Well if one thing was going to get some life in this blog it was going to be a Caspian Gull wasn't it!
At the turn of the year I was fully intending to do a full 2023 patch birding review, especially as 2023 was such an epic birding year on the Axe. Certainly my (and the?) best year on the Axe in the last ten or so years. I am still hoping to write it, even if it is for selfish reasons so I can re-live it, but am so proud of how well the Axe patch scored in the 2023 Patchwork Challenge competition.
Anyway, for now, my first decent Gull of the year. It's been a really poor first few months of 2024 on the Axe, low numbers of winter visitors and no rares or even scarce birds really. So I was thrilled to spy this lovely first-winter Caspian Gull out of my office window on the afternoon of 20th Feb...
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| Lovely grey mantle and o-so-white! |
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| Great Casp-stance here. Long thin legs and an almost equally long neck! Lots of pale on bill too. |
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| Nice flash of its white tail, not to mention showing off some of the plainest greater coverts I have ever seen! Solidly plain dark tertials too. |
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| Photo shows how much it stood out from all other first-winter birds in the flock. Such a sleak and pale bird which looked really clean. |
Hopefully you won't have to wait another two months for the next post... but am sorry if you do!