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.

Candles and Granville, 27th Jan 2014

After far too long away from the gulls (aside from a brief look at an impressive 2,400 large on the Buildwas floods on 13th which included the 1w Casp again and 6 michs (2 ads, 4cy, 3cy, 2 2cy)), it was time for a proper look for once. Unfortunately the River Severn has dropped and the floods have receded, meaning there is no reason for the gulls to use Buildwas any more, and even the tip itself was quiet. A steady trickle of gulls overhead, however, led me to a flock of c700 in a random grassy field nearby, but after only a couple of quick scans something spooked them and they dispersed. A single ad mich was my only reward.
Deciding on a drive around, I checked Horsehay and Priorslee but both were gull-free, and so I decided to drive down to Granville on the off chance. An adult Glauc had roosted at Belvide last night, which would have been nice. The sight of several hundred gulls greeted me, but an attempt at gaining permission to watch them was denied. A bit of sniffing around nearby fields followed, and I soon came across c1,200 large gulls loafing in a couple of fields by the crematorium off the A5. They were close, but views were tricky through the hedges, and it never quite felt like everything could be checked.

Eventually however a smart character materialised at the front of the flock - a new 2cy Caspian Gull. A nice bird, but there was something just not quite right about the head, and the greater coverts were a little more barred than you might like. However nothing put it outside the boundaries of what we increasingly realise to be a variable beast, just like all other large gulls. The silvery scaps with fine brown anchors, the worn brown coverts and tertials, the clean white underparts and hanging belly, and the long slender bill with a paler base all fitted the model, and a brief flight (alas captured only on my iPhone) revealed a perfect tail and an underwing that was certainly pale.

Buildwas and Candles, 3rd Jan 2014

Delicious but distant - "field views photos"

More time had passed than intended since my last visit to the local tip, but that's Christmas for you. During the intervening time it had rained seemingly continually, and so as I hurried down the Severn valley, expansive floods opened out on my right, and I had a sudden sense of deja vu, back to this day exactly a year ago. Just like then, c300 large gulls were loafing opposite Buildwas, and amongst them was a Caspian! This time though it was a stonking 1st-winter with a gleaming white head and long skinny bill. Superb. After a few minutes the flock was flushed by nearby shots, and swirled north, towards the tip.

Up the hill there were only c300 gulls on the tip in the wind, but they included a super-smart ad mich and the recent "poor man's Ivory Gull" -a pure white leucistic LBBG. First time I'd seen it, and it was a belter. Later on the Casp appeared, but never settled. It looked fantastic in flight, pot-bellied and long-necked with dazzling underwings, and added itself to the list of such birds that made me wish I had a DSLR over my shoulder...

Another go the following day was frustrating, but the tip produced 3 michs (ad, nr-ad and 2cy).

Elsham, 30th Dec 2013

It's been a long time since I enjoyed the sight of throngs of gulls following a familiar tractor on the North Lincs Wolds, and I was beginning to wonder what was happening to all the sh*t. But at dusk yesterday, from my vantage point down in the Ancholme Valley, an unusually large number of gulls headed north along the wolds to roost on the Humber. Dawn saw a vast column of birds streaming south into the wind over the villages of Bonby and Worlaby, and once I was finished I followed them up to a familiar spot - Newland Hill, Elsham. The sight of c5,000 gulls feeding voraciously within yards of the road was a delight to behold, just a shame the rain had arrived.

Within minutes of parking up, a soggy juv Iceland Gull materialised on the front edge of the flock, followed shortly afterwards by a smart 2cy Caspian Gull, the first of two present as a brief 1cy popped up later. The majority of the flock consisted of Herring Gulls, with a high proportion of big, dark argentatus, many stained with mud down their fronts.

The main interest of the day, however, stood out even from these ugly brutes as it hunkered down into the wind and rain at the back of the flock. Thoughts immediately turned to smithsonianus, due to the overall smooth darkness with constrasting pale head, dark mask and heavy pink-based bill. The relative immaturity of the upperparts for a 2cy, with just a handful of grey mantle feathers below the smooth dark shawl, made it look younger than nearby 2cy Herrings. But the greater coverts leapt out at me - a solid block of dark brown feathers with just a little marbling on the inners - wow. Tertials looked ok, with dark muddy bases, and the smooth brown body feathering extended well down onto the belly. But the tail... impossible to see at rest, and when it flew it gave me no notice, so the only photo is as good as useless. Another brief view on the deck and then the flock went up and I lost it into the rain - the tail looked dark, but then they can on 2w Herrings, and I couldn't say whether there was any pale in the outer edge.

Alas I won't be able to look again for a while now, but with a bit of luck the tractor will get back to work in January, and there will be plenty to look at for a month or two into 2014...

Candles, 19-20th Dec 2013

Brief ad Casp in the twilight

An unexpected time window meant I could stop at the tip on the way home from work, but I arrived at the same time as the rain, and within the hour it was sleeting and almost dark! Still, partly as a result of the weather, the gulls were feeding like mad and amongst the melee I soon picked out a gleaming white head with a beady eye. A few wing-stretches and aggressive interactions revealed the tell-tale details, but the bill however was brighter than the recent couple of adult Caspians, suggesting it must be another new individual - that's 4 this month including Jim's bird from 10th.

The next day I had our smallest with me so restricted myself to a short lunchtime vigil by Horsehay Pool with a bag of chips to keep her busy. No Casps this time, but the juv Iceland Gull dropped in for a quick scrub up, despite having been missing from Salop and Belvide for a week. A few interesting grey mantles dropped in too, including a hulking bruiser of a 3w mich, a presumed hybrid HGxLB, and finally a mystery gull with a hint of 3w cach about it...
 

Big 3w mich

Hybrid type

3w mich? cach? hybrid?

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).