Scotland, Here We Come

Tuesday October 9

Not our customary early start as we are 'only' driving to Berwick on Tweed to-day. We had a good journey, with only one shower en route. 

We didn't miss the sighting of the Angel of the North to-day...... 

A leisurely shared sandwich lunch near Durham before leaving the A1 for Seahouses. Many years since I was here. A booked boat trip to Brownsman for Elsie, the Lesser Crested Tern -  on the way home from Scotland. No tern, on her nest, out of sight beyond a ridge. A furious Lee Evans was present, dressed in his off white mac and black and white shoes, shouting at the boatman for misappropriation of birders' money.   Very true, they knew it wasn't viewable. To add coals to the fire, the warden appeared from his hut and pointed down to where the nest was situated - we assume.

Good ending. we saw her on Blakeney Point a year later. 

To-day, we parked shoreside and looked out at the misty Farnes, ticking off Shag, Cormorants, Turnstones, Oystercatcher and female Eider. A pager message cut short our stay in fast decreasing light. Budle Bay is a few miles north and on our route. A lengthy narrow layby, allows viewing of the waterless bay. What!! Five thousand Barnacle Geese as far away as they could be. The task, to find a lone Richardson's Cackling Goose amongst them. Even at 50x, my Swarovski was struggling - nearly as much as I was.

Pam made contact with a nearby group of birders, one of them from Norfolk, they couldn't find it either. As the light became even worse, frustration was heightened by streams of geese departing north, others returning. You get the message. Time to look elsewhere. 

Pam found a Glaucous Gull amongst the large flock of roosting, loitering gulls and, a Snow Goose showed itself as the flock of Barnacles diminished. Apparently, local knowledge says that this is an unusually large flock for the bay.
Some appalling photos.
The first photo is heavily cropped from a 300mm lens effort, the dark line at the back is the Barnacles.
The second photo even more cropped.

The Glaucous is front middle left - headless.

Time to claim our Travelodge room, on the Morrison's roundabout  in Berwick. and to veg out watching soaps on TV.