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Iceland Gulls at Shawell

March 24, 2018, 12:51 pm
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It seems bad weather on a Saturday is set in for the year. One of the landfill workers commented that it was the best Saturday of the year because it was only drizzling!

The day started poor with no gulls being present, however, I eventually spotted a huge flock that had taken to flight from the ground above the landfill site that is not viewable from anywhere I can get to.

Amongst the flock was the pale juvenile Iceland Gull that was first seen at the site on March 8th. It landed briefly allowing me to confirm that it was the individual that I thought it was. I saw it a few more times in flight, but it never performed for the camera.

The gulls then went missing, so I had a look at the A5 Lagoons and I was pleased to see four Snipe on the bank and a pair of Great Crested Grebes appeared to be nest building.

I then checked out the sandpit on Gibbet Lane and amongst the resting gulls I spotted the adult Iceland Gull that has been around for a week. I'm not sure if it is the one from last month or another one. Two adults have frequently been roosting at Draycote Water.

Steve Nichols joined me and enjoyed good views of the adult and then left to check the A5 Lagoons. There he located a juvenile Iceland Gull, which departed before I got there. Steve's photograph revealed that it was the juvenile I saw last Saturday. A three Iceland Gull day is a site record.

Adult Iceland Gull, Shawell, March 24th 2018



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A Caspian Gull at Stoney Cove

March 29, 2018, 11:24 am
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Most mornings I have a quick look if there is anything on the water or cliffs at Stoney Cove. During the winter there are always Black-headed and Common Gulls on the water and occasionally a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls. On Wednesday I noticed a pale looking largish gull on one on the buoys. Checking it out I was pleasantly surprised to see it was a first-winter Caspian Gull. I had no camera and so I just enjoyed watching it. After five minutes it flew off heading roughly north-east.

After work this evening I noticed that the same gull was back on the buoy. It was raining heavily, but I managed to get some digiscoped shots.

This is the first occurrence of this species at the Cove. Hopefully I'll get a chance to photograph it in better weather.

First-Winter Caspian Gull, Stoney Cove 29/03/18



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Caspian Gull

March 30, 2018, 2:08 pm
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I was surprised to see the first-winter Caspian Gull was still at Stoney Cove this morning. It was also there at lunchtime. His nickname is Larry. Why? Well I was asked what it was and I answered 'a Larus cachinnans'. 'A Larry what?' came the reply.


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More Iceland Gulls at Shawell

March 31, 2018, 11:47 am
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I didn't really know what to expect today with it being a Bank Holiday weekend and also the forecast was for another rainy day - we wouldn't like to spoil the run of rain or snow every Saturday this year would we! Luckily the rain held off until lunchtime, but it was still dull and cold.

There were no gulls first thing or any sign of activity at the tip. I tried the A5 Lagoons, but there was just eight Great Black-backed Gull there. I was thinking of where else to go, but decided to try the lane at the back of the tip, as there is a field that looks good for Wheatears. No Wheatears, but there were gulls heading towards the tip. I hastily made the phone call to ask for permission to enter the land where I watch the gulls from. The phone was answered, which meant there might actually be some tipping going on, and permission was granted.

My luck was in as they were accepting lorries and some household waste was expected. The gulls were constantly feeding and there were thousands of the beauties (eye of the beholder).

It didn't take long for the first 'white-winger' to put in an appearance. The first one was the regular pale second-calendar year bird.

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Cotesbach landfill 31/03/18

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Cotesbach landfill 31/03/18

Soon after another regular arrived - the darker second calendar-year bird. It was feeding on the near edge of the gulls, so I waited for it to fly and photographed it in flight. Though its a dark bird its outer primary pattern matches glaucoides better than kumlieni. Comments welcomed.

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Cotesbach landfill 31/03/18


Juvenile Iceland Gull, Cotesbach landfill 31/03/18

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Cotesbach landfill 31/03/18

I next spotted a 'white-winger' in flight. I expected it to be one of the juveniles, but when it landed I could see it had some grey scapular feathers. It was a sturdy looking thing with a squarish white head. A new bird and a second-winter. Unfortunately the gulls went up and I lost it as it dropped below on to the slope where the machine drivers push the waste - I can't see that bit.

About an hour later I spotted another second-winter, but this one was smaller with a tiny round head and a buff wash to its head and underparts.

Second-Winter Iceland Gull, Cotesbach Landfill Site 31/03/18

Second-Winter Iceland Gull, Cotesbach Landfill Site 31/03/18

Four Iceland Gulls in one day is a record for the site. That makes it nine so far for 2018 and ten in total for the 2017/2018 'white-winger' season. One could say that its been a good winter for Iceland Gulls.

There were still lots of Herring Gulls around and some of the second calendar-year birds were very fresh looking. This suggests that they were hatched somewhere in the very north - possibly the Arctic. The bird below caught my eye because of just how pale it is.

First-Winter Herring Gull, Cotesbach Landfill Site 31/03/18

Four Caspian Gulls were around with a really smart looking classic first-winter amongst them. The one below was also quite smart, but first prize went to the other one. Although it lost marks for being shy in front of the camera.


First-Winter Caspian Gull, Cotesbach Landfill Site 31/03/18
The gulls were commuting between the landfill and the sandpits off Gibbet Lane and I saw many in both places.
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Arrival Times of White-Wingers at Shawell

April 2, 2018, 11:49 am
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It been another good year for White-Wingers at Shawell and I was thinking when are the best times for finding one. Below is a graph showing the finding month of all the Glaucous and Iceland Gulls sighted at Shawell so far. I thought that Iceland Gulls generally arrive later than Glaucs, but as you can see either can turn up at anytime during the winter months. There is, however, a peak in January for Glaucous Gulls and March for Iceland.


Judging by the numbers of Iceland Gulls seen so far I wouldn't bet against breaking the latest date for the site. The latest date is April 15th 2017.




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Caspian Gull Score at Shawell 2018

April 6, 2018, 11:39 am
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After reaching a total of 101 different birds last year, I have decided to just record day counts from now on. It was becoming increasingly difficult to separate individuals especially amongst the juvenile/first-winter birds that change rapidly.

January

  • Seven on January 6th (3  first-winter, 2  second-winter and 2 adults)
  • Six on January 13th (2 adults, 1 fourth-winter, 2 third-winter and a first-winter)
  • Three on January 27th (1 adult, 1 second-winter and 1 first-winter)
  • One on January 28th (second-winter)
  • Three on January 31st ( adult and two first-winters)
Total for January 25

February
  • three on February 3rd (second-winter and 2 first-winters - one of the first-winters first seen on January 31st)

Total for February 2 (poor total due to illness and the IGM)

March
  • three on March 14th (3 first-winters)
  • three on March 21st (2 second-winters and a first-winter)
  • five on March 24th (sub-adult, 1 third-winter, 3 first-winters)
  • four on March 31st (1 second-winter and 3 first-winters)
Total for March 15

April
  • one on April 1st (first-winter) also seen on March 31st
  • one April 6th (first-winter)
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More Fun at Shawell

April 7, 2018, 12:51 pm
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Steve Lister saw a juvenile Iceland Gull at Shawell on Thursday , which we  initially thought was one of the birds that had been around for a while. However, yesterday lunchtime I was passing, so I had half an hour looking at the gulls and luckily a juvenile Iceland Gull dropped in. Its outer primaries were browner than the rest of its primaries, which was very distinctive and it was definitely a new bird. Today I saw Friday's bird and another new juvenile. The new one had a pink base to its bill, which Steve's bird had, so it could be the same one. We may well be up to 12 Iceland Gulls for for the the 2107/2018 winter now.

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Shawell Sandpit, April 6th 2018
Juvenile Iceland Gull, Shawell A5 Lagoons, April 7th 2018
As well as the 'white-wingers', at this time of year I'm looking for Baltic Gulls. Especially the colour-ringed bird I saw in 2014 and 2016. I spotted the bird below, which must be one, but without a colour-ring no cigar!

Presumed Baltic Gull, Shawell Sandpit, April 7th 2018

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Spring Weather with a Little Ice

April 14, 2018, 1:28 pm
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Already this has been the best 'white-winger' season ever at Shawell. Five Glaucous and 13 Iceland Gulls, but could I add to the list today?

The gulls had already assembled in the sandpit off Gibbet Lane when I arrived this morning. It didn't take long to find the first Iceland Gull - number 14!

It was pure white and I could just see it had a pink tip to its bill, so it was most likely a second-winter.

Second-Winter Iceland Gull, Shawell Sandpit, April 14th 2018

Later on the juvenile seen previously on April 5th and 7th appeared and promptly fell to sleep. Later it was at the A5 Lagoons.


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Caspian Gull x Herring Gull Hybrid

April 15, 2018, 8:37 am
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I spotted this beast yesterday. Its plumage is OK for a Caspian Gull, but structurally it seems to be a bit mixed up. Its short legs, chunky body and largish head hint at Herring Gull, but equally there is a bit of Caspian Gull about it too.

It is a second calendar-year, first-winter/summer. At this age Herring Gulls haven't replaced their coverts, but this chap has, which is a feature of Caspian Gull, as is the white head and the silvery grey scapulars.

For me this is quite an obvious hybrid.

enjoy the video:


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April 15, 2018, 8:48 am
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This morning I tried a few sites close to home. At Brascote Pits one of the male Ring Ouzels was still lingering and it showed well but briefly in an Ivy covered tree close to the double gate that leads to the 'Beach Pool'.

After there I tried a site near to Kirby Mallory where I was delighted to flush a Jack Snipe. This is the first sighting, as far as I remember, since 2010 in the south-west Leicestershire recording area.

Before arriving at Brascote I had headed out west and at Norton-juxta-Twycross I spotted a pair of Grey Partridge, which is nice these days.

Female Grey Partridge
Male Grey Partridge

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Glaucous Gull

April 16, 2018, 1:18 pm
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A few posts back I predicted that the latest date for a 'white-winger' at Shawell would be beaten this year. April 15th 2017 was the latest sighting to date. Steve Nichols and I recorded two Iceland Gull on Saturday,  but that was only the 14th. I received a text from Steve this afternoon with photos of a Glaucous Gull he'd found in the sandpit off Gibbet Lane. Steve had broken the record, but I wanted to share in the fun, so I went over to Shawell after work.

There was no sign of any 'white-wingers' in the sandpit, but there was plenty of gulls, so there was a chance it would return. I noticed a large flock of gulls circling above the landfill and amongst them I could see a very white gull. Luckily it headed for the sandpit where it joined the resting gulls. It was a second calendar-year Glaucous Gull - pale tip to its bill, but its wings are very pristine and so only a youngster.

Eventually I was a able to enjoy a fly past of this massive beast and also close infront of it was the regular juvenile Iceland Gull.

Second-Winter Glaucous Gull, Shawell April 16th 2018
Second-Winter Glaucous Gull, Shawell April 16th 2018
Second-Winter Glaucous Gull, Shawell April 16th 2018
Second-Winter Iceland Gull, Shawell April 16th 2018

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Catch Up.

April 23, 2018, 11:39 am
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I've had a few good few days since my last post: highlights being the arrival of many spring migrants including a singing Grasshopper Warbler near Huncote. This species is very scarce in my local area, especially for me as I can hardly hear them anymore. Adey first heard it and we both saw it briefly.

The Caspian Gull 'Larry' reappeared at Stoney Cove for a couple of days, which was a surprise.

First-Summer Caspian Gull, Stoney Cove, April 2018

The regular juvenile Iceland Gull was still at Shawell on Saturday, which extended the latest date by a bit more. Hopefully it will stay a bit longer.


Juvenile Iceland Gull, Shawell Sandpit, April 21st 2018

Finally a colour-ringed Caspian Gull from Germany was also present in the sandpit - X935.

First-Summer Caspian Gull - X935 - Shawell Sandpit, April 21st


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Garganey

April 28, 2018, 7:41 am
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I soon gave up at Shawell this morning, as there was no tipping, the gulls were mobile and the weather was awful.

I decided to head off towards home and have a quick look at Brascote Pits. Despite the weather some warblers were singing including a very loud Lesser Whitethroat. I noticed a tern over the 'Mars Landscape Pool'. As I got closer I could see it was a Common Tern. There wasn't much else on the pool, so I retraced my steps back towards the footpath. As I neared the footpath I decided to swing right along the western side of the 'Beach Pool'. Something made me look back towards the 'Mars Landscape Pool' and I was surprised to see a drake Garganey in the centre of the pool. Fortunately it stayed until Adey Baker and Colin Green arrived and it was still there when we left the site.

This is only the third record, involving five birds, for the SW Leics area:

1976: two at Huncote Sandpits on October 9th (GAD).
2015: a pair at Brascote Pits on April 14th (AP et al).
          2018: drake at Brascote Pits on April 28th (CDB, ABa, CSG et al).


Drake Garganey, Brascote Pits, April 28th 2018


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Iceland Gull

May 12, 2018, 1:43 pm
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I was most surprised to spot an Iceland Gull today. The previous latest spring record for Leicestershire & Rutland was May 2nd 1999 - an adult at Rutland Water seen by Andy Forryan.

Steve Nichols had stopped by for a quick chat and just as he was about to leave when I spotted this little beauty.

It was a dainty bird with distinctly pale coverts. It appears very similar to the one last seen on April 25th, The coverts are paler, but there is a mark under the eye that is also visible on the photos I took in April, so it must be the long staying bird. Where has it been hiding, as it hasn't been seen in the Draycote Water roost since the end of April?


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Sanderlings at Brascote Pits

May 30, 2018, 1:18 pm
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I have seen a few Sanderlings in the SW Leics area over the years and most of them occurred during bad weather. The weather was very bad on Friday and I had booked the day off work to enjoy a long Bank Holiday weekend. A trip to Brascote Pits in the morning resulted in just one thing - me getting wet.

Later in the afternoon I made another visit and this time I was pleased to see five Ringed Plovers and a splendid little Sanderling. The following morning there was two Sanderlings there and a couple of summer plumaged Grey Plover circled the 'moonscape pool' before carrying on their way north.

Photography was very difficult in the wet murky conditions, but I did get a record shot of one of the Sanderlings.

Sanderling and Ringed Plovers at Brascote Pits

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Sanderling

May 31, 2018, 11:52 am
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After finding a couple of Sanderling at Brascote Pits on Friday/Saturday I enjoyed about 18 of them on the beach at Titchwell in splendid sunshine.

There was quite a variety and some looked a little skinny to me. I hope they weren't starving?






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German Ringed Gull Improving With Age

June 8, 2018, 11:01 am
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Last weekend I saw a colour-ringed gull from the German mixed colonies. I first saw this bird as a juvenile back in 2017 when it didn't look anything like a Caspian Gull. However, last week it looked distinctly more Caspian like although still not perfect.


X735, June 2018

X735, September 2017


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Osprey at Brascote Pits

June 10, 2018, 1:57 pm
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There has only been three previous accepted records of Osprey in the south-west Leicestershire area. Whilst at Brascote Pits today Adey Baker and I bumped into Colin Green. Whilst we were chatting we noticed the resident Oystercatchers were a bit agitated. We all noticed a Buzzard over the far pit and thought that was the cause of their angst and carried on talking. I then noticed a large raptor overhead and almost dismissed it as the Buzzard. Luckily I raised my bins and realised it was an Osprey and shouted Osprey! It circled around for a while with a Buzzard joining it.

Osprey, Brascote Pits, June 10th 2018


Brascote Pits is in bloom at present with lots of orchids. Southern Marsh, Common Spotted, Pyramidial and Bee Orchid plus lots of hybrid Common Spotted x Southern Marsh.

Southern Marsh Orchid


Bee Orchid

Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchids

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Summertime

June 25, 2018, 1:08 pm
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It's a good time for insects at the moment as far as the weather is concerned. I added a dragonfly to my life list on Saturday. I took a drive up to Kegworth in the north of Leicestershire where the River Soar meanders peacefully towards the Trent. In recent years a small number of Scarce Chasers have made their home along the county border north of Kegworth. I was fortunate to find five males and one of them posed well.

Scarce Chaser, River Soar, Kegworth

Also quite a few Banded Demoiselles fluttered around the river bank. Not always easy to photograph as they are flighty, but a few showed off for the camera.

Banded Demoiselle, River Soar, Kegworth


After this I headed off to Shawell and the gulls were not playing, so I had a look at the ponds off Shawell Lane where at least 20 Black-tailed Skimmers were bombing around.

Black-tailed Skimmer, Shawell Lane Ponds


After that Marbled Whites took over. Half a dozen were in the long grass at the back of Shawell Gravel Pits and at Croft Quarry on Sunday morning, Adey Baker and I found about 20 on the embankment near the picnic tables.

Marbled White

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Small Red-eyed Damselflies

July 15, 2018, 12:34 pm
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My only previous sighting of a Small Red-eyed Damselfly (SRED) in Leicestershire was of a male and female at Brascote Pits. However, that pit has been out of bounds for two years. With all this lovely sunshine surely this summer is going to be as good as any to find more?

Well last weekend Adey Baker and I found a small number at Croft Quarry Nature Trail pond. They were out on the small lillypads and so distant for photography.

SRED is a recent colonist to the UK with the first sighting dating back to 1999. The first Leicestershire record was in 2006 at Priory Water.

Yesterday I located at least thirty individuals on two newish ponds near Cotesbach. The ponds are quite shallow, so I went for a paddle and got very close to some of these tiny little beauties. Today I made more discoveries at Mere Lane Lake, Bittesby where there may have been over 100 and Shawell GP where I saw half a dozen and also a few Large Red-eyed Damselflies as well.

Male Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Female Small Red-eyed Damselfly
A few Emerald Damselflies were frequenting a small pond at Cotesbach Landfill site, which was a new record for the site.

Emerald Damselfly

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