Laughing It Up

Apologies for the complete and utter lack of bloggage lately. I've been busy-busy at work and my energy levels have definitely taken a hit. However, I'm due to collect a newly-arrived member of staff from the bus station on Thursday, and we have an extra helper for the duration of her school holidays, meaning that very soon this may no longer be the most ridiculously understaffed hotel on Skye. Though in fairness it still could be, even with the new arrivals.  

Three days ago Big Martin, a birder down in Broadford, noticed a Franklin's Gull sat on the shore outside of his house, this being just the second record for Skye. Several hours later his images finally appeared on the WhatsApp group and the bird was reidentified as an immature Laughing Gull, a species never before seen on Skye. I've seen three British Franklin's but I've only seen a single Laugher and that was way back in November 2005, though I've had them at my feet along Nicaraguan beaches. Broadford is an hour each way from here, substantially longer if stuck behind convoys of campervans. As such, I had no realistic opportunity to try for it until today (I only work an early shift on Tuesdays rather than my usual split-shift pattern). 

The local WhatsApp page told me the gull was still present, though actively moving around the bay, as I headed off southwards. For the first time in a long while I experienced the twitcher's sense of growing anticipation and excitement coupled with increasing agitation as I found myself overtaking slow-moving caravans, campervans and folks driving as though they were on holiday with all the time in the world... I eventually made it to Broadford in about an hour and a quarter, which is not too bad all things considered. 

I know Broadford Bay very well and I quickly checked the first couple of likely spots where gulls congregate. Nada, just the usual suspects. A quarter of mile later I spied a guy I didn't recognise stood on the footpath, his scope aimed at the shore below. Coincidence? I didn't think so. I parked up in a side street, quickly wandered over and was met with a warm smile and an offer to look at the Laughing Gull through his scope. What a genuinely lovely chap, and an utter contrast to my memories of twitchers back in southern England. This was the initial view of my first British Laughing Gull in over twenty years

It's the dark gull asleep at the back

The tide was rising, we figured it would soon be pushed off the rock it was standing on and provide us with better views. Ten minutes passed and it still didn't raise its head. I lowered my binoculars and it immediately flew off - bugger! Thankfully, it did a tight loop and landed just a few metres away from where it had been. And immediately tucked its head in again... 

Some time later, with the sea once more lapping at its feet, the Laughing Gull decided it needed to move again. This time it walked amongst the assorted gulls and provided us with far more satisfactory views. It's a second summer bird and is in pretty heavy moult at the moment. Further images below, cropped but otherwise unaltered.

Very nice too

We were briefly joined by an elderly couple who pulled their car up alongside us, much to the annoyance of the traffic trying to squeeze past. I pointed out an Otter that was pulling apart a fish on a rock, they seemed as interested in that as the Laughing Gull, and then they mercifully left before causing any more traffic pandemonium. An ex-colleague of mine texted "I've just passed you in Broadford. What are you looking for?" and then called me a weirdo when I told him. Heh, probably yeah. 

Otter eating what is very probably a yeartick for me

Soon after that, a car mounted the pavement and I turned around to find none other than Lee Evans himself hanging out of the passenger window, my second Skye tick of the day! "Any sign of the Laughing Gull?" he asked. "Hello buddy, yeah it's right here in the gull flock" I replied. In typical Lee style, he burst out of the car in a complete panicked shock and within moments I was putting the four of them onto the bird. "See the three big rocks in the water, go to the right hand edge of the left one and the gull is on the shore just below it, immediately left of two Great Black-backs"... "YES - I SEE IT!! Where? I see it too! Why can't I see it? Where is it from the Herring Gull? From the left rock or the right rock? Oh now I see it! Where are my binoculars? I don't see any rocks. I'm on the middle rock" blah blah blah... Happily they were all four of them on it within a few more seconds, which is when Lee asked me how far I'd come to see it. "Well I live here, I moved to Skye ten years ago, mate" was my reply. Lee was immensely surprised, kept repeating "so you actually live here!?!", mentioned that he hadn't seen me at a twitch for a long time (ha!), took my number (he remembered my name, bless him) and then grilled me for the best places to view Ptarmigan, Golden Eagle, Red-necked Phalaropes (good luck with that, I've never even heard of a Red-necked Phalarope being seen on Skye in the ten years I've been here!!) He said, "So you know all the birds here" to which I replied, "Sure do, that one's Larry the Laugher" as I pointed towards the gull flock. His pals grinned, but Lee didn't. And then they too were gone, off to try for the Common Rosefinch down at Aird. By now it had turned quite cold and had started to drizzle. My coat was in the car, so I bade farewell to the kind twitcher (he's from the Inverness area, but I didn't think to exchange names/numbers) and headed off to find some warm food. 

Laughing Gull is the twelfth species of gull I've seen on Skye. Little, Ivory, Bonaparte's and Franklin's Gulls have been seen by other Skye birders but not by me. I feel sure that Ring-billed, currently absent from the Skye List, will be found sooner or later. I've still a very long way to go to catch up with Skyebirds Bob (he's on about 200 species I think, which is about 40 more than I am). Anyway, it made a nice change to head off and twitch a genuine BB rarity, rather than 'tosh' like Mute Swan or Coot. Skye is weird like that, I've previously twitched Moorhen, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Pochard, Stock Dove (dipped!) and Magpie, yet I barely turn my head to glance at White-tailed Eagles and Great Northern Divers. 

Hmmm, so maybe it's me who's weird like that.

Fluffed up after a bit of a wing-flap. Which I missed with the camera.

Britain's second Long-tailed Shrike, the first properly twitchable one, turned up in Fife a couple of days back. I'm off work tomorrow, and could easily get to Fife and back in a day, but I've already hatched plans to go looking for Ophioglossum azoricum on a headland at the extreme northernmost tip of Skye. There aren't any records of it from up there, I just think the habitat looks eminently suitable. Others have arranged to join me, weather dependent, so I can hardly bugger off to Fife instead. It seems my days of being a rabid twitcher are truly over, I'm now no more than a casual twitcher at best, pretty much restricted to things that are new for my Skye bird list. Unless it's a plant obviously, in which case I'll tear up and down the Highlands in search of that lifer...

Right, it's music time again folks. I heard this song playing last week, which is the first time I've heard it in literally decades. I absolutely adored it when it first came out and listening to it now brings a warm smile to my face, though in all honesty it's nowhere near as good as I recall. Anyway - it's raining but I've had a great day so this seems kind of appropriate. As ever, hope you enjoy!