Seawatching - it isn't everyone's cup of tea. Watching birds whizz by at distances varying from very close in to shore to way, way out on the horizon and trying to ID them as best as you can, is a challenge, but like most birding, the more you do it, the better you get at it (hopefully).
I am generally a fair weather sea-watcher, although being in receipt of a key for the Fife Bird Club seawatching hide at Fife Ness now, has increased the scope for me participating in slightly less favourable "outdoors" conditions. These wet, wild and windy conditions however can be the best conditions for this type of birdwatching.
What you can expect to see varies with the time of year, and even to an extent, the time of day. Strong winds blowing towards the coast from off the sea bring birds closer in than normal. Auks, Divers, Grebes, Cormorants, Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Gannets, Storm Petrels, Fulmars, Shearwaters, Ducks and Waders can all be seen with a spot of luck. Surprises can include raptors such as Ospreys and Owls coming in from off the sea on migration. Passerines can also be seen from time to time either funneling by following the coastline, or also arriving after a flight over the sea, on migration.
So, how do you seawatch? Find a prominent headland, such as Fife Ness, and sit. Watch what flies by. A scope is very handy for those distant specks, but using one constantly means that you are limiting your field of view to a small patch of sea and sky. I tend to use binoculars and my camera fitted with a Bigma (Sigma 50-500mm) lens to ID the birds. I ID them to family level with the binoculars, then hopefully narrow it down to species from the photo I have hopefully managed to get. It isn't always easy to track a bird against a choppy sea with binoculars and then pick up the same bird through the viewfinder of the camera. When it works, it is handy for studying the photos later, as well as initially identifying the bird. Other times, I am left with a blur, or a wingtip or head popping out from behind a wave.
The months from July to October tend to be seawatching season, with breeding birds passing by to their wintering grounds. My most enjoyable day spent seawatching was 25th July 2011. I had been out birding the previous day in Angus when a flurry of reports came in of Storm Petrels being seen in unusually high numbers from Fife Ness and Crail. As I was unable to get there that Sunday, and the Monday being a local holiday, I decided to head for "the Ness" in the hope it wasn't just a one-day wonder. As it turned out I wasn't disappointed.
Getting of the bus in Crail I walked down to the park overlooking Roome Bay and scanned over the water. The very first bird I picked up was flitting around over the waves like a black and white butterfly, backwards and forwards seemingly randomly. My very first Storm Petrel anywhere. It wasn't to be the last of the day. I walked along the coast, stopping to scan at regular intervals, invariably adding another Storm Petrel or two as I did so. Hundreds of Gannets passed by, unmistakable with their large white shape tipped with black wingtips and a pale yellowish tinge to the head, pointed at all four ends - wings, tail and head, routing to and from their breeding colony on the Bass Rock on the other side of the Forth.
Auks and Terns from the Isle of May shuttled back and forth also, fetching and carrying food for their young. Reaching the rocks at Fife Ness, I found a relatively comfortable spot to sit and hopefully see some of my other target species - Skuas and Shearwaters in particular.
I didn't have to wait for too long before I saw my first Manx Shearwater heading north, characteristically shearing the waves as it went, black on the upperside, white on the underside against the grey of the sea and sky. A little later, my second Shearwater species followed it northwards, a Sooty Shearwater.
More Manxies passed by, as groups of Gannets cruised past at a variety of distances, gliding upwards at times before dropping back down towards the wave tops. Kittiwakes and Sandwich Terns added to the list of species. The Sandwich Terns in particular being rather vocal as they flew past, sometimes diving headlong into the sea and emerging with a fish. Sometimes a Kittiwake would give chase attempting to deprive the Tern of its catch. A few more Storm Petrels were seen further out to sea. A mixed flock of Guillemots and Razorbills hunted not far offshore and Cormorants and Shags could also be seen as they flew out to and from the small rocky islands to the north of where I was sitting. The light was very good, with little haze, so I was able to get relatively good photos of most of the species seen.
A Gannet spotted a fish and plunged into the water. When it surfaced it had drawn the attentions of a mixed flock of Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes and a Great Black Backed Gull. It chose not to stick around taking off after a run along the surface of the water. An Arctic Skua scooted low over a group of Auks but paid them no attention as they sat on the surface. A Red Throated Diver passed over, not too far out, but slightly higher than most of the traffic. A few more Storm Petrels zipped around, with three at once dancing around inches above the waves. Another group of Manxies headed north and Fulmar was a late addition to the party.
Soon, it was time to head back to Crail for my bus home, after a very enjoyable couple of hours. Although not a typical day, it illustrates just what a variety can be seen locally. There are far better locations around further afield, but Fife Ness is within relatively easy travelling distance by public transport for me, so is my location of choice for this type of birding. Anything can, and does turn up while seawatching.
Species seen while seawatching that day were -
Eider, Red Throated Diver, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Storm Petrel, Gannet, Cormorant, Shag, Grey Heron, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Arctic Skua, Black Headed Gull, Hering Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Kittiwake, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Razorbill, Guillemot, Swallow, Pied Wagtail and Linnet.
More of my seawatching photos from Fife Ness and a few other locations can be seen here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonefaction/sets/72157635499223172/