So long, and thanks for the... Whales!

 

Today was my last day of the pelagic season, guiding for Yorkshire Coast Nature. We had a great day out of Staithes, aboard the All My Sons, expertly skippered by Sean Baxter. We had a great encounter with a very playful pod of Bottlenose Dolphins, who stayed around us as we drifted on the tide for a good half an hour. Two immatures were very acrobatic, with synchronised high leaps, which would have made Tom Daley proud! No calves were present and the group of c10 was split into three or four small groups, which came together before separating. They were a real joy to watch in the morning sunshine off Huntcliff.

With big smiles all round, we headed out across the tide to the 6 mile line to see if there were any seabirds around. No big feeding frenzies were spotted, so after our traditional mocha and lemon drizzle, I donned the gloves and started chumming off the stern. Out of nowhere, a couple of Great Black-backed Gull appeared, closely followed by a pair of Fulmars. A dark shape appeared too, and the shout went up for Great Skua. The bird proceeded to hassle the gulls, at one point literally landing on the back of a flying GBBG and forcing it into the water. After some great fly-pasts, it cruised off and landed at a distance. Shortly, a Sooty Shearwater came in, and gave us a good view in the low sun. Sadly, I was by this point covered in fish guts, so no pics of any of these birds I'm afraid. 

 A friend of Sean's alerted him to a Minke Whale off Staithes, so we headed back in to look for that. We soon found the leviathan, but it proved elusive and we only got a few brief looks before it vanished. A little while later, we saw another, but again only briefly. The Herring seemed dispersed and perhaps the Minkes are having to move around to search for them making them difficult to track. Nevertheless, everybody on board got a view, which was great. A few birds added themselves to the list, including a late Puffin, a smart adult Little Gull with a flock of Kittiwakes, and three Grey Plovers, which may be the first I have seen on these trips.  So, with that, we headed back to Staithes, under glorious blue Yorkshire skies. 

It has been a great season, with Minkes on all the trips I have done, but in lower numbers than in recent years. The Herring have been a bit sporadic and we've not encountered many big feeding frenzies. My highlights are always the dolphins, but this year the unexpected Cory's Shearwater was a special moment. 

Big thanks to Sean for great skippering and many laughs, to Simon, Stuart and Andy for their company as volunteer cetacean surveyors, all the clients that make this possible, and to Rich for hiring me to do this in the first place! Roll on next year!

 

 

Languid

An early start guiding for Yorkshire Coast Nature on Friday, the sun rose over the waves in the east just after we steamed out of Staithes Harbour. 

It took a while to get light enough to discern the shapes of passing birds, but we soon realised there was a lot of activity with Red-throated Divers passing south, and small flocks of Common Scoter and Teal heading north, heading for the Tees Bay. After a while, we picked up our first Minke Whale, in amongst a throng of Gannets, though it played hard to get and we soon lost it. Out at five miles, I donned the rubber gloves and started to chum with dead Pollack and Mackerel off the stern, which soon attracted a bunch of gulls and a few Fulmars. Several Sooty Shearwaters cruised in to check out what was going on, followed by a solitary Manx. We headed back in, adding eight Shelduck to our list, along with a couple each of Arctic and Great Skuas. After lunch, we headed back out and after failing to find some reported Bottlenose Dolphins, we sailed towards the earlier area where we'd seen whales. All was quiet off Kettleness, until I suddenly noticed a Cory's Shearwater in the wake, alongside a couple of young Herring Gulls. This large shear had appeared out of nowhere.  I yelled 'CORY'S SHEARWATER!' and dived into the cabin to grab my camera. 

 

The bird languidly slid up the wake, and sheared, bow-winged right past our starboard side, giving great views to all on board. Fortunately, there were several birders on board all of whom appreciated this southern wanderer. Despite appearing to make no effort, it soon outpaced us as Sean sped to keep up with it. We slowed and watched the bird of the day cruise into the distance, leaving me elated and the clients bemused by my excitement. This is the first Cory's I have had in eight years of doing these trips, and only the third we've had as a collective, so it was a rare moment. 

 

Offshore Magic

Three days offshore, guiding for Yorkshire Coast Nature over last weekend was brilliant. Every day is different, with birds on the move and varying sea conditions influencing our encounters with whales and dolphins. Bird-wise it has been pretty quiet, with an extended period of westerly wind, with an adult Long-tailed Skua and a leucistic Razorbill the pick, with only small numbers of Sooty and Manx Shearwaters, Arctic Skuas (pic below), Little, Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls evident. Pink-footed Geese were prominent yesterday as north-westerly winds further north encouraged a departure from Iceland.

Up to 15 Minke Whales were seen daily, even in rough weather, with close views exciting everybody on deck. We didn't find any feeding frenzies this year, but there were Herring present, including some spawning shoals, but they were deep, reducing their availability to birds. c2,000 Grey Seals were an incredible sight, mostly loafing at low tide on the point near Runswick Bay. It's about time we had some Orcas down here!

Minke Whales off Staithes

 

Yesterday, we bumped into a pod of ten Bottlenose Dolphins, which included three females with calves, one of which was from this year, and two adults that 'stood off' the main group, presumably young males. We watched them briefly before leaving them alone. Three Harbour Porpoises were seen off Boulby including a female with a calf, which was good to see, as they seem to have been scarce recently.

Bottlenose Dolphins

 

Best of all, a Thresher Shark, which breached a couple of times off Flamborough Head on Sunday morning. It was massive, with a tail fin as long as it's body!  

Snowy Razor

Had this cracking leucistic Razorbill off Boulby Cliffs, on our Yorkshire Coast Nature pelagic today. Gave me quite a shock at first, before I realised what I was looking at. It has apparently been around a while; not sure what I would think this was if I saw it flying past Flamborough Head!

Local Fall

Immersing myself in a fabulous flycatcher-fuelled fall at Flamborough was memorable, but witnessing a local fall gave me just as much pleasure. I'd spent the morning checking the remaining bits of water in the York area looking for migrant waders, but apart from two Common Sandpipers at Hes East, I had drawn a blank. Recent rain had reduced the shoreline at Castle Howard Lake massively, so I only had ducks to sort through, including 60 Teal and a couple of Tufted Ducks. A showy and vocal Cetti's Warbler on the edge of the reedbed at the north end was a treat. Hearing that yesterday's Whinchats and a female-type Redstart were still at Acaster Airfield, I headed over there, as both are good local birds. My walk along the old runways was largely uneventful although three Blackcaps gorging in an Elder bush demanded my attention, in case a Barred Warbler was sharing the feast - sadly, it wasn't!

Approaching the middle of the airfield, I bumped into Rob and Jane Chapman and we began to scan the stubble for the little gang of Wheatears and Whinchats. Unfortunately, the rather ominous-looking black cloud that I had been keeping one eye on, decided to dump its load at that moment, right on top of us. I had spied a Wheatear distantly, but told Rob and Jane the rain was about to get very heavy, so we legged it across the airfield and under the nearest tree. We were pretty sodden, but were glad of our makeshift shelter, as the heavens opened and it poured down. The shower past, and we tentatively made our way back out and down to the stubble field to recommence our scan. Shortly, I picked up a Whinchat and Jane found a second, among three young Wheatears. Cool! Despite seeing several the other day, it is always good to get a York year tick, and Whinchat was one such species. 

Whinchat in the stubble
 

On a tight schedule, I said farewell to Rob and Jane and scooted back across the soggy fields. Three more Wheatears were in another field and a flock of 15 Meadow Pipits sat on the runway, seemingly grounded by the downpour. More was to come with several Willow Warblers in the hedge, and a Lesser Whitethroat calling from the tangle. Had these birds also just dropped in? I got to the cow paddock, which always looks good for a migrant or two, and immediately spied a pale blob on the side of a bush. Was this the female Redstart? No, a Spotted Flycatcher, the first one I've ever seen here! A movement close by and a momentary flash of fire, and I had my scope on a male Redstart watching me from a hawthorn. Cool as! There had clearly been a little fall, presumably caused by the epic rain shower. Even though it felt like there would be more birds here, it was time to head back as my daughter needed the car. This was fairly minor compared with Flamborough the other day, but for a random, inland location, this was spectacular. It is all about the context!

 Top - Redstart, bottom, Spotted Flycatcher and a Willow Warbler 

 ..............

Late August, early September, sees a big passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls through the York area. These flocks, which often gather to feed in ploughed fields sometimes contain Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls. A big flock had gathered on Acaster Airfield on the 6th September and at least three Yellow-legs were present including this smart adult.