Buildwas and Candles, 3rd Jan 2013

The first visit to the tip of the new year took me past the huge floods alongside the River Severn at Buildwas, and a few hundred big gulls demanded a quick look. 2 ad michs and a huge (GBB-sized) 4cy Caspian Gull were the rewards.

Despite superficially looking older, the primary pattern, dark primary coverts and black in the tail all added up to a 3rd-winter.

Up at the tip, the balance had swung further in favour of HGs, with maybe 1,200 compared to 800 LBBs, and an impressive 100 GBBs along with 5 michs. Late on, as a wave of c700 gulls flew in from the north (off the quarry?), I picked up a Glauc in flight, judged to be a 3cy based on the patchy buff and white plumage and pink-based bill, but I lost it as a few hundred birds headed off south, presumably to Chelmarsh.