Horsehay and Candles, 6th Feb 2014

Back from work and straight to the crematorium, but not many gulls! A 2w mich was the best I could muster, but then it became apparent the nearby Granville tip was closed. So a hop across town, and a glance at Horsehay Pool in the rain, and for once there were gulls to look at. A couple of big flushes off the tip meant birds kept turning over, and it wasn't long before the gleaming white head of a smart 2w Caspian Gull materialised amongst the bathing gulls. Unfortunately it lingered for less than two minutes before heading back towards the tip, but was followed by a couple of shiny ad michs before everything was put up by a heron.

very white underwing and a cheeky P10 mirror

I moved to the field opposite the tip, and amongst c600 large it was disappointing not to get more views of the cach, but a different 2w caught my eye. Oddly young-looking, with a mainly brown mantle of plain scaps with dark centres, and a nice Glaucy bill, it rang a few smithish bells, but the underparts and head were a bit pale. Eventually it flew, and a bit of video revealed a good dark tail and well-barred rump, so who knows?

Granville, 3rd Feb 2014

With only an hour free this afternoon, it was disappointing to see Candles deserted, Horsehay nearly so and Priorslee typically dead. So it all came down to the crematorium, across the fields from Granville landfill, and a sea of gulls greeted me. A very high proportion of LBBs was nice to see, and after a big flush, a cracking ad Caspian Gull appeared amongst the first gulls to resettle. After a little while it was joined by an ad mich, and despite a bit of a display, the mich ignored it.