Ice n' easy

Cotham Landfill apparently only has about 14 months left - so one more winter after this one. After that, the chances of finding white-wingers and Casps locally will be dramatically reduced. 

However, I've been a bit rubbish at visiting the site over the last few weeks, mainly due to work pressures. But with Wednesday and Thursday off work to paint my front room, I was planning a visit on the Thursday, once I'd done the majority of the decorating. However, this proved to be an error, with someone finding an Iceland Gull at Kilvington Lakes, and then at Cotham Landfill on the Wednesday. Oh well, kudos to them!

A visit to the tip first thing on Thursday paid instant dividends, as although most of the tipping area is now not visible from the cyclepath, the 2cy Iceland showed nicely for a few minutes on the front bank before flying out of sight (where the majority of the gulls were). 

Anyway, always nice to see a white-winger. But how many more...?

Iceland Gull

Birding bits in August

My birding during August has continued to be fairly low key. Saturday morning patch visits with the little one have been a feature, but are typically rather brief and superficial, and I have failed to manage many visits at any other times without an impatient 9 month old. 

As a result, hopes of a Redstart, Spotted Fly or Whinchat, or a decent wader, have faded, and I've had to make do with generally low numbers of common passage waders at Mons, interspersed with the odd other highlights- a 2cy Med Gull which lingered at Meering before flying upriver on the 12th, a Whimbrel calling over Mons on the 16th, a Grey Wag south on the 25th (new for Patchwork Challenge in 2018), and a Garganey on Mons on the 27th. 

The highlight of breeding bird activity has been the successful fledging of three Common Terns from the new tern raft on Mons Pool - build it and they will come! These young are still hanging around with their parents. 

Elsewhere, I've managed a few visits to Cotham Landfill, generally on the way into work - the highlight there was an adult (or possibly 4cy) Caspian Gull on 20th. Work took me north on 21st, and a quick look at Hagg Lane Flash near Newington produced 2 Ruff, a Greenshank and a Dunlin, and 52 Little Egrets - a local had had 63 there that morning, and I know there was count of 70+ made a few days later. Pretty amazing given the status of this species not so very long ago... A visit to the new visitor centre at Sherwood Forest was generally unremarkable, save for a party of four Woodcock - at least 2 juvs, and one or two adults. I can't remember ever having seen a family party before. 

Finally, birding from the garden has produced a couple of garden ticks - Hobby and Yellow Wag. The Swifts departed promptly and en masse, with 120 in a high-flying screaming flock being present on the 2nd, and then just the odd one or two in subsequent days. Having purchased a Swift box at the Birdfair, I hope maybe to have a pair nesting on my house in the coming years...

Summer gulling

With no big gulls at Collingham at the moment, I've been getting my gull fix at Cotham Landfill and Kilvington Lakes. A couple of visits to the latter this week have produced decent numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls - 16 on Wednesday, and at least 30 today. Most are adults or near adults, but there have been a couple of 2cy and juv birds around - with two juvs together today (and a few juv LBBGs for comparison). A juv Common Gull was the only other gull of note.

The images below show the 2 juv YLGs from today - the second and third birds from the left in the first shot (with LBBGs), and shots of both birds showing upper wing, and nice tail/rump pattern. I appreciate they're not the best photos in the world...

Summer doldrums

Despite the fact that June has been and gone, the summer doldrums on the patch continue, with small numbers of passage waders, but nothing of particular note. However, pair of Red-crested Pochards on 21 July were the first addition for PWC in too long, and a juvenile Garganey on Mons Pool at the weekend was a welcome, if expected, appearance. 

Garganey

Frustratingly, Yellow-legged Gull remains elusive - normally expected this time of year, but Phase 3 at Langford seems to be too much of a draw for them. Small number of GBBG and LBBGs have been the only big gulls. I guess I'll have to wait for the normal autumn roost build up for this species, and hopefully also a Casp or two. 

Elsewhere, I've had a couple of pre-work summer gulling visits to Cotham Landfill, where there have been small numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls of various ages present.

More on the presumed Kumlien's

On Friday I had another look at the presumed Kumlien's at Cotham, meeting Mark Dawson there. We enjoyed nice views of the bird, including in flight, and I got some video of it. Importantly, the bird shows a distinct plain tail band, lacking any vermiculation. 

And it appears we may have a case of two (in fact three) bird theory going on here. Alan Clewes photographed a 2cy Iceland at Cotham on Saturday (as well as the Kumlien's), and Robin Brace sent me pics of what looks like it's probably the same bird from Cotham on Friday - darker bird (and certainly not the very white 2cy Iceland that's around), but with white outer primaries and a vermiculated tail. So hopefully that explains some doubts that I'd heard rumbling!

Kumlien's Gull

I haven't been to Cotham Landfill since mid January, just before going to southern Spain (which I must get round to blogging about...). I didn't manage a visit last week, and had planned to go yesterday, but got put off by heavy rain when I arrived. Today was much better weather-wise, and I started grilling the gulls at about 7.45am. There weren't actually masses present, but half of them were very close, and it didn't take long for the lovely white 2cy Iceland Gull that has been frequenting the roost at Hoveringham to appear - very nice. 

2cy Iceland Gull

2cy Iceland Gull

2cy Iceland Gull

And it wasn't much longer before I came across what I was really hoping for - what looked a lot like a  2cy Kumlien's Gull. One has roosted the previous two nights at Hoveringham, and 11 days previous. I got some pictures, including of the spread wing, and consensus on Twitter was that it looks good for one; John Hopper was happy it was the same as the Hoveringham bird. 

2cy Kumlien's Gull

2cy Kumlien's Gull

2cy Kumlien's Gull

2cy Kumlien's Gull

Doing some reading, mainly on Birding Frontiers, it is certainly at the less well-marked end of the spectrum in the spread wing, but fits the requirement of having an outer primary pattern with a brown wash centred on the primary shafts, spreading onto both webs and extending almost to the feather tips, plain and not mealy/spotted, with small subapical marks. It also shows one of the supporting tendencies, a dark bill, but lacks notable contrast between darker outer and paler inner primaries. I didn't see the tail properly to judge whether it had a distinct plain tail band. 

I finished a quality hour off with brief views of a nice 2cy Caspian Gull; most of the gulls then moved off following some disturbance, so I left and was into work by 9.30. Ideal!

2cy Caspian Gull

A strikingly white-headed and dark-bodied Herring Gull...

White-wingers on their way

I made my weekly visit to Cotham Landfill this morning (it's a pain having to go to work...). Having scanned the tip multiple time to no avail, I was giving it one last go when I noted what looked like a white-winger at the back, partly obscured. It soon revealed itself as a 2cy Iceland Gull; very nice too. However, it spent most of its time feeding just behind a ridge in the rubbish, making observing (and photo'ing it) problematic. And then I had to leave it. The fist white-winger of the winter here, and about time too!

Back to the weekend, and I managed two brief visits to the patch, adding Peregrine, Lesser Redpoll and Coal Tit, the latter two at Primrose Hill in Besthorpe village, a spot a only ever visit a couple of times a year...


Postscript (May 2017)

I've been meaning to do this postscript for quite a while. With the benefit of hindsight, I am now of the opinion that the white-winger pictured above is, in fact, the Kumlien's Gull which frequented the tip, Hoveringham roost, and Kilvington Lakes during most of February and March - something that has been suggested to me by a couple of other people. Comparison with photos of the Kumlien's (at similar angles) shows a number of plumage similarities:

Head ('white winger' on top, Kumlien's below):

Both birds show a dark spot in front of the eye, a pale arc beneath the eye (with a dark arc below that), and a dark area on the rear of the head

Wing tips ('white winger' on top, Kumlien's below):

Both birds show very white underwings, with shadowing from the dark hooked-tip markings on the upper wing showing through

Tertials and wing coverts ('white winger' on top, Kumlien's below):

A darker subterminal marking on the innermost tertail behind a unmarked white area is shown on both birds, along with a neat white line across the greater coverts part way up the feathering. The darker internal markings on the primaries of the top bird can just about be imagined (and indeed, weren't always obvious on the Kumlien's depending on angle and light).

So all in all, I'm happy they're one and the same. In my defence, the sighting detailed above was brief, distant and in very strong light, so I don't feel too stupid for missing this at the time..!

Ducks n' Gulls

Last weekend (Saturday 9th) I did my WeBS count at Girton; nothing much of note, and only modest numbers of wildfowl, but there were two odd looking Aythyas in the Sailing Lake . Both promptly swam out of sight - one a male, the other a female or young bird. Sunday past, I made another visit to Girton, where I was aided by ice concentrating the wildfowl. There was no sign of the female bird, but the male showed well - a Tuftie x Pochard, with a charcoal grey mantle showing no sign of any vermiculations.

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Today, I had a quick look at Cotham Landfill - I'm managing one brief visit a week at the moment. Last week's produced the 1st W Yellow-legged Gull, and the same bird was still present today. Overall gull numbers remain fairly low... 

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

Gulling before it's gone

Despite the new arrival, I have managed one to two brief birding trips out, although these haven't yielded much of note. However, I'm painfully aware that Cotham Landfill is rapidly filling up, and that after this winter, local gulling opportunities are going to be seriously curtailed. So, I'm going to somehow need to make the time to visit the site during the week, when the tip is operational... I managed an hour there yesterday morning on the way into work. There were maybe 500+ large gulls present. No Casps and no white-wingers, but a big 1st winter Yellow-legged Gull was an eye-catching bird, and there was the usual smatter of yellow-ringed Herring Gulls originating from York, plus a white-ringed Black-headed Gull that I need to track down.

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-ringed Herring Gull

Things will never be the same

On 8th November my wife gave birth to our first child, Freya, 10 days earlier than expected. Amazing, daunting, and life-changing! Things will never be the same again, including my birding... However, I have managed two short trips out since then.

The first, on 15th, saw my mother-in-law almost pushing me out of the front door so I could go and do some birding; I think really she just wanted some one-on-one time with her daughter and new granddaughter - but I wasn't complaining! I headed first to Girton Pits to do my WeBS count. The highlight was a 1st W female Scaup on the Sailing Lake, not the most obvious one I've ever seen and requiring a closer approach to confirm it. In addition, there were no fewer than 3 Cetti's Warblers singing in various places, 2 squealing Water Rails, and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls (and adult and a 1st W). 

It was then on to the patch, where the western side of Wharf Pit was being remodelled. Water levels here were extremely low, and the pit held 8 Redshank and a Dunlin - there were another 5 Redshank and 3 Dunlin on Mons Pool. Further evidence that it has been a good year locally for Cetti's Warblers came in the form of three more in song, and there were 3 Water Rails suggesting something of an influx. A Barn Owl hunting over Besthorpe Meadow wrapped things up. 

Today, and I was allowed another few hours out. I wanted to check out Cotham Landfill, and spent just over two hours there. Around 700 Herring Gulls were present, along with c.75 GBBGs and 7 LBBGs, and best a 2nd winter Caspian Gull. There were also 5 darvic ringed Herring Gulls, and 1 GBBG. The Herrings were all ringed yellow on their left leg with the code Y:xxx, so ringed at a landfill near York. The GBBG was black on right, JW131; the 1st winter GBBG I had here earlier in the winter was ringed black JX157, and originated from Vardo in northern Norway - today's is no doubt from the same scheme. 

2nd W Casp

2nd W Casp

Y:296 

Cotham Landfill - not much room left...

Back to reality

After 2 and a half weeks in South Africa (of which more to follow...), it has been back to reality, birding the patch. Mark Dawson found a Wood Sand on my first day back (Friday), on the partially dewatered Wharf Pit, which remained until Sunday at least. This pit looks great, although water levels have been creeping back up, and has also held a Black-wit, up to 3 Greenshank (new for PWC 2017), up to 9 Green Sands, 2 Common Sands, single juv Ringed Plover and LRP, up to 7 Snipe, and up to 20 Little Egrets. We'll see what the coming days and weeks bring - a Pec Sand would be nice. 

Wood Sand with a Greenshank

Wharf Pit

Mons Pool, by contrast, has been disappointing, as all the water that has come out of Wharf Pit has gone there. The Garganey lingers, although it has always been hiding when I've looked for it. And that's about it, apart from 3 Curlew, contributing to patch wader diversity. 

I also had a look at Cotham Landfill on Friday, and realised I'd forgotten what I was doing with gulls. As well as quite a few ringed LBBGs (which I'm in the process of tracking the origins of), there was were looked like a juvenile Caspian, and an adult (or near adult), although both potentially had issues which I need to look into more closely when I have time. Pics below.