Lost At Sea - Rory Gallagher (Part IV)

It is a fact that any migrant that wishes to visit or leave these

Sceptred Isles

be they Bird, Insect or Human have one thing in common;

they must transit one seaway or another. 

For this final part of  what is of great facination to myself we have saved some of the

Scarce and Downright Rare 

until last!

 Lucky shot of this

 BLUETHROAT

 GREAT GREY SHRIKE
with in the first instance was seen to peck a hole through the scull
of a hapless Meadow Pipit before its 'lader' was found amoung some
small bore pipework holding a dozen mixed passerines.

 rather unfortunate to see such a bird in this state

 MEALEY REDPOLL

and who could ever have imagined a 

 HOUSE SPARROW
being out there, up until then it was the only one ever recorded across the
North Sea

 REED BUNTING

 STOCK DOVE
another surprise unlike

 HOODED CROW
which were annual.

 DUNLIN
alongside more

 CASUALTIES
and who'd a thought it particularly on my 18th birthday in 2006????

 as one of the Clankies (Engineers) bust in and announced he had a birthday present for me.

 and even though it to be what is was a

 LITTLE STINT

 ROCK DOVE's
another North Sea first

 COLLARED DOVE

 GARDEN WARBLER

 REDSTART

(a smart male)

 PIED FLYCATCHER

 and the very

 BEST

and

 RAREST

until last

SHORT-TOED LARK
The Buchan Alph Oil Production Platform
was put on station at the sea area known as the
South Halibut Basin - North Sea in early 1974 producing an incredible
148,000,000 barrels of crude oil before being decommissioned on the
12th May 2017 after being towed to

DALES VOE SCRAP YARD, LERWICK, SHETLAND
All the various crews across those years owe the 
Old Girl
a great deal of thanks for providing us all with a very large drink!!