My car's standing useless on the drive; for the third time since we moved here, the front suspension spring has broken and the bumper is almost resting on the ground. It's booked in for repair next week at the local garage (which doesn't fill me with confidence, given that last time my car was there someone drove into it and it required a new bonnet).
To cheer myself up, I went on yet another pelagic - and got a seat in the front row of the indoor observation deck. It was nice to sit comfortably in the quiet for a change and watch the scenery as we moved down the loch.
I can see that great views must be had if seabirds are crossing the bows, but I found the tinted glass a mite depressing. If you look out through the clear side glass, it's as if you're looking into a different country; you suddenly realise that the sun is shining! In any case I had no intention of staying here, and once past the Summer Isles I went up onto the open decks, opting once more for the higher one where I had the short rail more or less to myself.
Trouble was, I saw very little of interest. No petrels or shearwaters - and only a couple of distant skuas. I spotted this one through the bins as it harassed a kittiwake; it soon gave up and I somehow got the camera onto it as it flew low over the waves. I couldn't possibly see enough details to identify it, so I'm glad I got the pics, poor though they are.
The trouble is, after hours of reading up on skuas in my bird books and looking at photos and articles by experts on the internet, I still don't know what it is! I lean towards Pomarine - the bluish bill appears to have a fairly small black tip, and the body perhaps has the deep chest and belly of a pom, while the middle pic seems to suggest a bit of a non-pointed extension to the tail: but then again, is the head large enough, the bill long and strong enough? When Greger asked if I'd come to any conclusions I said I hadn't - but that at least I knew a bit more about skuas now. "Ah," he said, "you're still confused then - but you're confused on a higher level." On a quick search I couldn't find who originally came up with this quote - but it certainly describes my present state of mind.
On the other hand, so does "Aaaarrrrgh!!!!"
