yorkslister

Although I love seawatching and have over the years done loads of it but I've not really connected with any good blows in the last few years.  The only good day in the last few years was on North Ron last year when we had over a hundred Sooties and a Great Shear.  The last good day at home I was in a meeting in the morning (when I had a proper job!) by the time I got to Spurn the last 2 of about 50 Leach's went past and then it dried up!  These were the last Leach's I'd seen so with hot gen coming through from Gav at Seaforth saying 'it was happening' I decided to have a ride out to New Brighton and Leasowe this aft.

Bloody hell as I pulled the car up a quick scan with bins revealed about 10 birds in the river off New Brighton, a more thorough scan and I'd have said there must have been 30-40 birds but they're reet hard to count.  After about an hour with only one or two coming reasonably close and one flying over land!  I decided to try Leasowe, good move as soon as I arrived birds were moving west close in along the waters edge so I got huddled down among the concrete breakwaters and had spectacular views I was tryting to photograph them rather than count them but there must have been 50+ went past in an hour and a half, some of them as close as 3 metres from me and too close to follow with the camera.

I got hundreds of shots like these which I'd call good seawatch views

I was finding it really difficult to stay on the birds and the closer they were the harder it was.  This next one was probably a bit closer

But it's these I was really wanting, the sun came out and suddenly some of the closer ones became a little easier.  Still couldn't follow the stupidly close ones though.

I learnt something today......Petrels are bloody hard to photograph even when ridiculously close, ok so I had the wind to contend with and dull light and a camera that I keep having to turn off and then on again to make it work.  But even after all that I still reckon they're tricky, just think how hard it is from a boat, well if it was a White faced Stormy I reckon I'd try my best..... Madeira wind birds here I come, might have to save up for a 1D series body and a 300 f2.8 first though!