11th Nov 2015

A quick walk this morning before work was quite productive, but only for anyone interested in gulls and I have to admit I'm really getting the bug! The only other birds that caught my attention were several Meadow Pipits and a couple of Skylarks going over. There was also a few reasonably sized flocks of Wood Pigeons going over, each flock being  around a hundred birds.

To start with I scanned through the Black-headed Gulls looking for leg rings. I did spot one ring but it flushed before I could get the details. So I moved on to the Lesser Black-backs that were beginning to gather. There was at least seven Common Gulls with them, with a few birds coming and going. It wasn't long before and adult Yellow-legged Gull dropped in.

Next I spotted a third calender year bird amongst the group.

I had been looking at them for a while before I noticed the third, which is a second calender year bird. I took my time with this one to be sure of the identification (and I think I've got it right). It was often next to Lesser Black-backs of the same age for comparison. I managed to see all three close together before I left.

Mark Ribbons visited this afternoon and had a good haul of birds. The best of which was a Willow Tit in the wood by the railway bridge but there was also two Siskins, two Treecreepers, Kingfisher and a nice list of commoner species.