Mad 5 minutes on the Orme!

This morning was blustery, cold and quiet for the first three hours of light. A lone Swift and 2 Black Guillemots were the highlights and I wish I'd stayed in bed. I returned to the car and grabbed my flask for a final five minutes sat on the picnic tables at the north end. Rain was in the air and the wind increased even further. Suddenly four Redpolls battled their way against the wind, flying in off the sea straight in front of me....lesser, lesser, lesser..... Common! A cracking large, pale bird with nice pale cheeks and white rump and tramlines. As I lifter my camera, they lifted into the air and away they went with the wind. Almost immediately a Yellow Wagtail started calling from behind me and a quick scan revealed two cracking male birds, perhaps the two that were seen last weekend and on and off during the week. As I enjoyed cracking views I became aware of a crest calling from the northern most gorse bush. The pulse quickened as thoughts turned to my first Firecrest of the year. A few seconds later this was confirmed as a super little jewel of a bird performed well in the, by now, driving rain. As I watched a strange moment when a Grey Heron flew in off the sea, struggling against the wind before landing on the limestones. I've seen them fly over before, but this was the first I'd seen land on the pavements!