became virtually useless. I also had concerns over my camera, although it was wrapped in waterproof coverings.
From 28th July until the 5th August is Whale and Dolphin Watch Week. Today, however, challenged visibility out to sea, but c10 Porpoises were recorded.
Todays Sightings:
Due to the rain, I hardly used my scope and bins but I did manage to obtain some reasonable images with the camera, despite a steamed up viewfinder, but had no idea how they would turn out!
Only a few Razorbills and Guillemots remain on the cliffs having moved out to sea. This did allow Puffins to be seen well in flight as the confusion species were very few. Some Puffins were seen on the cliffs but they wont remain for long.
Puffins
As the Auks leave the cliffs, attention is drawn to the remaining breeding seabirds - Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Gannets and Shags.
There are large numbers of juvenile Kittiwakes (Tarrocks) taking to flight
The most obvious birds continue to be the Gannets. The breeding population are swelled by immature Gannets (those less than five years of age), identified by black/brown colours in their wings. The darker they are, the younger they are! This years Gannet chicks (Gugas) continue to thrive with many now showing some black feathers through their downy white.
Honestly, it was this big!
Year 3/4
Year 3
Year 4
Year 3 (right)
And finally, Herring Gull
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