North Sea Migration - Part II

 If it's Sunday then it must be a return to the

FLOATING SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE OIL PRODUCTION PLATFORM
that was BUCHAN ALPHA

Few like being on watch at night but for me it was a Moth to a Flame giving me time to write-up the Log, have my breakfast in-situ before relief at 06:00 and racing to the Upper-Deck! On one such morning our Opperations Coordinator Dave Penney stopped me en-route and asked why I was in such a rush to get 'up-top' every morning with my reply being, "slip on yer PPE and follow me up"! Reaching the heli-deck with the starboard flare burning brightly I ask Dave if he could identify any of the Birds on the boom with his answer being

SHY TALKS
and then asked if he could see any difference in the species and immediately pointing to a pale bird. He knew the others as Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls but was at a loss to name the less common of them all a

GLAUCOUS GULL
A 'TWITCHER WAS BORN' and within days back ashore bying all the assocciate gear including Moth Traps.

From high on the Platform

BLACK GUILLEMOT
(Diving Now)

WATER RAIL
(lovely "in the hand")

A raft of WIGEON on the sea with a single

on deck.

In the hand a juvenile
BLACK-HEADED GULL

with an adult on deck swallowing a
REDWING
if my memory serves me? whole and always dozens and dozens of other

CASUALTIES

a bit of a hazy
TURTLE DOVE

EIDER DUCK

CHIFFCHAFF

GOLDCREST

CROSSBILL
Always as a part of the unwritten code of Marine Etiquette the Master of the Standby Vessel, continuously chugging around the platform in the name of safety, calls up for a good-night chat of the days happenings and to report any other findings over the day. That evening's report was of 2 Birds having been caugh by his crew members and consigned to a Twix chocolate box to be sent up by heaving-line the following morning. Being impacient, did ask if they had any idea of species reporting that it was thought that one was a House Martin and the other a Linnet. No need to ask my possition at the turn of the watch as gently pulling the box on deck and returning to may cabin as the safest place for ID without them escaping. In both cases they were 'wrong' but very much understandabley as the first was this

STORM PETREL

with exactly the same field-markings with white rump as a House Martin and the other (oh my word) almost the twin of a Linnet but far, far more 'rare' a

LITTLE BUNTING
It is a great pity that the same cannot be aforded to every creature caught Off-Shore, but this little darling was about to be manifested for a Helicopter Ride with Bristow's! An arrangement was made with a 'bird ringer' from the village of Cove, just a couple of mailes south of the Granite City of Aberdeen, with a later report of a large crowd witnessing the event!

From Cove, Aberdeenshire the ring can be clearly seen!

Bird of Prey - Uriah Heep

Despite the temperature dropping to +5°C there were still Moths to be had along with an unexpected visitor. As for the ‘no show’ yesterday, about 10 seconds before ‘take-off’ the power went down and not resumed until much later.

An unusual visitor to one of the garden feeding station this morning was a 'long-lost'

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER
and with the 2 home traps still in the Sick Bay it was off to the 3 up north within a misty

Solar Panel Compound
and still they come including

FROSTED ORANGE

the migrant

DELICATE
along with another 'tale of the unexpected' a

RED ADMIRAL
likely looking for somewhere to hibernate
while  rain did interupt proceedings for a full 30 minutes

revealing these water drainage pipes on the solar panels never noticed before.

Still within many dozens of WOOD PIGEONS (left) overhead, which has been the way of things right across the County in recent days,

with far less
STOCK DOVEs
which is usually the way.

Closer to home the noisy and resident pair of
KESTRELs (female)

(male)
were behaving as if they had young

but investigating the nest box showed no signs.
Finally, while remaining on the theme, what we like to believe is a local bird the

SPARROWHAWK

got lucky while the

MOORHEN
didn't.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4JAUCRQ9_g

NOW THERE'S A 'ROCK BAND' FOR YOU!

On Golden Pond

 A quick flash-back to Monday with just a reminder that

it is said that "it is an ill wind that doesn't blow nobody any good" with ours being found on the first circumnavigation of the Main Pond.

Either our Old Pal of last Summer

or maybe a New Comer doesn't really matter much, a fine specimen of a male

MANDARIN
As for Moths, or lack of, numbers are now decreasing and the blow only allowed for 8 x 17 during the gale part of which included

VESTAL

GREEN BRINDLED CRESCENT

BLAIR'S SHOULDER-KNOT

SCARCE BORDERED STRAW
quality over quantity we would say and while they keep coming we will keep traping.

Also in the Solar Panel Compound more Fungi pushing through, to which we cannot add a name, and as 'leaf-fall' becomes daily it is allowing for more open views across the water-meadows associated with the Moors River allowing peeks of the

CHAROLAIS

HERD

and a few attendant

EGYPTIAN GEESE

and as for the Weather, this here is what us Seafarers refer to a Lional Richie Rain!

"All Night Long"

That's Why They Call Me Mushroom - 'Cus I'm Some Sort of Fun Guy!

 You didn't have to be

or Trevor the Weather to see what was afoot for Monday night and part of Tuesday, so a cunning plan was hatched.

The Glass-less Green House no tomatoes this year!

Part of the Caravan is Missing

Oh, there it is down the lane.
Our images from a wander across the Heath on Sunday were held over for such an event and presented for your delectation today!

Not at all a good start as we found the

GOAT ENCLOSURE
devoid of animals and even though they may have been in the depths of the Ferns and Erica it is more likely they have been taken to thier Winter Quarters as is the norm at this time of year? A decent start was

SHAGGY INKCAP

while always a delight to view and

listen to swaying to the breeze
ASPENS

Crossing Dean's Ditch via the railway sleeper bridge looking first to starboard

and then to port before reaching the

Open Heath
"Out on the wily, windy moors we roll an fall in green. You had a temper like my jealousy to hot to greedy" - Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush.

A rather unexpected female

BLACKCAP
was follwed by a clump of

SCARLET ELF CUP

Across the South-side still the

EUROPEAN CARGO AIRCRAFT
stand idle with another 2 on the main pan not seen in the air for months!

along with c2 quite seperate

STONECHAT

Across our 16 Reptile Covers unsurprisingly there was no more than a single

SMOOTH SNAKE
which might have gone down quite nicely with a blob of

WITCHE'S BUTTER FUNGI

More Open Heath across which no more than this single

DARTFORD WARBLER
was located along with a further species of Fungi

BROWN ROLL RIM
Overall a little disapointing in as much as our hopes were more than high for finding a

WRYNECK

which have showed up 2 years running around about this date!
YOU NEVER GET 'EM ALL!!