Today I started with a trip to Brascote Pits.
This site may be past its prime, because the best pool has dried out and a lot of areas are being choked by willows and scrub. However, I was pleased to see four Greenshanks and quite a few young warblers including a Lesser Whitethroat.
The skies were clear first thing and despite a cold wind the sun was very bright. The lay of the land at Shawell makes gulling difficult when it is sunny, so that's why I tore myself away from the gulls for a few hours. The cloud started to build up about 10 o'clock, so I set off to Cotesbach landfill site. It was bitterly cold there and a pair of gloves wouldn't have gone a miss whilst I endured some squally showers.
Initially the gulls were quite close and I soon picked up an adult Caspian Gull. Unfortunately one of the dumper truck drivers felt the need to drive through the flock, which pushed them further away from my viewing point.
This site may be past its prime, because the best pool has dried out and a lot of areas are being choked by willows and scrub. However, I was pleased to see four Greenshanks and quite a few young warblers including a Lesser Whitethroat.
The skies were clear first thing and despite a cold wind the sun was very bright. The lay of the land at Shawell makes gulling difficult when it is sunny, so that's why I tore myself away from the gulls for a few hours. The cloud started to build up about 10 o'clock, so I set off to Cotesbach landfill site. It was bitterly cold there and a pair of gloves wouldn't have gone a miss whilst I endured some squally showers.
Initially the gulls were quite close and I soon picked up an adult Caspian Gull. Unfortunately one of the dumper truck drivers felt the need to drive through the flock, which pushed them further away from my viewing point.
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| Adult Caspian Gull |
I thought, whilst watching it, that the adult Caspian Gull was most likely to be the one that I saw last Wednesday, but on close inspection it clearly isn't. Measuring the bill ratios of the two (using photographs) it is obvious that there is a significant difference. The one seen on Wednesday has a bill ratio of about 2.5 and today's gull has a ratio of about 2.8. Its eyes are also slightly darker and it appears less elegant than the one seen last Wednesday.
Now elegant isn't a word I'd use to describe this next gull. I first saw this one last Wednesday, but it was too distant to photograph. I had it down then as a hybrid Caspian x Herring and after seeing it closer I am of the same opinion. It shows many similarities with Caspian Gull as far as its plumage is concerned, but structurally it is very odd. Its saddle is quite typical for second-winter Caspian Gull, as is its whitish head and underparts and its dark greater covert bar. The head is a little too streaked, but the streaks on the neck are quite typical. However, its head is too big, its bill too short, its primary projection is also too short, as are its legs and its far too dumpy looking.
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| Presumed Hybrid Caspian Gull |