Blyth, Teesside & Rufforth, 4th-6th March 2015

After Monday's excitement, the rest of my week away felt quite tame, but a selection of white-winged gulls kept the interest up.
First off was a bright juv Iceland Gull that joined the gulls gathering on the rocks off Blyth harbour on the morning of the 4th, just a shame the light was so bright.

Later that day I was down on Teesside, and whilst watching a smart GND off South Gare, a big buffy juv Glauc threw itself into a small feeding flock nearby.

The following day was spent on Teesside again, and the long-staying juv Glauc was amongst fewer gulls than of late at Seaton Carew.

On the 6th I had time for another look at Rufforth on the way south, but the sun came out as I arrived, and the heat haze made viewing a challenge. All was not lost though, and I left with a fine haul: the ad Kumlien's, ad Iceland, ad Glauc, new 2cy Caspian Gull and the big white leucistic GBB. Not bad!

Albert Village Lake, 20th & 25th Feb, 2015

Longer days means more time to play on the way home from work, and a couple of visits to my new found playground were squeezed into the end of the month. Fewer gulls were present that in January, but the totals were still quite satisfactory.

On 20th there was an adult and a 2cy Casp on the bank across the road on arrival, and later I found a 3cy on the lake (which then showed up in a flight shot from the original bank! photo above). Later on that afternoon a big flush of the all the gulls on site resulted in a brief flight view of the recent 4cy Glauc too.

Five days later there were fewer gulls again, but the spotty-mantled 3cy Casp showed on the lake again, followed by the dirty-headed 2cy from back in January! A second 3cy was seen only briefly preening on the far bank before being flushed by a dog. Half a dozen michs were seen both days too.

Seaton Carew, 13th & 19th Feb 2015

Two visits to Teesside in two weeks meant two visits to North Gare and the adjacent Seaton Meadows landfill, and on each lunchtime foray I was rewarded with two juv Glaucs. However there were three birds involved, as the dark, almost chocolate juv seen on 13th was not one of the two more typical birds seen on 19th.

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.

Arglam and South Cave, 12-13th March 2014

A couple of days at work in early spring sunshine produced a couple of larid highlights: a big white juv Glauc flew SE over my head at Arglam amongst the throng of Herrings bound for roost on the Humber in the evening of 12th; and a 3cy Iceland stood out a mile amongst Black-heads following a plough by the A63 as I shot past at 80mph on 13th!

Rufforth, 30th Jan 2014

Following the veritable gullfest at York's mega tip earlier in the week, I couldn't resist a trip up after work elsewhere in the county. I arrived to hear that the infamous airfield, where the views are so good, had been subject to disturbance all morning, and as a result the many thousands of gulls were spread over various fields, as well as the tip itself. But there was good news too - the 4cy Kumlien's Gull was on show straight away. Very nice to get in on this winter's influx. A dinky ad Glauc made an appearance as well, followed by a very pale 2cy Viking Gull. Not bad.

Gallymoor, 18th Dec 2013

Left and right

A jam-packed work schedule in the run up to Christmas meant I could barely afford the bimonthly look at Gallymoor landfill en route between sites, but with a field full of gulls, it would have been rude not to stop. And before I'd even turned off the engine, I'd seen the creamy form of a 2cy Glauc on the edge of the flock - just what I was hoping for. Whilst similar in patchiness to last week's bird just across the Humber, it felt a bit more svelte - a female this time?

It's always worth one more scan though, and after a bit of a flush of birds off the tip, a slinky little 2cy Caspian Gull suddenly appeared. What a cracker!
 

Candles, 13th Dec 2013

An Iceland, but a big one

With a 4th birthday party to prepare for, my time was limited, but the juv Iceland Gull that had been roosting nightly at Belvide must be feeding on Candles, surely? Priorslee was crap, but the tip was buzzing, and after only 20 minutes or so a smooth creamy white form appeared - the Belvide Iceland. Result.
A trio of michs (ad, nr-ad and 1w) was a decent haul for such a brief visit.

The day before, the briefest of checks of Bagmoor in Lincs produced a mere 200 large gulls (compared to 2,000+ recently!) with a huge 2cy Glauc on the close edge (into the sun unfortunately).

Elsham, 17th April 2013

A good day of spring gulling nearly got forgotten amongst a busy couple of weeks at work, but a few checks of the gull fields on the Lincolnshire Wolds back on 17th April, I got the set!

Despite a constant stream of mainly Herring Gulls SW all day, there were still c1500 settled in the fields, and late morning I came across another 2cy Caspian Gull, making a least 4 different individuals through here in the last few weeks.

Lunchtime down on the carrs produced another few hundred gulls sleeping it off, and a 2cy Glaucous Gull had joined them.

Finally, back up on the wolds before I left in the afternoon, and a 2cy Iceland Gull made a brief appearance before heading off into the wind. All very nice.
Back home, there was something naggingly familiar about the Casp, and looking through previous photos, I reckon its been here before - 4 months ago! Certainly very similar...

Candles and Priorslee, 28th March 2013

After a week all but devoid of large gulls out east, a few Meds providing the only interest, returned to Shropshire to find several hundred Black-heads on Priorslee Lake along with... a 1w Med! Still no large though, so moved to Candles where c200 large gulls were standing in the snow across the road, and amongst them was last week's dinky 2cy Iceland Gull. Another c300 gulls were feeding on the tip, one of the long-staying 3cy michs included, and a scan through the loafers up on the top produced a big 2cy Glaucous Gull!

Lunchtime on the tip resulted in a reduction in gull numbers so tried my luck back at the lake, and on arrival the Glauc was splashing about just off the layby.

A scan through the swelling flock turned up a smart ad mich and a 4/5cy Caspian Gull, looking virtually adult except for a dark mark on the bill, some brown in the coverts and a tertial, and a single small black blob on a tail feather... so more likely a 4cy?

But arguably the highlight was an adult hybrid Ring-billed x Lesser Black-backed Gull. Almost certainly the same bird as was here in Feb 2012, but in clean-headed summer plumage now, the slightly smaller size, lighter-toned mantle and distinctive ringed bill were a perfect match. Good to see it again!

Gallymoor, 12th March 2013

Another week in the east, this time in the sun, and a lunchtime visit to the field opposite Beechwood Cafe on the A614 produced a sleepy 2cy Glauc amongst a couple of hundred Herrings and GBBs. A few days later there was a sudden lack of large gulls going over Saxby Wolds in a morning.

On 14th I headed home via the Telford gull sites, but only mustered a 3cy mich at Priorslee and a 2cy on the river at Leighton.

Priorslee and Candles, 28th Feb 2013

An early return from work under annoyingly sunny skies meant a quick look at Priorslee Lake, and I was shocked to see c500 large gulls on the water. A scan with bins located the uglier 3cy Iceland Gull, and then a closer look revealed a 2cy Caspian Gull. The particularly silvery mantle and plain brown coverts got me thinking, and on closer examination of scapular pattern it was obvious that it was a new bird - 2cy number 6 and Caspian number 12 for me!

It flew to the jetties at the far end to preen amongst the Black-heads, showing off its long neck and much white underparts than last week's bird (which it otherwise quite closely resembled). The Iceland then landed on the jetties briefly before everything flushed back onto the water.

Another scan (adding the resident drake Scaup to the list) and there were two wingers at the far end of the lake - the 3cy Iceland and the 3cy Glauc, side by side! Very nice.
Despite all this activity, like a moth to the flame I was drawn to Candles, and I arrived to find the tip-face edging ever closer to the viewpoint, and the views were superb. Unfortunately the numbers were not, and an adult and smart 2cy michs were the best I could muster.

Candles and Horsehay, 22nd Feb 2013

 "It's never as good the next day" has proved correct on many occasions, and by lunchtime it looked as if it would do so again. Admittedly the latest 3cy Iceland Gull had shown itself superbly on the pool (is it me, or is there a certain kumlieni feel to it?), but the gulls on the tip were a nightmare, never settling for a minute.

A trip to Priorslee to eat my chips proved fruitless, but one last look at the tip on the way home produced a new 3cy Glauc within minutes, and over the next 50 minutes we added last week's 3cy Iceland and the recent enormous white 2cy Glauc to the haul (the latter the same bird as called a 3cy on 3rd Jan)! Four wingers in a day, and not a sniff of a cach!

Saxby, 19th Feb 2013

A few days at work in Lincs were plagued by fog but interspersed with bright sunshine, and on 19th there were small gulls everywhere at Saxby, following a selection of ploughs. A handful of adult Meds were picked out, and at 2.35pm I looked up to see a gleaming 2cy Iceland Gull soaring overhead! Two hours later, thousands of gulls were streaming north to roost on the Humber, and in a more distant group I picked up a big buffy 2cy Glauc dwarfing the surrounding Black-heads. Both wingers in an afternoon! Next day the Iceland was relocated in another ploughed field with 4 adult Meds in the area, but no Glauc.

Lincs, late Dec 2012

A couple of days at work straight after the Christmas festivities made for a pleasant change of scenery, and the gulls put on a fine show. On 27th I made a quick trip to Kirkby on Bain, my last for a while as the nearby contract has come to an end, and was pleased to see c800 large gulls on the pit north of the tip, including a cracking ad Glauc.

A couple of oddities were present too, including a bird that whilst showing a few similarities to a 3w mich must surely have been a hybrid, based on mantle tone and structure.

The following day I was up in North Lincs, where the tractor that attracted the Thayer's Gull in April has been at work for several weeks on the wolds near Bonby. Incredibly there has been nothing amongst the hordes of mainly Herrings since an early juv Glauc in mid-November, but this time I picked up an elusive juv Iceland and a superb 1w Caspian. A couple of Meds, some stonking Argies and the odd freak made for some enjoyable hours watching.