Rufforth & Alne tips, 19th Jan 2015

Flock after flock of large gulls streamed in from roost on arrival, but despite a good drive around, there weren't any in the fields yet. A bit of imagination soon yielded good views of the birds on the tip itself, and immediately a big white gull flew over and away - a leucistic GBB, quite possibly the Norwegian ringed bird seen on and off over the previous months. A good trawl through the birds on the tip, virtually all Herrings, eventually produced a smart ad Glauc.

Just up the road, a short detour took me to Alne tip where c500 gulls harboured a 2cy Caspian Gull, just a shame the views were so poor.

The following day, after filling the hours with Tundra Beans and Little Auks, squeezed in a visit to the impressive North Shields Fish Quay, where the big juv Glauc was loafing on a roof.