Leach's petrel, Pennington Flash

I was in a meeting at Birchwood that was just drawing to a close at 11:45 when I glanced at my phone to see a message from Gordon Newman some 15 minutes earlier which immediately jolted me out of my slumbers. "Are you at the Flash now? Possible petrel only seen briefly but is constantly harassed by gulls". I fired off a quick reply to Gordon and informed a couple of other birders who I knew might be on site and then I exited the building stage left and headed for my car.  

I told myself that logically it could only be Leach's. There's been a few passing the North West coast over the past few days and the peak time for what few stormies we get in the North West is more like July or August, not September. Moreover Pennington Flash has form when it comes to Leach's petrel, and if I managed to see this bird it would be my third at the site. Storm petrel on the other hand would be completely unprecedented. 

Over the 20 minute or so journey from Birchwood to Green Lane I was bombarded with information from the Flash and the identification was confirmed as Leach's petrel. I headed for the place which would allow me to view as much of the water as possible and as quickly as possible, Green Lane.

After a couple of desperate scans across the water it was with much relief that I picked up the petrel flying west past the Ruck with it's entourage of gulls. It flew right down to the bottom end of the flash and was not seen again by me. That's how close it was. 

Thanks to Gordon Newman for the information which allowed me to get there in the nick of time.

Pennington Flash does relatively well for seabirds, over the years I've seen Manx shearwater, Sabine's gull, shag and kittiwake, while birds that have been seen but not by me include great and arctic skua.

Exactly why it drew the attention of the gulls I'm not sure, though the larger gulls probably viewed it as potential prey.

Spot the petrel. I love my crap photos 😆