Arctic
Skua at Stocks Reservoir.
13th
May 2002.
By
Tony Disley.
Having successfully twitched and filmed the Spoonbill at Stocks Reservoir I returned to the hide to check the other parts of the reservoir.
After watching the Ringed Plover and Dunlin at the Hodder Inlet I located 3 Red breasted Merganser (2 m & 1f), which were showing well and indulging in a little display as the rain and wind picked up.
As I scanned the inlet again with my binoculars I picked up a Skua flying low over the water coming towards the hide, it was immediately identifiable as an Arctic Skua with a combination of tail shape overall size and jizz.
As I watched it fly past the hide it then continued low over the water towards the causeway where it began to slowly gain height and was finally given some attention by the local Black headed Gulls before I lost it behind trees near the causeway.
I waited a few minutes scanning the reservoir back and forth thinking it would reappear before collecting my things together and heading off for the causeway.
Despite scanning from the causeway the bird was not seen again and I assume it just went straight through and away to the S.E.
The
bird was in view for only a couple of minutes and appeared to be an intermediate
adult.
All
the previous East Lancashire (within OS map 103) Arctic Skua records are
detailed below:
1973: Juv at Rishton reservoir
on 3rd September (D.
Jackson)
1976: Juv Skua Longridge res previously thought to be
Pomarine on a date in October (MJA) now considered to be Arctic.
1978:
One Stocks reservoir 7th June (APC, SJF)
1984: Ad flew high East over Heasandford, Burnley 1st June (SED)
1984: One flew SW over Whitemoor res in gales 1st September (SED)
1987:
Ad flew NE at Foulridge res 16th May (SED)
1994: Three flew west then south towards Rowley Lake, over
Burnley, at 07.40hrs on 16th May (CT)
The
following records were also in East Lancashire but outside the 103 OS Square:
1985:
One at Belmont res 3 August.
1995: A juv roosted at Springs res 27 August