Bonby, 23rd May 2013

It's getting inevitably quieter on the gulling front, with the only highlight over the past few weeks being a new 3cy Med Gull on a visit to the home county's first breeding birds.

But a return to Bonby this week revealed yet more slurry-spreading in the field on the wolds, and 1,000+ big gulls commuting between there and the still flooded carrs. The flock was roughly divided 4:1 in favour of Herrings over LBBs, and at least 75% were 2cy birds. After several thorough checks, an early morning visit finally turned up the goods with a big 2cy Caspian Gull, all worn and messy as expected.

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...

Bonby, 8th April 2013

As I was passing, I couldn't resist another quick look at the gull fields, but they were deserted. The floods still held a small flock though, last week's throngs having apparently taken advantage of the fine weather at the weekend to migrate. More large gulls dropped in, and amongst them was the third 2cy Caspian Gull in eight days - lovely!

Bonby, 1st and 3rd April 2013

A much better few days in Lincs was still devoid of summer migrants but the continuing easterly wind seemed to be dissuading the gulls from leaving, and a remarkable 4,500 smalls were still feeding on the wolds and loafing on the carrs. The first look produced a mucky-faced 2cy (female?) Caspian Gull amongst the hordes.

There were also plenty of Meds, with 3 on Monday (adult, 2cy and white-ringed 4cy 35L6 with black marks in the outer primaries), and 5 on Wednesday (same as above along with a pair of adults, one of which was green-ringed but code not read). A very brief 2cy Iceland on Wednesday may well have been the bird from February.

Back on home turf it was hard to find anything amongst the gulls at Candles on 4th except for a dinky presumed intermedius.

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!

Priorslee and Candles, 18th March 2013

Once again an afternoon visit to the lake produced a few hundred large gulls, and this time the latest 2cy Iceland Gull was amongst them, looking remarkably small with a smooth whitish saddle across the upper mantle.

A dash over to the tip then followed, and whilst c1,000 gulls stood in the field (90% LBBs), a few hundred fed on the tip in the drizzle, including a big 4cy male Caspian Gull. Unfortunately it soon flew off north by itself, and I headed home, perplexed by the lack of supporting cast lately - no michs today for example.

Candles, 16th March 2013

A couple of hours under a bright but overcast Saturday sky only managed to find c300 large gulls across all the usual spots. But amongst the few feeding on the tip was the latest Telford Iceland Gull - a smooth, buffy 2cy found at Priorslee earlier in the week. Very nice, shame I forgot my camera. The 2cy mich from Leighton was there too.