Norfolk part 3- sketching at Titchwell

 Here we go! In the third and last part of my series of posts about Norfolk, I return to Titchwell and bring my sketchbook too. Btw the above photograph was taken at Titchwell beach. In contrast to Cley's shingle beach it has lovely sand. But the weather was pretty blowy and wild that day so not many sunbathers!

GA part 3: Seawatching from Ferries

 Disclaimer: I'm no experienced seawatcher! But I make up for that in boundless enthusiasm. ^^

The crossing between Dover and Calais is in good conditions a journey of only an hour or so, and we had very good conditions both ways, with barely any swell at all there and back. I was grateful our journeys were all over with before the weather turned the weekend after we got back with the St Jude’s Day storm! That wouldn’t have been any fun.

When I’m on ferries I make sure I stay on the deck as much as I possibly can to try and spot seabirds. I’ve done this before on the much longer journey between Portsmouth and Le Havre a couple of years ago, and it yielded some fantastic firsts for me: my first Manx Shearwaters, gliding over the sea in a small flock; my first Great Skuas, a bird I’ve wanted to see since I first saw a bird book; and my first petrel, a tiny, tiny bird flying away from the ship, skimming the sea with its little feet. (It was too far away to tell the exact species, but it would have been Storm or Leach’s.) I’ve written in my Gannet post about how in that experience I found that I stopped seeing gulls and terns once we got out into the open ocean, but there were Gannets throughout the crossing because they are more oceangoing, and sure enough there were Gannets a-plenty on the Dover to Calais crossing, and again there were some sub-adult birds among them. (There were more adult Gannets than on the Portsmouth to Le Havre crossing because that was late August when Gannets are still breeding, and this was late October.) But I have to amend my words about the gulls, because I was seeing gulls throughout both ferry trips! Several Great Black-backed Gulls (and one sub-adult Herring Gull) attached themselves to the ferry and were gliding with it for the whole crossing, usually above or in front, as if they were hitching a lift! Maybe the ferry makes it less effort for them to fly over the ocean? They’re still not quite in the league of skuas or shearwaters or petrels, but it’s clear they can be seen out at sea, and not just near the coast.

It wasn’t just the ‘hitch-hiking’ large gulls either, there were small gulls out at sea too. A large gathering of them were feeding just out from France on the return journey, though the species was hard to tell. On the way there, and again near France, a small flock of gulls with completely white wings, dark underwings and small dark spots behind the eyes flew by, which we tentatively identified as Little Gulls, though there is always the chance they were Black-headed Gulls and the black on the tips of their wings was hard to see, as it is sometimes. Size is very hard to judge at a distance, especially with nothing to compare the birds to. Leaving from Kent, Kittiwakes played in the wake of the ship until we were well away from the shore, before leaving us about half an hour out, only to be seen again on the return journey. On our return into British waters, there were also a couple of Mediterranean Gulls winging their way past, their wings so white they almost seemed translucent. I’ve never seen Kittiwakes off the Hampshire coast, but did manage to spot a Little Tern as we were leaving Portsmouth last time! We have a small breeding population. Of course, it was tern season then.

Other birds seen on the crossings include an unidentified pipit that flew above the ferry briefly on the return journey, an unidentified auk (I’m guessing Guillemot or Razorbill) that flew by, and a v-formation of about 15 Brent Geese, that interestingly included a single Shelduck at the very end of the v! The birds are similar sizes, after all, and a lone Shelduck would get along much quicker with the v of geese than on its own, as flying like that helps them propel each other forward.

I’ve only watched birds out at sea a very few times, and every time I learn more and more. I’m really interested in seabirds and I hope my seawatching (both from boats and from the land) will improve, and my knowledge will grow!

Tomorrow: the final part of my German Adventures, in which I talk about what was similar and what was different to Britain in this not-very-far-away land.

Life and Death in Wales part 2- The Gannet

On the first day of our holiday in Aberdovey, we went to the neighbouring town of Tywyn where there’s a lovely beach.  I did what I normally do at the beach, which was have a nice swim in the sea and then do a bit of feather collecting on the shoreline before lazing around reading.  But this time I saw something I’d never seen before.  My brother told me there was a dead gull floating in on the tide, but on looking at it I saw it was a bigger bird altogether- a beautiful Gannet.

We waded out into the water and pulled it to the shore so we could have a proper look at it.  It was in beautiful condition, with no noticeable signs of injury.  Gannets have an impressive wingspan that can be almost two metres wide, so I tried to spread the wings to get the full effect, but it was hard to do, the wings so stiff with powerful tendons that I couldn’t open them to anywhere near the full gliding position. In my photo you can see the rows of wing feathers, and the way the white feathers are translucent where they lie over the dark feathers.  

Before I saw one this close I never realised adult Gannets have a dark area of feathers on their wings that is separate from the black tips; I think it's the Gannet's alula that is dark- the feathers at the bend of the wing on the leading edge that are used for steering- but I'm happy to be corrected as that's just guess.  From a distance you can't see that at all, so I was surprised.  You can see how powerful and strong the feathers are, and also that they're not as black as they look from a distance but are actually a very dark brown, and shiny.

 

Here you can see the blue area of skin around the eye, which is still present in its socket.  Because of this, I think the Gannet must have been dead only hours.  It's really sad to see one of these wonderful birds dead, but from its plumage you can tell the Gannet is at least five years old, as younger birds have dark spots in the white areas of their plumage- I've seen ones in various stages of sub-adult plumage, mostly from ferrys.  So this one at least had had a bit of a life!  You can also see the complicated pattern of plates that make up its beak.

Here are the strong, thin tail feathers, and the oddly shaped webbed feet and clawed toes.  There's a bit of damage to the feathers at the base of the tail, but I don't have any idea what could have killed this Gannet.

At Twywn beach in the summer you can see Gannets passing across the sea often, and it's always wonderful to watch them.  They are one of our biggest and most distinctive seabirds, and are more seafaring than gulls or terns.  When you go out into, say, the Channel, you'll stop seeing gulls and terns very quickly, but you'll see Gannets throughout the crossing.  I love their steady flight over the sea and their distinctive white wings with black tips, and the way they dive to fish.  It was sad to find this dead one but also a fascinating opportunity to look at one close up.