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)