Sunday
08th August 2021
Dungeness, Kent
The last, and only time I saw a Sooty Shearwater was in 2015 on a pelagic trip in the Scilly Isles where we had to go miles out to sea from St Mary's and offer all kinds of goodies to entice the birds to come to our boat. So it was a very pleasant surprise to get news of one at "The Patch" at Dungeness, barely 50 metres offshore and close to the seawatching hide.
Circumstances relating to our dogs needs at home and the live TV broadcast of the crucial third test between the British Lions and South Africa meant I did not get down to see the bird yesterday and I was hoping and praying that it would stay for another day. Thankfully that turned out to be the case so as soon as I had finished walking the dogs I was on my way. The weather was shocking with continuous rain and a fairly stiff breeze.
- The Sooty Shearwater was there just as described on RBA flying around with the gulls and showing brilliantly for the assembled birders - 7, including myself. The best views were with the naked eye after all as I could best appreciate the true wonder of their effortless flight over the waves. It moved east and west with hardly a wing beat, gliding close to the water, just what you expect from a long-distance migrant.
- It landed on the water occasionally ........
- ........but soon took off again, often showing the white flash on their underwings as shown below.
I still can't work out how this bird can make such a long journey and spend over 30 hours close to the shore in front of a power station. Whatever the reason it was a real treat and well worth the soaking I got!
- The Sooty Shearwater does not breed in the UK.
- It makes a huge clockwise migration up the western Atlantic in spring to spend the northern summer in the north Atlantic.
- Then in summer/autumn they move down into UK waters on their return to the southern ocean to breed.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.