TMR, Permit holders only. 1530 - 1745hrs, Cloudy, rain showers , WSW>5.
With the pull of the gulls in my head it was back to TMR late afternoon which rewarded me with a hat trick,
Mediterranean gull , Yellow Legged Herring gull and Green Sandpiper.
The gulls were well on form with around 1000 gulls to sift through, the only disturbance today being the local helicopter which spooked them a couple of times.
The YL gull was easy with only 4 light mantled birds, 3 being Herrings and the other showing the large fierce head and kindly kept lifting up out of the water preening showing its bright yellow legs.
This is a different bird to the last one I had, the other being a full adult and this one being a 3rd year bird with a dark smudge on its head.
A good scope through the BHGs found nothing until around 1630hrs another 40 birds came in from the direction of Cullingworth fields and as I scoped them on the water there was the Med gull in the centre of them, its bright red bill and deep hood standing out although its hood was well in moult, more so than NCDs bird yesterday.
On the way out I stopped the car to check the lagoons not expecting anything but peering from the car I briefly saw a small wader on the waters edge. After grabbing the camera off the passenger seat I carefully got out of the car but the noise of the car had already alerted it and then me putting my ugly mug above the wall finished it off and away it went towards the reservoir.
To my pleasure ,as I started firing shots willy nilly I could see it was another Green Sandpiper, or the same bird from yesterday, its bright white rump standing out.
Its 4 year since I had a Green Sand which were once common, and now Ive had 2 in 2 days.
A perfect end to a good weekend.
c400 LBBs
c300 BHGs
c50 Common gull
3 Herring gull
1 YL Herring
1 Med gull
7 Curlew
c60 Lapwing
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Green Sandpiper.
As I arrived the sheep farmer told me he had just witnessed a Merlin taking a Meadow Pipit out of thin air.
BS