Yesterdays update and Back to Leeshaw.

 As first thought, yesterdays Herring gull at Leeshaw was
indeed a 3cy Yellow Legged Herring gull , Larus Michahellis.
On blowing the image up the yellow legs show along with the
darker mantle plus the butch head shape is a give away.
KM e mailed me to confirm this and to say he had this same
bird with the blue leg ring at Oxenhope res 2/6/17.

 The LBB gull with the leg ring is of the race
L.f. intermedius and thanks again to Keith Moir for
the information that this bird was ringed in Norway
18/07/16 as a pullus making it nearly 12 months old.

And thanks yet again to KM for his time and effort sifting
through the gull photos from Redcar Tarn for
anything special.

Return to Leeshaw.
1600 hrs and a drier Leeshaw  with a strong W>5 and 100% cloud cover.
No Yellow Legged present today with the only gulls being 8 LBB and 2 Black Headed.
                                               A good year for breeding Lapwing with 16 chicks counted in one field, one pair struggling to keep tracks on 4 young.  Also breeding proved for a pair of Oystercatchers with a good sized but elusive chick.
The Cuckoo was calling from the moor otherwise it was the usual sp.

                                    6 Oystercatchers present

                                    1 of 4 Redshank

                                       A nightmare watching this family

                            Lapwing chicks at their most vulnerable

                                             LBB gulls present much to the dismay
                                            of the Lapwings.
BS

Leeshaw Reservoir / home for tea then Redcar Tarn.

                                          1 of 4 Oystercatchers

                                1 of 3 LBBs

     Very distant 3rd yr Herring with blue ring on left leg
                        silver metal ring on right leg.

          Out of range in torrential rain.

Leeshaw Res.  1330 -1500 hrs. Torrential rain throughout on a near gale W>6.

The sort of afternoon where only 2 class of people would stand by a reservoir, the totally dedicated birder and the near totally insane. Two people stood by Leeshaw today, Keith Moir and myself, I,ll let you decide which category they fall into!
                                                         The rain never eased throughout but thankfully with the car positioned it was possible to stand under the tailgate out of the worst of the weather.
Keith and myself had the same dream of Kittiwakes and Black Terns but unfortunately neither came true. Keith blamed the weather on me for wishing away the sunshine but given the choice of the two today was good for me and not a nugget in sight, apart from us two.
                                                          Most of the birds had understandably gone to ground leaving
3 Redshank, 4 Oystercatchers, 1 Snipe, 3 LBB gulls and an interesting Herring gull which dropped in briefly on the far shore sporting a blue plastic ring on its left leg but out of range and moved on before I could scope up. Will look into this one, the head shape puts it a contender for Yellow Legged to me and although the legs were pinkish they would be at this age.

REDCAR TARN

Home for a dry out and some tea and having a free day I was soon on my way to Redcar Tarn inspired by Keith Moir who had just left LBB intermedius, and Yellow Legged before he met me at Leeshaw.
Not an easy task as mostly juvs but plenty pics to sift through and sort out as soon as I,ve chance, possibly with a little help from gull men KM and MC.

If you dont like gulls look away now.

                                      Intermedius on left.

    Dont know if this is KMs Norwegian LBB Intermedius yet.

                                                          LBB

                                                            LBB

                                                             LBB

                                                           LBB

BS.

Fly Flatts. p.m.

                    Common Sandpipers enjoying the shoreline

1330 hrs at Fly Flatts in horrendous conditions with a strong SW>5 and torrential rain showers throughout the hour I was there but one of those evenings with great expectations.
                                                             As I commented yesterday, evenings are much busier for waders than early morning, tonight being a lot livelier than yesterday morning.
Common Sandpipers were active along the south shore and SE corner along with Redshank and Dunlin but photos were limited in the conditions even though I,d changed Big Bertha for my Canon 300mm which fits under my coat easier. The Dunlins were very mobile moving between the shoreline and the moor, probably feeding young now whilst Lapwing and Curlew were up warning off intruders.
                                                              Unusual to find a Mistle Thrush on the Nyger seed along with
2 Grey Wagtails and a few Mipits, otherwise it was the usual stuff .
Bonus points on the way home as I drove along Cold Edge Road when a Snipe flew across the front of the car closely followed by a female Merlin. The Snipe dropped into the reeds whilst the Merlin continued on low across the moor.
BS

Leeshaw Reservoir p.m. visit.

                 Around 80 Greylag + same amount of young.

                  This Wren kept me entertained 15 minutes

                   and this is the reason it was hanging around

                                          Wren junior

                   Lapwings still watching over their chicks

 Oystercatcher numbers building.

1530 hrs and a 2 hour spell at Leeshaw expecting Terns but being disappointed on that score.
                                                             A bright clear late afternoon with a W>4 and very little cloud.
Its beginning to feel now like June, the quietest month, is beginning to kick in with all birds busy tending their young and collecting food. The fields around Leeshaw are alive with young geese, Lapwings, Curlews and Mipits all of which seem to have had a good breeding season.
                                                               Oystercatcher numbers are increasing here with 8 present where the count got up to 22 last year by 12th July.

8 Oystercatchers
3 Common Sandpiper
4 Redshank
1 Little Ringed Plover
3 Curlew
1 Cuckoo
+ usual sp.
BS