September 2001 Diary
Sunday 2nd. September westerly 4 or 5 - bright and sunny
Point of Ayre and Peel Castle
An early morning start in the hope of a few migrants was a bit disappointing as the strong westerly breeze was keeping most birds deep in cover. However 3 juvenile Hen Harriers were nice as they hunted over the heath to the west of the lighthouse. A strange, stonechat was with a small party of 'normal' Stonechats on the heath by Ballacallow. Basically similar to a male 'stoney' but with an extensive silver/grey cap, large, white covert patch, very pale fringed tertials and stark white rump. Possibly one of the European races (rubicola?).
Over at Peel 4 of the reported 13 Purple Sandpipers performed well down to a few yards. As usual they were associating with Turnstone but were closer to the wave-splashed shore.
Friday 7th. September westerly 5 - sunny periods
Peel Castle and Headland
After being decidedly unwell, I ventured out for the first time in a week for some fresh air. Given the strong westerly winds and the number of good seabirds being reported around the Irish Sea, where better than Peel Castle for a seawatch?
After a slow start, with nothing but the usual Fulmars and Gannets being seen off the breakwater, we decided to try a higher vantage point just by the castle walls. What a difference! In a 45-minute spell we counted 14 Leach's Petrels, 500 Manx Shearwaters and 1 Sooty Shearwater. Whilst watching a particularly close Leach's Petrel, I picked up on a shearwater that was pale, ashy grey-brown and flying south. The bird was quite a bit further out than the petrel and, owing to the nature of seawatching, size was initially difficult to judge. I called a 'Balearic Shearwater' to attract the attention of Kevin Scott (a regular companion) who at first struggled to get onto the bird. Having had prolonged views I was able to re-assess my i.d. and corrected it to a Cory's Shearwater - a much larger bird than the more common Manx Shearwater and a new species for Kev. Stunning!!!
A PLETHORA OF PETRELS
Saturday 8th. September northwesterly 6 - bright and sunny
Peel Castle and Headland
Ahh, seawatching! The refuge of the bored, coastal birder! Inspired by yesterday's offerings and ignoring the warning that "Peel is never as
good if there's any north in the wind" we again ventured onto the rocky outcrop below the castle to see what we could get. All the shearwaters
(what few there were) were miles out and unidentifiable! However we managed to salvage something from our 4 hours (yes, that's right,
4 HOURS) staring at an empty but choppy sea - a Grey Phalarope put in a brief but most welcome 'fly-past' just offshore. Unfortunately this
happened in the first half hour of our vigil
Later that afternoon, I noticed the insect in the photo below, scurrying across our front porch. Immediately familiar to me because of previous unpleasant encounters, I identified it as a Devil's Coach Horse and, although only a couple of inches long, they one of the few insects that I treat with anything approaching trepidation. Forget wasp and bee stings, these characters have a seriously nasty bite! This particular individual was also decidedly belligerent, and immediately adopted the threat display of raising his abdomen and 'gnashing' his formidable jaws open and shut. Excellent!
Sunday 9th. September northerly 6 - bright and sunny
Point of Ayre Lighthouse
Another seawatch then! Only this time a change of tactics. Based on the northerly winds, the theory was that the first point of contact with the island would be Point of Ayre, we spent 4 hours watching from the older, disused lighthouse at the Point. Result! The finally tally was an impressive 300+ Manx Shearwaters, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Leach's Petrel, 3 Sabine's Gulls (2 of which were just 20yds. offshore), 4 Arctic Skuas and 2 Pomarine Skuas. Incredible.
Leach's Petrel
Thursday 13th. September westerly 6 - very wet, 'orrible in fact!
Stinky Dubh, Langness
A really foul lunchtime started with me sitting in the car and scanning the pool with my binoculars. After 10 minutes or so I noticed 2 small waders which were feeding in a muddy bay. Braving the elements, I ventured out of the car with my telescope and was immediately struck by how pale one of the birds was (the other being a Dunlin). It was the same size as the Dunlin but with a scaly back pattern and long wings making it look 'stretched'. I considered it to be a juvenile White-rumped Sandpiper and, I believe, a first for the Isle of Man. Frantically ringing round all the local birders I knew, I finally got hold of Ian Scott who arrived within ten minutes. The weather by now was absolutely atrocious but we managed to watch the bird as it fed on the shoreline some 75yds. away.
A return visit after work found the bird a little further down the coast on Maddoc's Pool, but in brilliant sunshine now, giving excellent views where further plumage details were noted (including the white rump briefly as the bird stretched it's wings).
JUVENILE WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER
Saturday 15th. September. west, southwesterly 6 - Bright and sunny
Peel Castle and Headland
It was windy so seawatching for a change. These strong westerly winds are little use for anything else - especially not passerine migration.
I spent just a couple of hours here as there was little movement out to sea, that said, there were large numbers of Kittiwakes heading south, the highlight of these passage being 3 Sabine's Gulls amongst them. Even over quite a distance, the '3 triangle' wing pattern was very distinctive, as was the more tern-like flight.
Also seen were 3 dark phase Arctic Skuas & 2 Red-throated Divers.
Sunday 16th. September. northwesterly 4 gusting 5 - Bright and sunny.
Point of Ayre
Yet another seawatch, this time because of the northerly aspect of the wind, I decided to try the Point of Ayre. Although there weren't as many birds passing as my last visit here, a Juvenile Sabine's Gull performed stunningly just offshore. I managed to get the sequence below by holding my camera up to the eyepiece of my telescope and while they aren't brilliant, all the salient features can be seen. Also 1 Great Skua headed north. A return visit in the afternoon produced an adult Long-tailed Skua and 2 Leach's Petrels.
Thursday 20th. September. northeasterly 2 - bright and sunny
Derbyhaven Turbot Hatchery
Nothing much of note at Langness this lunchtime so I decided to have a look at the bushes around the Turbot hatchery across the way at Derbyhaven. There were at least 8 Goldfinches in a family party feeding on roadside thistles and a Bar-tailed Godwit on the shore here. The bushy area held what was obviously a small 'fall' of Robins - I counted at least twelve - also skulking in the brambles on the roadside was a juvenile/1st.winter Reed warbler.
Saturday 22nd. September. northeasterly 2 - bright and sunny
North of the island
Just to prove that not everyday produces good stuff. This morning myself and Kevin Scott spent at least 4 hours thoroughly searching all the coastal bushes from the Point of Ayre down to Port Mooar and didn't see a damn thing worthy if note - with the possible exception of 2 Great Tits of the, grey, Scandinavian race. A disastrous day!
Sunday 23rd. September. East northeasterly 3 - bright with patchy cloud
Ramsey and The Dhoon Glen
A fairly decent haul of typical autumnal moths in my garden traps this morning and a fabulous Merveille du Jour (locally known as "The Green Fella") in a trap at Callan Farm, Dhoon Glen.
Tuesday 25th. September. Easterly 4 - bright and sunny
Derbyhaven Breakwater
A quick look around Derbyhaven Bay at lunchtime produced no sign of last week's claimed Little Stint but there were two Pale-bellied Brent Geese grazing on the shore just below the breakwater. Fabulous little black geese being not much more than 50% larger than the nearby Oystercatchers, their white neck flashes being visible over quite some distance.
Saturday 29th. September southeasterly 3 - wet at first then warm and sunny
Claughbane, Ramsey
Not much in my garden moth traps this morning but a nice Frosted Orange and another Merveille du jour added a splash of colour to the predominantly grey and brown autumn species.
Saturday 29th. September continued….
Port Mooar, Maughold Churchyard and the Grand Island Hotel (Ramsey)
Some days you just know when you get out of the car that there has been a decent arrival of migrant birds and today was no exception. First light at Port Mooar produced large numbers of passerines on the beach - mainly Rock and Meadow Pipits, but with a few Grey Wagtails amongst them. Inland from the beach car park, the bushes were alive with Goldcrests and Robins. Amongst one party of Goldcrests I recognised a call that I have heard many times in the autumn and it was in only a matter of minutes that I picked out a Yellow-browed Warbler flitting actively amongst dense cover. Fabulous little birds, a little bigger than a Goldcrest but with a broad creamy-white supercillium and double wing bars.
Maughold Churchyard was also very 'busy' with over 20 Goldcrests amongst which were half a dozen or so Chiffchaffs but little else of note.
Surprisingly, Port Lewaigue was very quiet with only a single Chiffchaff and a couple of Blackcaps. Just across the bay though, at the Grand Island Hotel, there were plenty of birds in the roadside bushes - mainly Robins. After ten minutes or so I caught a fleeting glimpse of a brownish warbler in the bracken that had a very bright eye stripe. My immediate thoughts were that it was either a Radde's Warbler or a Dusky Warbler. Several agonising minutes later the bird flew from dense cover and I managed to note a flash of orangey-buff on the flanks - surely a Dusky Warbler! There followed a further agonising 20 minutes, during which time another local birdwatcher arrived on the scene, before the bird finally showed itself as it preened in brilliant sunshine - definitely a Dusky Warbler!
The rest of the north-east coastline produced nothing at all other than more Robins and a wing of a long-dead Sooty Shearwater at the Point of Ayre.
I returned to the Grand Island hotel at around mid-day and was rewarded with stunning views of the Dusky Warbler - so close in fact that I could only just focus my binoculars! At one stage the bird was seen sat next to a Chiffchaff, which allowed for direct comparison. Although pretty much the same sizes as a Chiffy, it appeared stockier with a shorter rounded tail, obvious orangey-buff flanks and undertail, darker above and with a stonking great supercillium. The bird called a couple of times as it made it's way through dense cover a sound reminiscent of a Sedge Warbler or even a Wren in tonal quality.
