Photos:
Second winter Glaucous Gull, second winter Iceland Gull and candidate Caspian Gull (not clinched) at Ditchford GP's
26th January
I finished work early (starting at 6am helps) and headed off to Ditchford again. On arrival I couldn’t see any gulls anywhere. Not being familiar with the area I decided to drive the roads past the tip to see if there were any good viewing points. Having gone past and still not seen much I turned onto a main road and shortly after spotted a huge gull roost in a field beyond.
The problem with this roost was that there were perfect views of the surrounding area from all angles, it was impossible to get close to them without being detected so I settled in by a distant hedge and scanned from there. I soon found a second winter Iceland Gull (almost certainly yesterdays bird) and soon after a second winter Glaucous Gull. I also spotted a bird with a passing resemblance to Caspian Gull but never saw enough of it to clinch an ID. Curiously two Red Kites appeared and also buzzed this flock. The roost soon disappeared back to the tip. I returned to the water sports tip to see if any gulls would come down for a pre-roost bath. They did but unfortunately onto one of the pits which was out of public bounds. I did see the only birder I have encountered here though. As I walked back to the car in the gloom a Green Woodpecker flew across my path.
I finished work early (starting at 6am helps) and headed off to Ditchford again. On arrival I couldn’t see any gulls anywhere. Not being familiar with the area I decided to drive the roads past the tip to see if there were any good viewing points. Having gone past and still not seen much I turned onto a main road and shortly after spotted a huge gull roost in a field beyond.
The problem with this roost was that there were perfect views of the surrounding area from all angles, it was impossible to get close to them without being detected so I settled in by a distant hedge and scanned from there. I soon found a second winter Iceland Gull (almost certainly yesterdays bird) and soon after a second winter Glaucous Gull. I also spotted a bird with a passing resemblance to Caspian Gull but never saw enough of it to clinch an ID. Curiously two Red Kites appeared and also buzzed this flock. The roost soon disappeared back to the tip. I returned to the water sports tip to see if any gulls would come down for a pre-roost bath. They did but unfortunately onto one of the pits which was out of public bounds. I did see the only birder I have encountered here though. As I walked back to the car in the gloom a Green Woodpecker flew across my path.
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