Contributeur
Date
Site d'observation
- Âge et sexe
- Adulte, sexe inconnu - 1
- Comportements
- En vol
Détails de l'observation
Setting off from the car park at 07:00 we headed straight to the coast and south along the coast path initially stopping at New Roll-up Viewpoint for a quick scan. Lots of Gannets and a few Fulmars but no sign of our quarry. After about five minutes we continued onwards towards Staple Newk Viewpoint which we knew was the location where the albatross was being seen most regularly. En-route we bumped into a couple of people who said that the albatross was sat on the cliff and viewable from where a few people were stood 300m beyond Staple Newk Viewpoint. We decided to head straight over there not stopping at Staple Newk. Mistake! I jokingly said to Dad that we should watch the cliff to our left as the albatross would probably fly off as we were walking up. This section of path was too far from the edge of the cliff so we couldn't see anything and 200m beyond Staple Newk, we saw that people were starting to walk back towards us — not a good sign. We quickly got to a section of path closer to edge of the cliff and scanned but couldn't see any albatross flying around and a few moments later someone confirmed our suspicions that the albatross had just taken off from the cliff. We headed back the way we came to Staple Newk Viewpoint in the hope that the albatross may still be flying below the cliff but after five minutes it became clear that it had flown off. Ten minutes later it was picked up 2km offshore sat on the sea. If I wanted such poor views of my first albatross in the UK, I would have taken up Suffolk seawatching! Nevertheless, I could still identify the albatross as an adult/definitive bird that was either Black-browed or Campbell...so actually better views than in Suffolk. Dad and I followed the bird drifting further and further away for about 40 minutes until I eventually lost it, perhaps 4km away, when I tried to reposition the scope and couldn't refind it. Oh well! Now we just had to wait for it to come back and hopefully before late afternoon. We continued waiting at Staple Newk Viewpoint for perhaps two hours switching the scope between us to scan for the albatross and whatever else was flying past, the best bird being a Sooty Shearwater a couple of kilometers out, and enjoying the excellent show the nesting Gannets and Fulmars put on flying past at eye-level. Getting a bit cold here with the stiff breeze we decided to walk over to the spot where the albatross could be seen on the cliff just in case it had flown back without us seeing it. It quickly became apparent that it hadn't though. After about an hour Dad suddenly picked up the albatross 300m away circling close to the cliffs just south of us! I quickly got on it with the scope and with it being such a large bird, scope views were excellent and I could even discern the dark eye confirming the identification as a Black-browed Albatross! We followed the bird for about five minutes as it swirled around before eventually drifting towards Staple Newk. At this point we packed up and began walking quickly back to the viewpoint. Someone actually started walking our way to let us know it was showing from Staple Newk Viewpoint which was very nice of them. Three minutes later and I was in position when the albatross made its first pass below us circling around Staple Newk before disappearing out of view when it attempted to land. It repeated this about five times before not returning, we assumed this was because it had successful evaded the wall of Gannet beaks and landed. A few minutes later Dad decided he would head back to the viewpoint further south and see if he could see the bird perched on the cliff whilst I waited here in case it took flight. The bird wasn't visible on the cliff so it had presumably landed in a slightly different position that was viewable from New Roll-up Viewpoint. Not long after the bird suddenly appeared below me circling and giving phenomenal views through binoculars and photography opportunities! It repeated this cycle continually for about 10 minutes before a juvenile Herring Gull began to harass it and it started drifting further out trying to lose it. It did eventually lose it but at this point it decided to continue drifting away before landing on the sea 5km away in the haze so it was completely invisible. And that was the last we saw of it as soon after we decided to head back to the car after enjoying outrageous views of this special bird.
Espèces additionnelles
Informations techniques
- Modèle
- Canon EOS 7D Mark II
- Lentille
- EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- ISO
- 3200
- Longueur focale
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/8.0
- Vitesse d'obturation
- 1/2000 sec
- Dimensions
- 4214 pixels x 2634 pixels
- Taille originale du fichier
- 6.49 MB