Longnor, 4th Nov 2013

roadside cachinnans

After finding Venus Pool disturbed and deserted, tried for the Longnor Dippers but failed there too. However, on reaching the A49, c20 LBs flew from a potato field and landed in front of me, along with a cracking 1w Caspian Gull! Easy. Just a shame I didn't have a camera other than my phone with me...

Candles, 31st Oct 2013

An overdue trip to the tip paid off in style when I was offered access to some much better views of the feeding gulls. Amongst c700 LBBs I was surprised to see barely any Herring Gulls, and of those that were present, many had a certain Scandinavian air to them. A monstrous ad GBBG stood out from the crowd, and I eventually racked up a total of 8 michs: 4 adults, a cachy near-adult, and single 3cy 2cy and 1cy.

The undoubted highlight though, despite brief views, was a lovely 2cy Caspian Gull with a heavy shawl and tiny bullet-hole eye. Could this age group be a feature of late autumn before the 1w birds get here?
Unusually hybrids appeared thin on the ground this time, but one adult with yellowy-flesh legs certainly felt a bit mixed-up.