Seabirding

15th & 18th August 2015 - West Cornwall and Prawle Point

On Saturday I took up the offer, courtesy of Adrian Thomas (skipper) and Martin Elliott (spotter and chum operative), of a trip aboard the Mermaid II out of Penzance. Eight hours around Wolf Rock and the Runnel Stone produced a few hundred Manx and about ten Balearic Shearwaters, a couple of Sooties and a dozen or more Storm-petrels, a few juv Yellow-legged Gulls followed us for a while and a couple of Bonxies dropped in. Risso's and Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Porpoises, Minke and an unidentified larger whale added to the day's entertainment.

Manx Shearwater - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

British Storm-petrel - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

Fulmar - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

Fulmar - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

Yellow-legged Gull juv/1W - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

Yellow-legged Gull juv/1W - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

Yellow-legged Gull juv/1W - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

Common Dolphin - 15/8/2015 Cornwall

Tuesday saw me at Prawle Point for a marathon 14 hour seawatch - part of the co-ordinated Balearic Shearwater Survey for MARINElife and RSPB. Tony Marchese and I recorded a respectable 32 Balearics, all before midday; also a couple of thousand Manx and a Bonxie - not bad for conditions better suited to sunbathing than seawatching.

Marsh Harrier, Ham Wall

6th August 2015 - Ham Wall, Somerset

Having to collect brother and family from Bristol Airport, I decided to indulged myself by stopping off at the Avalon Marshes en route. As planned, a few Marsh Harriers were up and about; I had brief and distant views of an adult male before this juvenile obliged. It loitered for a good hour or so, presumably practising its hunting skills while waiting for a parent to provide a proper meal.

Marsh Harrier juv - 6/8/2015 Ham Wall, Somerset

Marsh Harrier juv - 6/8/2015 Ham Wall, Somerset

Marsh Harrier juv - 6/8/2015 Ham Wall, Somerset

Marsh Harrier juv - 6/8/2015 Ham Wall, Somerset

Marsh Harrier juv - 6/8/2015 Ham Wall, Somerset

Marsh Harrier juv - 6/8/2015 Ham Wall, Somerset

Marsh Harrier juv - 6/8/2015 Ham Wall, Somerset

Some gulls are bigger than others

2nd August 2015 - Topsham

Male Herring or Lesser Black-backed Gulls often look massive next to small, dainty females. I tend to forget that, like people, smaller gulls also come in different sizes. This bird looked so tiny that for a second or two I wondered if it wasn't another Bonaparte's.

Black-headed Gull - 2/8/2015 Topsham

Black-headed Gull - 2/8/2015 Topsham

 Sanity (sort of) returned with check of the deep red legs - wrong; white nape - wrong; then the reddish bill appeared - wrong. Just a runt Black-headed Gull, of course, with the added issue of optical 'size illusion'.

Another Yellow-leg

19th July 2015 - Weymouth

At the risk of overdoing the gulls, here's another juv michahellis, this time from Dorset. We briefly popped into Radipole yesterday (we were dropping Carolyn's brother at Dorchester station so I suggested a quick detour to Weymouth). I thought there might be the odd one around, but this was practically the first bird I saw as we pulled into the car park. At this time of year, when the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls are just fledging, birds as smart as this stand out a mile.

Yellow-legged Gull - 19/7/2015 Weymouth, Dorset

Yellow-legged Gull - 19/7/2015 Weymouth, Dorset

Yellow-legged Gull - 19/7/2015 Weymouth, Dorset

Yellow-legged Gull - 19/7/2015 Weymouth, Dorset

And here's a juv Herring Gull looking rather less impressive in comparison.

Herring Gull - 19/7/2015 Weymouth, Dorset

Yellow-legged Gull number 2

12th July 2015 - Topsham

It's that time of year folks: michahellis season. After my first of the year at Bowling Green on the 7th, I was happy to stumble on this one at the Rec this morning. For a change, it was close enough to get some reasonable photos - although the light could have been a bit brighter.

Yellow-legged Gull juv. - 12/7/2015 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull juv. - 12/7/2015 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull juv. - 12/7/2015 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull juv. - 12/7/2015 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull juv. - 12/7/2015 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull juv. - 12/7/2015 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull juv. - 12/7/2015 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull juv. (juv. Herring Gull behind) - 12/7/2015 Topsham

For those who've asked how to pick these out (and on the understanding that I'm no expert) here's some of the reasons I noticed this bird: initially on shape: longer-winged and heavier-billed than Herring gull; then plumage: a dark individual but still showing classic scaps, coverts and tertial patterns; obvious differences in flight are the dark inner primaries and the white rump and tail base; also, clearly a bird that fledged several weeks ago - check the worn fringes to the scapulars and tertials - the Herring Gull (Lesser Black-backed would be similar), on the other hand, probably only left the nest a few days ago.

A nice juv 'mick', shame about the photos...

7th July 2015 - Topsham

What was shaping up to being another fruitless session at BGM was nicely saved by a timely juvenile Yellow-legged Gull. It sneaked it un-noticed but alarm bells went off immediately I saw it. Classic shape with long legs and noticeable primary projection, fairly deep bill with a prominent gonys. Head pale with a shady mask, pale below with chevrons on the flanks and on the white undertail coverts, the tertials had only thin pale fringes and the median and lesser wing coverts were simply patterned with dark centres and pale fringes - the greaters a little more barred. I didn't need to see it fly to confirm it but it did anyway, showing dark inner primaries and a classic black and white tail.

Sadly the photos - distance and strong sun - were up to my usual standard.

Yellow-legged Gull juv - 7/7/2015 Topsham BGM

Yellow-legged Gull juv - 7/7/2015 Topsham BGM

Yellow-legged Gull juv - 7/7/2015 Topsham BGM

Yellow-legged Gull juv - 7/7/2015 Topsham BGM

Yellow-legged Gull juv - 7/7/2015 Topsham BGM

Later, at the Rec, I'd hoped it might put in an appearance - it didn't, but at least I got some more photos of the 1st summer Little Gull. A bit closer than I'm used to but the light was still challenging.

Little Gull 2cy - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec

Little Gull 2cy - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec

Little Gull 2cy - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec

Little Gull 2cy - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec

Little Gull 2cy - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec - a mid air shake

Finally, an adult Med Gull - they're still moving through though numbers have dropped off in recent days.

Mediterranean Gull ad - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec

Mediterranean Gull ad - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec

Mediterranean Gull ad - 7/7/2015 Topsham Rec

Hybrid time again

1st July 2015 - Topsham

I'm not sure if this is a move in the right direction or not. It's the 1st of July, a few juvenile Black-headed Gulls over the last week, and the 2cy Little Gull still around, thoughts turn to Yellow-legged Gulls, then I get this.

Hybrid Gull - 1/7/2015 Topsham

Hybrid Gull - 1/7/2015 Topsham

Hybrid Gull - 1/7/2015 Topsham

Hybrid Gull - 1/7/2015 Topsham

Hybrid Gull - 1/7/2015 Topsham

Hybrid Gull - 1/7/2015 Topsham

It's the same old story; a bit small, legs and feet only a little yellowish, broken black band on right P5 - at least it's complete on the left wing. It only caught my attention since it was noticeably darker than the nearby Herring Gulls.