Thursday 14th April was grey and claggy but with a free day to myself I decided to take a walk at Wembury before my return to work the next day (Good Friday). Arriving at Wembury and the coast was totally shrouded in sea mist, I couldn't even see The Mewstone offshore, but as the morning progressed the mist cleared and it became a warm and sunny day.
Visibility was poor as I started my walk towards The Point but Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were singing away in the gloom. Frustratingly I had a brief glimpse of a probable Willow Warbler feeding in the brambles, I only saw it briefly before it was gone but it didnt seem bright enough for a Willow Warbler, not helped perhaps by the poor light, and it did flick its tail in a Chiffchaff like manner. I also saw a probable Whimbrel flying over the rocks at low tide, again a brief view before it was lost in the mist and unfortunately it was silent as it flew away.
A Swallow was more confiding, it appeared to fly in off the sea as it just suddenly emerged from the mist, it headed off quickly inland but not before it did a few loops over the cliffside in what seemed to be excitement and relief at finally reaching land in the awful visibility.
With the mist clearing a pair of Sandwich Tern were found roosting on the rocks before flying off along the shoreline to dive for fish. I also had better views of 2 Red-legged Partridge in the wheatfield, in the mist they had looked like mounds of mud poking out from the germinating wheat leaves.
Stonechat, Cirl Bunting, Kestrel, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Raven, Shelduck and Oystercatcher were also seen and a Jay was heard squawking in the undergrowth in Churchwood Valley, my first of the year here. Unfortunately there was no sign of any Wheatears again.
Bloody- nose Beetle, Black Oil Beetle, Common Lizard, Peacock and 2 brief flyby White butterfly species were also seen and I also found what I believe to be a Yellow-legged Mining Bee. I have been trying to ID Bees when I'm out and about but I must confess to finding them very tricky to identify (although the yellow legs make it easier to ID than most).
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While out walking I started to become very sneezey, it felt like hayfever which I usually only suffer from in July and August. My nose was itchy and irritated and I kept producing copious amounts of clear snot (yum!) but I felt OK in myself. Arriving home and with being back indoors the sneezing stopped and so I assumed it was indeed a type of hayfever I was suffering from but by the evening I felt odd and with work looming the next day I took an LFT test only to find the bloody thing was positive! Bollocks!
I didnt feel too bad and I'm surprised I haven't caught it before now as I work in the main hospital in Plymouth and have looked after quite a few COVID positive patients, most of my colleagues have had it and I am now one of the last ones on my unit to contract it.
I went to bed early but awoke in the night feeling dreadful, experiencing rigours, coughing, headache, joint pains and tachycardia and by morning I felt washed out and exhausted.
I would assume I had picked up COVID before we headed off to Hull to see the Albatross although there was very little COVID awareness going on at the viewing platform at Bempton with birders elbowing their way in amongst the crowd and lots of non-birding families out for an Easter school holiday walk adding to the throng. I did try to keep myself on the periphery of the crowd and I hope I haven't infected others but I guess this is what living with COVID is going to be like. Maybe I did actually contract it at Bempton but I guess I'll never know for sure
A staff PCR test at the hospital on Friday 15th April confirmed the positive LFT test but it was no surprise to me as I felt awful, there was nothing good about Good Friday this year as I spent it on the sofa feeling like shite - restless, achey, agitated, nauseous, pyrexial and headachey, even my eyeballs ached! I eventually managed to fall asleep on the sofa at about 9pm for an hour and on waking up I surprisingly felt much better before heading up to bed for a remarkably restful nights sleep.
The next day I felt better again, very tired and full of cold but able to at least get of the sofa now and then. What a very weird little virus COVID is.
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