Skuas are even more difficult to phonescope than gulls.Mostly out at sea and very mobile,they are nigh on impossible to follow with a handheld phone and scope together. However, once in a while an individual bird can be very obliging. This happened to me in 2011 whilst staying at Dungeness Bird Observatory in Kent. Amazingly, a Long-tailed Skua flew along the shoreline and landed on the shingle for a clearly much-needed rest!
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| Copyright T.D. Wright! |
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| Copyright T.D. Wright |
Thrilled by my good fortune, I celebrated that night with a Steak and ale pie here..
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| Contort yourself! |
The next day, I was surprised to find it again by the fishing boats..
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| LT Skua (Copyright TD Wright) |
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| LT Skua (Copyright TD Wright) |
It was hovering over discarded fish heads and picking morsels of food even though it was on land.
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| What a magnificent Power Station |
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| LT Skua food (Copyright TD Wright) |
It then flew out onto the sea and I thought that was that.To my astonishment, it came back ashore and even flew towards me, clearly unafraid of humans. I got an even closer pic..
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| LT Skua (Copyright TD Wright) |
And another..
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| LT Skua (Copyright TD Wright) |
So there you have it. The only skua I've ever phonescoped and it's a Long-tailed! But that's birding-you still don't know for sure what you might find even with a lifetime's experience. I refer to these memories at this time of year when the Axe Estuary offers little excitement. Merry Xmas !
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| Buff-breasted Sandpiper(Copyright TD Wright) |
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| LT Skua (Copyright TD Wright) |
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| The right way up!(Copyright TD Wright) |
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| Dunge by Night(Copyright TD Wright) |
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| Dunge at Dusk(Copyright TD Wright) |
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