SOLWAY: "Skua'd!"

Skua-less horizon at Newbie, Dumfries & Galloway, May 2009.

Well, I wanted to experience some skua passage, didn't I? It didn't start too well though. Despite an early start and a bacon butty breakfast (expertly prepared by Mrs B.) at Seafield Bay overlooking the Solway we drew a blank. There were 10 Arctic Terns, a Black-tailed Godwit in with the Oystercatchers and Curlews and an unidentified diver that flew west, but that was it. With the tide still high we drove the short distance to Newbie where there had been 3 Poms but we decided to bail out and head for Caerlaverock where the Wood Sand' and 3 Garganey were still on show on the Folly Pond.
We checked in to the Southerness Hilton (our caravan), took a quick coffee and then headed to Mersehead RSPB in blustery conditions. Not much going on here apart from 4 Whimbrel, a pair of Black-tailed Godwits and that Buzzard still quartering the reeds like a Marsh Harrier though. A post dinner hour's seawatch off the point at Southerness was OK though with a pale phase Pomarine Skua heading east at 20.15 hrs.

Red Kites at the feeding station near Laurieston, Galloway Kite Trail 7 May 2009.

The following morning (7 May) saw me "in position" at Newbie on skua-watch by 0700. With good vis' and a strong SW wind expectation were high and I only had to wait half an hour before the first Pomarine Skua flew into the Solway, even though high tide was still nearly 4 hours off. It was another half hour or so before it (or another) Pom' headed out of the Solway but soon after 10 Pomarine Skuas arrived from the west, banking gracefully as they headed towards the viaduct up-river. What a sight and just what I'd hoped for!
I sat it out for 5 hours seeing at least 18 Pom's and a couple of Arctic Skuas plus a couple of Fulmars, a few Kittiwakes and a few unidentified divers. At least one Red-throated Diver was on the sea, performing that "rolling preen" every now and then that makes them appear like a Black-throated momentarily.

Back at HQ Mrs B was waiting ready to go out (she can't hack seawatching). We drove out towards Castle Douglas, taking in the Red Kite feeding station near Laurieston before heading across the uplands and down to the coast at Gatehouse of Fleet. No sign of the Wood Warbler where I had a singing male last year so we hit the moors where we came across a female Stonechat and a crippling male Whinchat. Down at Skyreburn we stopped to grill some gulls bathing near the A75 where a white-winged bird amongst the Lesser-black-backs and Herring Gulls turned out to be a leucistic Common Gull!

Male Whinchat, Lauriston - Gatehouse of Fleet Road 7 May 2009.

Galloway hills, May 2009.

Retracing our steps we checked out another one of last year's Wood Warbler territories, this time with success. Garden Warbler in the same area was a bonus but the blustery conditions with showers made finding songbirds difficult. Heading back to Southerness we stopped off at Carsethorn where we sifted through the waders on the shore from the car as we sheltered from the rain. The usual Whimbrel were present as well as 40 Dunlin and 88 Ringed Plover.

Carstramont Woods near Creetown, Dumfries & Galloway 8 May 2009.

So the overland spring skua passage is established through the Solway and the "narrow neck" between Bowness on the Cumbria side and the Newbie area on the D&G side is the place to observe this phenomenon. But how about Southerness Point? Reading the few D&G bird reports I have it seems this site is largely unwatched during skua migration periods so I thought I'd have a go. The morning of 8 May looked good with gale force SW winds, reasonable visibility and squally showers. I started watching at 0600 and it was pretty slow for an hour until I saw a flock of at least 20 Pomarine Skuas to the east of the point lift off the sea! The impending downpour must have enticed them to move on in a hurry and I lost them in the murk. Just one more skua was seen (an Arctic heading east) before I gave up after two and a half hours watching but there was plenty to see in the form of distant divers, Common Scoters, 3 Arctic Terns, a couple of Fulmars and a single Manx Shearwater.

What I do when I'm on my own is my business. The tree is actually further away from me than it looks, I'm holding my binoculars and listening to Pied Flycatchers!

Heading back to Southerness I saw 3 Bullfinches from the car and in Castle Douglas we saw our first D&G Swifts of the year screaming along the high street. After a blow out lunch in the Douglas Arms we drove to Carstramont Woods near Creetown with the weather improving as we arrived. The song of Pied Flycatchers rang out (7+) and a couple of Redstarts could be heard but worryingly no Wood Warblers in very good habo.

Uplands at Gatehouse Station.

Driving up to Gatehouse Station we heard Cuckoo before heading back to Southerness where we saw a male Wheatear before a fish supper in the caravan.

With the skua passage still in full swing and the wind still in the south west I had to give it one more try at Southerness this morning. 'Scoping from the car and sheltered from the f8 wind and showers I started early (05.30 hrs) and filled the notebook fairly quickly. Usual suspects on the sea - Great-crested Grebes (2), Red-throated Diver, Common Scoters and 20 Sandwich Terns on the beach. Few waders about with a couple of Turnstones arriving and 30+ each of Bar-tailed Godwits and Knots. First surprise was c. 180 Pink-footed Geese that came over the point from the west, continuing along the coast and over Powillimount. About 100 geese heading along the Cumbrian coast into the Solway a little later could well have been this species and small movements were noted across Morcambe Bay in Lancs this morning too. Lots of divers on the move this morning with 97 seen, mostly heading west with one flock of 15 birds seen. At least 16 Gannets were moving to and fro when suddenly things really heated up as a flock of about 30 Kittiwakes headed east and the the first skuas of the morning showed up. The first was a distant pale-phase bird (almost certainly a Pomarine), but two dark phase birds just off the point heading east were definitely Pom's. Three Arctic Skuas followed them into the Solway before a hulking great Bonxie lumbered out of the Solway. A Merlin "in-off" was a complete surprise (especially to the local Linnets!) but attention turned to the sea just after (08.30 to be precise) when an adult Long-tailed Skua flew east past the point followed closely by an Arctic Skua. Back of the net!
Things started to slow up a little later but still included two more Arctic Skuas and a Pomarine heading east, 8 Arctic Terns and a few auks buzzing past. What a morning!
Calling in at Newbie on the way home we watched a passing flock of Pink-feet (surely not the one I saw this morning at Southerness?) notched up another dark morph Pomarine Skua on the sea before heading inland to Langholm on the heather moors near the border. The overland passage of seabird theme continued though with a first summer Kittiwake looking most out of place as it headed across the fells!