Harlequin – Wick Bay and Harbours and River Wick, Wick, Caithness, 2^nd March 1991

A major score after a 500 mile journey to the north of mainland Scotland..... . We arrived in Wick at about 09:45 on the morning of Saturday the 2nd March, after driving to Inverness late into the night and ‘sleeping’ there before travelling on to our rendezvous.

A thrilling drive delivered us to the scene. We piled out – and looked down the river, and then we looked up the river – but there was no sign. We went further down to the harbour itself but there was still no sign. So, we hoped, it had to be at the lifeboat station. We drove there, taking the wrong route, but in doing so we managed to achieve a classic car tick – from the cliff-top, in amongst the crashing waves, there it was. Finally arriving at the right place, I was amazed to see a littoral ‘surf’ duck, a bird that coped supremely well with large swell and breaking waves.

As we viewed in riding the waves and diving it was hugely impressive. It was generally dark brown with a pale crescent shaped patch at the base of the bill and a whitish spot on the ear-coverts. It had blackish wing-tips. It also had a grey bill, although at times with better light it looked horn in colour.

It dived frequently in an auk-like manner, using its wings to swim to depth. Otherwise, it bobbed about in the surf.

Suddenly the bird seemed to decide to swim towards the harbour mouth in a very determined way – and then continued from the outer harbour to the inner harbour with us trailing in its wake. But then it flew – and we managed to lose it. Hunger called.

Birding Rule Number 3: If you have food then the bird will appear.

Sure enough, as Paul Pugh and Billy Aspin followed along with their fish and chips we were watching the bird back at the A9 road bridge over the River Wick. This allowed us to have immense views of a fantastic bird in a town centre location..... .

Possibly one of the most memorable aspects of the whole twitch was the car we used to get us there and back. I was working on the Shell North West Ethylene Pipeline Project at the time. The otherwise largely useless Dr Alan Ryder had asked me and the other Section Environmental Officers what he could do for us as the project moved towards construction. We argued that it was essential that we had suitable four-wheel drive vehicles. Fantastically, Alan delivered, and we were each given a brand new leased 4 x 4 Subaru Legacy. And a Shell fuel card. Mine was for me to use whilst working on Sections 4 and 5 of the pipeline, from south of Lancaster in Lancashire to Stanlow in Cheshire.

It was quite probably not for taking on 500 mile round trips to the north of Scotland.... . This said, it was a fantastic experience to drive such a good car, which was just made for such journeys on such roads. It was SO good to drive, and certainly for me, made the twitch the experience it was. And the fuel was free..... . Once back at work in Carrington the following week (or maybe the week after) I overhead someone saying, “Did you hear about some dickhead, taking his Subaru all the way to the north of Scotland?” where the card was used was identifiable. I said nothing, but neither did anyone else.

Unconnected with this I would hope, the respective Construction Managers for each section staged a coup soon afterwards as they couldn’t cope with the fact that the Environmental Officers had better vehicles than they did. It was nice whilst it lasted.... .

Somewhat in contrast, just over five years later, in April 1996 whilst I was working on the Scotland to Northern Ireland Pipeline Project, I was able to take a jaunt just some 25 miles northwards along the coast from Stranraer, to take in two female / immature Harlequins at Kennedy’s Pass, near Girvan, Ayrshire. Even closer, ‘tame’ views.

The dramatic scenes as we were searching for the Harlequin on arriving in Wick; Paul Pugh explaining to Billy Aspin and Neil Tasker(?) that it's out there somewhere. I love how the car matches the sea and sky.

An altogether more tranquil setting for seeing the Harlequin; on the River Wick in Wick town centre with Goldeneyes, Wick, Caithness, March 1991

A photograph no doubt taken by me of the Harlequin, Wick, near Girvan,  Caithness, March 1991

Harlequin, Wick, Caithness, March 1991

A Scaup I caught during  our journey back south  from Wick, as you do.  (photograph credited to Billy Aspin and inscribed  "BILL ASPIN R.B.P.L. Bird Photographic Specialist No. 103 Scaup (♂)

A postcard of the  bridge over the River Wick in Wick town centre, where we enjoyed our best views of the Harlequin; I must have been impressed!

My dodgy photographs of the two Harlequins at Kennedy's Pass, near Girvan, Ayrshire, April 1996 

Harlequins, Kennedy's Pass, near Girvan, Ayrshire, April 1996 (photograph credited to George Reszeter)

With apologies for replicating anything associated with the Daily Express, an article about twitching the Harlequins at  Kennedy's Pass, near Girvan, Ayrshire (Daily Express  15th April 1996)

Ivory Gull - South Kessock / Longman Sewage Outfall, Inverness, Highland, 20^th July 1995

After the mild (!!!!) disappointment of the Pallid Harrier and the fading prospect of Norfolk and its’ Serin and Collared Pratincole and optional (and as it turned out hypothetical) Great Black-headed Gull on the way, it all suddenly began to feel like fate when the news broke of an adult Ivory Gull at Inverness. I’d already arranged for the Friday off, and I then worked my escape so well that I left Creetown very early on Thursday 19th July – so early that I arrived back in South Queensferry before Gilly arrived back after an early shift. I chivvied her into some urgency on her return, and so we departed home by 14:45, and (so) arrived at Inverness by 17:00.

Unfortunately, nothing had been seen of the Ivory Gull for two hours by this time, and nothing we could do, including working the grim foreshore around the Kessock Bridge for some two or three hours, altered this depressing situation. Thwarted, we retired to Fortrose, and Chanory Point. We opted for a bed and breakfast in that part of the Black Isle.

The following morning news of the Ivory Gulls’ return cheered me greatly before breakfast. Better still, soon afterwards the news was updated and improved, apparently, as the bird was apparently at Kilmuir, on our side of the Beauly Firth.

Following a brief and close encounter with a Red Kite (as we drove down an enclosed beech avenue lane (?) towards Kilmuir it flew laboriously up the lane, and just over the car) we dipped at Kilmuir. We were similarly successful at Longman Sewage Outfall. However, we did meet Tony Collinson who was able to fill in the details of its earlier whereabouts, and we agreed we would to go back to South Kessock, where it had apparently been earlier on, and put out any positive news straight away on the pager. However, sure enough news came through that it was back at South Kessock.

As I was the bringer (or more accurately receiver) of the good news, in scenes reminiscent of Christchurch and the Little Bustard, we headed in convoy through North Inverness, towards the South Kessock Estate. We found the car park / information point beyond the estate, and here, other birders looking out over the seaweed-covered foreshore of the firth to an islet of pebbles beyond. Amongst the pebbles was a gleaming white bird – a gull, roosting, and occasionally, preening. We piled out of the car, and watched it for ages, just as drawn, by me, and apparently also by Martin Elliott. It just stayed there, just being brilliantly white, even whilst photographers edged closer, and closer and closer. Eventually, it took off, and flew around off South Kessock and then further up the firth, before returning, all the time in the ‘scope. It had a distinctive, languid flight. A description, at least of the plumage, seems somewhat superfluous it was just all white, with dark legs and two-tone bluey-grey and yellow bill. It was most like Common Gull in terms of size and shape, although it may have been bigger and was certainly heavier in build.

After some while showing well in flight, it disappeared out of sight back towards Longman Sewage Outfall, where it was later seen with other gulls. Gilly and I watched for ages, as befits such a star bird. Brilliant – a well-deserved tick after a long dry period!

So impressed were we that subsequently I put in a bid for a painting of the Ivory Gull by Martin Elliott, just as we had seen it. The painting was on offer on a closed bid basis as part of a competition in Birdwatch magazine. On our return from our Israel-Jordan-Egypt trip we found that we had been successful, and so now it hangs on my wall, in fitting tribute to the bird and a very enjoyable Highland weekend.

Subsequently, I saw a first-winter bird with Graham Clark and a young Ellen on a very cold day around New Year in 2002.

Ivory Gull, South Kessock / Longman Sewage Outfall, Inverness, Highland, July 1995 (photograph credited to Tony Collinson).

The painting of the same Ivory Gull by Martin Elliot that I subsequently won.

Ivory Gull, Montrose Basin, Angus and Dundee, around New Year 2002, complete with a very young Ellen in the car.