Monday 15th January 2007
oystercatcher
We were free this afternoon so went down to Hythe Marina. There were a couple of birders there, looking through scopes. One of them spotted a Red Throated Diver beside a green buoy. I looked towards the green buoy and yes I did see what looked to be a diver, but to be honest I couldn't really identify it myself so I won't be adding it to my list. Pity I don't have a scope though!
Then we saw our first tern of the year - a sandwich tern, just great, I love terns. There were lots of gulls down by the pier but I am hopeless with gulls and could only pick out a herring gull and a great black backed gull and black headed and a redshank.
At the marsh were curlews and oystercatchers and more gulls and on the grassy area beside the carpark we saw a pair of bullfinches.
We met a nice birder from Liverpool and were chatting about birds and Liverpool and somehow the conversation ended up being about the Isle of Man. I worked there one summer many many moons ago! I was 19 and worked in the Compton Hotel, Central Promenade, Douglas. It was hard work, with only one evening off a week, but my friends and I had great fun. My brother goes over now and again for the famous Isle of Man TT races. But I haven't been back there since that summer. I must try and get over again one day.
40. sandwich tern
41. herring gull
42. great black-backed gull
43. oystercatcher
44. bullfinch
45. redshank
