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Wednesday 14 July 2010

Time For A Quiz....

....bet you are excited with that prospect!!??

I'll come to it in a bit, first off I should mention this adult Med Gull on the Estuary yesterday afternoon...

It was wearing a red ring - but I just couldn't read it as it had been slightly damaged (the ring not the bird!)

Quiz time now......? NOPE!

Time to mention my sea watch this morning. I was on the beach for 05:55, and stayed here until 07:30. It wasn't as good as I was hoping...but I guess it is mid July and not mid August! Also the wind was blowing in directly from the south, we always need a bit of west in it to be good here. I'm hopeful for tomorrow as the wind is swinging round a little...maybe I shouldn't be!?

The highlight was my first Balearic Shearwater of the year which flew west at 06:25. Very welcome it was too!!! The rest of today's page in my notebook reads "20 Common Scoter (11 east), 31 Gannet, 17 Manxies, 2 Med Gulls (both adults east), 4 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Tern and 8 auk sp." Asume all of the above flew west unless stated otherwise.

It really wasn't busy and it got quite boring. In fact I became so bored that I ended up taking a photo of a Crow...

Dramatic back drop I thought!!

After my sea watch and some breakfast, a tour of Blackhole and Colyford Marshes with Karen produced; 3 Little Ringed Plovers (2 ad), 5 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel (my first of the autumn), 1 Green Sand, 5 Common Sands and an adult Med Gull. Later on the Estuary produced five summer plumaged Blackwits.

"Later on the Estuary" brings me nicely on to QUIZ TIME!!! But it is time to totally squish any slight excitement you may have possibly had (though I really don't believe anyone has that dull a life!).... GULLS!

A look along the river mid afternoon quickly found me parked up in the gate way north of Axmouth as this is where most of the big Gulls could be seen from - although distant. It wasn't long 'til I picked out a stonking juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, a really pale one too! As it was the first of the year I sent out a text or two.

Just before Ian Mclean arrived, it flew and landed out of sight. But a few minutes later a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull appeared in view.... but hang on minute... this one was darker, and a real brute of a bird. That makes two!!! About ten minutes later 'the pale one' re-appeared to confirm this.

I tried a few photos, but because of the vast distance I knew they were always going to be rubbish...hence the quiz opportunity! So folks...

Can YOU spot the Yellow-legged Gull(s)....

One or two? And where....??

Click on the photo to enlarge it - you really do need to. If you care that much about this, please post your answer. If you don't....which I'm sure no one does....then you can wake up again now!

I'll be posting the answer, and a slightly better photo tomorrow.



1 comment:

  1. The YLG is the one which is asleep behind and very slightly to the left of the obvious front centre bird. I'd be well chuffed if that's correct because I usually like my juvenile YLGs about 50ft away! ;-)

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