Showing posts with label western grebe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label western grebe. Show all posts

Monday, 11 April 2011

Clover's Return

With yet more chores to attend to today my chances to get some birding in were looking grim. However, I did manage to grab a few moments at Clover Point - well, we were driving past; it would have been rude not to stop...

harlequin duck
Offshore, there were plenty of pigeon guillemots kicking around, plus a few rhinoceros auklet. A lone western grebe made an appearance and there were buffleheads and harlequin ducks in good numbers.
Just one pair of black oystercatcher were seen and a group of 19 black turnstone were feeding on the windblown rocky shoreline.
Looking through the baffling mix of messy gulls, I found one interesting individual. In many ways it was good for western - jet black primary tips, yellow orbital ring, pale flecked ochre iris - but it had a mantle colour barely a shade darker than the more typical glaucous-winged gulls. What fun these mongrel larids can be!

Of note - not had any hummers visiting my newly erected feeder yet, although interestingly, a bush tit came in for a drink... Sadly my other feeders will have to remain in storage, as our landlords won't allow anything that could entice rodents. Shame, as I was really looking forward to hanging cheese from the nearby apple trees.