Rufforth, 5th August 2015

After drawing a blank a few weeks ago, I still couldn't resist a quick look en route from Teesside to Goole, and I was glad I did: 1000 large gulls roosting on the airfield under alternating cloud/ hazy sunshine. Following an encounter at the end of last winter, I viewed from the verge rather than the airfield itself, and the views were just as good.

bird 1 (tail imset)

As usual the majority were Herrings, but very early on I scanned onto a familiar looking juv, all sepia tones and simple coverts, white head and awkward posture - a juv Caspian Gull! It was busy preening, and never gave me a satisfactory profile, but everything was right, and views of the spread tail and underwing showed everything you'd want to see.

bird 2 (underwing inset)

I went back to scanning the flock as more birds poured in off the tip, but pickings were slim: 2 juv michs the highlight until a sense of deja-vu hit me - another, dinkier juv Caspian Gull at the back of the flock! It immediately sat down and went to sleep, but as I got my phone video on it, it woke up and flew off, revealing a dazzling white underwing. Something about it made me think it might just have been the bird from Roos last month...