Mystery Gull

Following gull seen this evening in fading light at Broadsands Beach, Paignton by author and Jake Wood, we are struggling with the I.D, suggestions please!

EDIT @ 23:15 - My enormous fortune would go on 2nd-summer Iceland Gull, Bill    (Gavin)

Thanks Gavin, that's what we thought but in July! We went looking for Med Gull & YLG!! Cheers Bill

Darts Farm & Bowlig green marsh

Watched from 09:15 till 16:30

Darts Farm

2 groups of Black tailed godwits 25+ and 52+ , 9 whimbrel, 8 curlew, 2 med gulls (1ad, 2nd summer ) and 1 juv yellow legged gull flew north east, 2 green sandpipers

Bowling Green Marsh

From the viewing platform a stunning summer plumage Spotted redshank in with 200+ redshank, 128+ black tailed godwits , 25+ bar tailed godwits, 2 dunlin, 3 med gulls(3 adults), 1 hobby, 2 common sandpiper, 1 greenshank, 2 whimbrel

Teign Estuary

3 adult Med Gulls, a Little Ringed Plover and 5+ Common Sandpipers off Passage House mid-afternoon. [Will Salmon]

What have we `ere?

Anyone like to try and guess this one`s parents?
It`s been on the R.Taw for quite sometime now in company with Canada Geese. 

I would imagine one half could be Pink Foot?

Thurlestone Bay

3hr seawatch off Warren Pt this morning produced - 
180 Gannet, 38 Manx Shearwater, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Fulmar , 1dp Arctic Skua 2 Sandwich Tern , 2 Whimbrel, 2 Dunlin.
20 Black Headed Gull in the bay inc 1 juv.

On Thurlestone Marsh now 3 TEAL

Start Point

Seawatch 07:00-11:00: 266 Manx Shearwaters (count abandoned due to birds circulatiing from 09:00ish), 2 Puffins, 2 Arctic Skuas, 3 Sandwich Terns, 25 Guillemots and 8 Razorbills. However at 08:22 a summer plumage Black Guillemot flew past, not going SW with the normal passage, but bizarrely heading NE - making a four auk day in July! Hopefully it should turn up again further up the coast (may be off Berry Head etc).

Berry Head

05:30-11:00 cloudy with afew showers, west winds. Not as many as Mark, but a good number of Manx Shearwaters going past, 484, with only 2 Balearic Shearwaters. Also 2 Arctic Skuas, 2 Puffins, 1 Common Tern, 2 Sandwich Terns, 307 Gannets, 47 Kittiwakes, 14 Fulmars and 2 Harbour Porpoises.

Exmouth

Mediterranean gulls have maintained a pretty much constant presence on Warren View football pitch, at the back of our house, for the past two or three weeks. At least 3 adult-types (inc a presumed 3rd summer), 5 first summers and a juvenile have been hopping between the pitch and estuary but the above bird is a bit odd. It is a first summer with an adult-type head which, according to Malling Olsen/Larsson, accounts for less than 5% of the population. I must have seen hundreds of first summers over the years but I can't personally recall seeing one like this. Note this bird is also ringed.

Berry Head

Seawatch 10:00-16:00. Fairly large movement of 2077 Manx Shearwaters with groups stopping to feed off the headland, but only 5 Balearic Shearwaters among them. Also a Puffin, 2 Arctic Skuas, 1 Arctic tern, 4 Common Terns, 142 Gannets, 80 Kittiwakes, 19 Fulmars and a Harbour Porpoise.

River Clyst

River Clyst - Viewing Platform
On the rising tide this morning there were 4 Ruff, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Greenshank & 4 Redshank amongst more numerous Curlew and Black-tailed Godwits - several in really good breeding plumage.

[Rupert Ormerod]

East Devon - yesterday 10/7

Nightjar photo taken yesterday (10/7) in East Devon, with a reminder that the East Devon branch of Devon birds is having a Nightjar walk this evening on the Pebblebeds Heath at 8.30pm, meeting at Wheathill car park. [Dave Jannaway]

landcross

4 Green sandpiper on flooded pool next to road 3oo mtrs before slow down sign at landcross near bideford,view from tarka trail through trees near old railway bridge looking back in an sw direction.Acsess onto trail just past landcross bridgeUpstream of railway bridge 5 med gulls,3adult 2 fs.with 200+black headed.19:50-20:30

Exminster Marshes

The usual access routes are all under water. The flood water in the lane is only just below the top of a welly boot. However I managed to have a look around. The fields have tall grass so its difficult to view all the pools but attempts by the farmers to move their cattle to higher ground caused some birds to show themselves. In particular two small groups of ducks flew around before disappearing again, amongst them were: 1 shoveller, 1 garganey, 5 gadwall, 2 wigeon, 1 tufted duck and about 20 mallard.

Near the motorway was a flock of gulls. Most (c300) were black-headed gulls. Almost all were adults but I did count 4 juveniles. Also there were c30 herring gulls (all immatures) and 6 Med gulls - 4 adults including two with pristine black heads and two with hoods in partial moult. The 2 sub-adults included a 2w and 2s. The later bird was flying over the canal. In the flooded fields north of the lane were 5 curlew and one black-tailed godwit.

Elsewhere I was surprised by the amount of bird song, including 2 blackcaps, 4 reed buntings and 3 sedge warblers. Several hundred swifts were feeding over-head.

And yes I did manage to fill my boots with water.

English Channel

From fishing boat  approx 25 nm S of Berry Head. Up to 5 juv Yellow-legged Gulls in with lots of Lesser black-backs, with a few Herring and Great Black-backs, but still the only independent juvs we're seeing at sea. Also 2 Common Terns ( ad with juv), Bonxie, 10+ Storm Petrels.

Thurlestone Bay

Away over the w/end -hoever I did have a Greenshank in the flooded marsh at 06.45 Sat .
Reports rec'd are- Lapwing over on 4/7, 1 Redshank and 2 Whimbrel ( Sat ), 5 Dunlin and 2 Black Tailed Godwit ( sun )
Swallow roost at 21.30 on Sun was 200- this is somewhat down on previous years.

This am 7 Black Headed Gull in the Bay inc our first Juv, also on the rocks 3 Whimbrel.

Soar

70 Swifts feeding overhead, soon to be away.
50 Linnets mobbing Sparrowhawk.

Good year for Dark Green Fritillaries at this site, in spite of the lack of sun!
Graylings now out in force & Marbled White in my garden yesterday!

Mediterranean Gulls - Ringing Colours/Codes.

If any of you are keen like me in trying to spot colour ringed Med Gulls, here is a website you might find useful.

http://medgull.free.fr/pages/codes.php#codes

Teign Estuary

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull roosting off Passage House late morning. [Will Salmon]

Sunny Sunday with lots of recently fledged wheatears on Dartmoor

Cuckoo

Been a bit slack for photos lately, so here's a nice Cuckoo shot from Steve Hatch, taken on Dartmoor on 23 June...

Wembury

Adult Med Gull past east yesterday heading for the newly created Yealm wetlands. 150+ Swift over the village last night looked more like early migrants than a feeding flock from Plymouth (absolutely no evidence for either theory!).

skern

08:15-10:00.2 knot,one bp,bar tailed godwit bp,common sandpiper,2 med gulls,adult fs,4 dunlin.So thats where all the gulls are maurice,Thought they had moved up estuary.

R.Taw - Taw Bridge to Ashford sewage works.

07:30 - 09:00

20 Mediterranean Gulls (10 adults; 3 2nd summer; 7 1st summer)  One adult carrying white project ring on left tarsus, probably Dutch or Belgian).
37 LBBG and big increase in B.H Gulls.
69 Shelduck incl 14 ducklings.
19 Grey Heron on Penhill Marsh. 3 Little Egrets.
The Green sandpiper has returned to it`s ditch alongside sewage works.