The rain banished me to the hide at Beddington where, with the landfill working, I spent the morning alone, inevitably looking through the gulls. Thousands of other gulls would have been out of view on the other side of the landfill site so I must have only looked through a small portion of the birds on site but, despite the lack of white-wingers, I managed to pick out four
Caspian Gulls, two each of first-winter and second-winter plumage.
One of the first-winters was bearing a yellow ring, 'X319'; this bird originates from a colony in Germany which is mainly
cachinnans (per Rich Bonser) but I wouldn't be surprised if this bird had a touch of impurity to it, as perhaps was the case in one of the second-winters. The
Black Swan was still trying to find a peaceful corner of the main lake and singles of
Cetti's Warbler and
Water Rail were vocal.
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| first-winter Caspian Gull |
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| first-winter Caspian Gull (bearing yellow German ring 'X319') |
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| second-winter Caspian Gull |
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| second-winter Caspian Gull |
A visit to Sutton later on provided a
Peregrine and a
Coal Tit was singing in the garden at home.
