Fast forward to Friday November 29th, the day after I returned from visiting my youngest son Robert in the UAE.
I'd also visited him the previous November...you may recall? I'm fully aware that "Autumn" isn't over BUT that's were it fits into our calender, at least as I write. So, lucky on Scilly with the HT but less so with the SE.
Into December now and my ill-fated first attempt, extracts here and here. Ah well. At least it fine tuned my Eider ID...hopefully.
Christmas and New year came and went. News was sporadic BUT the bird was still being seen on Papa Westray. I can honestly say a return visit was firmly at the back of my mind, although I was confident it would be around for a good while. Factors I had to consider included...
A series of violent storms which were battering the country.
My V70 coming to an end plus problems with its replacement.
Visits to Bury to visit my Mother plus other family commitments
A possibility of teaming up with Steve Lawton.
aka Life!
January also came and went and as February progressed I was getting twitchy. I had regular contact with David Roche, the resident birder on the Island. He was VERY helpful and my initial plan was to visit before he went on holiday to Borneo on February 26th. That plan didn't transpire due to the reasons above and of course, the bird showed on the Loch on the days leading up to his departure!
Steve Lawton seemed keen but he also fancied returning to Shetland for the TENGMALM'S OWL. This plan wasn't an option for me, as I was only interested in "the Duck".
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So, that's the preliminaries over...so onto the trip...
After finishing work on Saturday afternoon I whipped Bud to the kennels (poor lad) and returned home for a quiet evening with Louise before leaving for Steve's at Wetherby. I arrived just before midnight, loaded up my gear before we headed North through the night for the Noon ferry from Scrabster. The conditions were pretty hairy over the Cairngorms south of Inverness but we made it to McDonalds just after opening time at 6am. I did offer to share the driving but Steve had grabbed a few hours the previous evening and I wasn't complaining.
Onward to Scarbster in decent conditions although we did see impressive snow in the distance...
We arrived at the terminal in plenty of time, even having time to enjoy views of a decent flock of Whooper Swans (c80) east of Thurso. After arriving in Stromness at 1.30 we took the bus to Kirkwall and made our way to the Hostel to dump our gear. We had amazing views of Long-tailed Ducks on the way on the town centre ponds. After some initial teething problems i.e. no-one about, we sorted things out and headed for the pub. Again, some issues finding the right one but the evening turned out fine.
Up bright and early and a short bus journey found us at the Airport in plenty of time for our 8.40 flight. We were both pleased to hear that we were going via Westray which would mean we would become members of the "shortest scheduled flight in the world" club...
It turned out to be a fabulous experience as we cruised low over the channel between the two Islands. A nice start. A surprise on arrival, as we were met by Jennifer from the Hostel. We stopped off there to leave our gear and then she took us down to the path to Tredwell Loch. She wished us the very best of luck. She was obviously aware of my previous dip.
Personally, I was optimistic we would connect fairly quickly...I was wrong! After scanning both northern arms of the Loch plus further South for some considerable time, we agreed that the bird wasn't present. There were pairs of Goldeneye present but no concentrated group? We then decided it made sense to split up and cover different parts of the Island. Steve worked the west coast while I walked further south down the Loch and then back north up the east side. We covered some ground but couldn't locate the SE. Personal highlights included WHITE-BILLED DIVER, Hen Harrier, Short-eared Owl (3), Peregrine and Merlin. The Loch was checked again late afternoon.
So to day two. Steve headed to the south of the island to check out the Loch and coastline while I headed west, checking a couple of small pools and the St Boniface area (bad memories)...
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| Still lively on a calm day! |
An interesting piece of history just south of the above...
Still no sign and no news from Steve. I decided to make my way back to the Loch. On the way I passed the Hostel and decided to have a quick brew, as some significant soft ground had again been covered. Unfortunately dropping off wasn't part of the plan. Luckily it only cost me 20 minutes or so...a power nap!
On reaching the Loch, after passing the post office again...
...I checked out the limited number of birds. I decided to head for the north-east corner to enable me to look further down the Loch and give me a view from which I wasn't looking into the sun (it was another glorious day). After finally making my way down the northern edge I sat on a wall and set up my 'scope. It was now gone 4. Almost immediately I picked up a decent groups of ducks actively feeding a fair way down along the western edge. I sharpened up. The light was excellent and the water was still. There were definitely more Goldeneye present (c10). I then noticed a bird that was very active and seemed "different". Always encouraging.
What I saw...
A compact duck, generally uniform dark in colour, although the head and neck seemed paler in sunlight at times.
Distinctive head profile (unlike sloping profile of Common) and complete pale bill.
Similar length to Goldeneye but sat lower in water.
Two pale wingbars, albeit narrow.
Distinct long tail held at 45 degrees.
Smaller than the Common Eiders seen dotted around the Islands shoreline.
The diving technique shown here (around 20 - 25 seconds) is spot on for the bird we observed. Wings spread and broad tail fanned. The bird was diving continuously.
Process of elimination can also be helpful.
I was now happy I was looking at the...
STELLER'S EIDER
Where was Steve? I rang him but there was no answer, so I sent him a message. Almost immediately my phone rang. Luckily he was making his way back and wasn't far away. I walked east to see if I could see him. there he was on the hillside scoping the Loch. I shouted and beckoned him down After initial confusion on access he joined me and set up his 'scope. Interestingly, he soon picked it up and commented on it's distinctive shape and feeding technique! After studying the bird he agreed with my ID. He's very thorough and meticulous. It was now gone 5pm and had clouded over. We considered getting closer (maybe a pic) by walking around the western shore but with a series of barbed-wire fences and boggy ground to negotite in fading light we decided to stay put and enjoy the bird from our vantage point. Eventually we lost the bird and decided to head back to the Hostel...jubilant!!!
Our gamble had paid off but boy had we worked for it! A nice relaxed and very satisfying evening was had at the Hostel followed by a good nights kip. No prizes for guessing our first port of call on Wednesday morning...
However depite two prolonged watches we couldn't re-locate the bird in excellent conditions.
We bumped into Jennifer and her husband on the way back to pack and she was genuinely pleased that we had connected and especially so for yours truly, after last time! Nice touch that. We left the Island mid-afternoon...
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| One last look |
Summary
With only 15 previous records, this species is a much sought after addition. I'm still trying to work out why I missed the Hopeman harbour bird in November 2000? Family commitments I guess. So, success at last with things obviously working out VERY well...eventually...this time! I didn't fancy a third trip, at least not in the short term. The weather lived up to the forecast which helped enormously and it was great to enjoy this wonderful little Island in favourable conditions...with almost constant sunshine and very little wind. When I released the news to the information services it was nice to receive so much support from fellow birders regarding our success. Sharing the trip with Steve was also advantageous...logistically, socially and regarding ID confirmation. You know how some people can be!
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