Recent Sightings (Mainly Gulls)

Haven't been able to do many posts recently so I thought I would do a round up of all my recent sightings. I start with my trip to Norfolk, although we didn't get many photos I did get a good number of life ticks. I picked up golden pheasant, shore lark and black brant. We did dip on a few birds such as rough-legged buzzard and hawfinch though. We finished at Titchwell where I took the opportunity to photograph a black-tailed godwit at close range next to the path!

Black-Tailed Godwit

So when we got back home, I noticed a very interesting report on birdguides, it seems a certain fish quay was holding a lot of gulls I was interested in seeing, including kumlien's, glaucous and little gull. I am talking of course about Hartlepool Headland, on arrival we picked up all of these gulls at very close range within ten minutes, and the light was simply wonderful.

Glaucous Gull

Little Gull Kumlien's Gull

Ice 5/2/12

I haven't really been out a lot recently so had nothing to report, however, it was good to turn that around this morning with a very showy adult iceland gull at North Shields, we watch it fly around the fish quay and repeatedly battle other gulls for fish, even great black-backed gulls struggled to keep away from the battles! Eventually after 30 minutes, it flew up the river and out of site so we swung by the lighthouse on the way home, with not a lot of note on the tide lines we headed home, but did get a good view of a med gull flying along side the car before landing on the grass near the Brier Dene car park. Iceland Gull Med Gull