Adult Yellow-legged Gull

This blog post was on course to be missing a main highlight to talk of from the last week, but a check of the Estuary gulls mid afternoon today changed that.

Historically October is the best month of the year for records of 'older than first-calendar year' Yellow-legged Gulls on the Axe.  Previous October storms have produced multiple birds in a day, although saying that haven't seen that many at all in the last five years.  So I was pretty thrilled to pick up a massive adult Yellow-legged Gull north of Coronation Corner at 2:30pm...

Photos makes it appear a shade darker mantled than it actually was, however sheer size and bright yellow legs evident even on this awful pic

Views were more distant than they had to be, which I will explain why...  In the southerly wind, the main flock of resting gulls just north of the picnic site at Coronation Corner were pretty much all head-on.  I really don't like gulling head-on, so moved myself to the small gateway just north of Axmouth where the views were more distant but all gulls were perfectly side-on, just how I like them. This bird proved that tactic worked for me, as I did scan through the flock a couple of times from Coronation Corner and clearly managed to scope right over this brute of a bird!

Although Yellow-legged Gull is my bird of the week, my species of the week has to be Chiffchaff.  There have been migrant Chiffchaffs all over the place here, with 18 on my walk to work yesterday morning a really good total.  Basically any time I've been outside I could hear at least one calling, even in the middle of town.  I have been trying hard to pull a wing-barred (preferably not Yellow-browed) phyllosc out from amongst them, but nothing yet.  Still, the sight and sound of so many of these olive-green fresh young Chiffs has been really lovely, and very much appreciated in an autumn that has not involved much in the way of numbers. 

House Martins and Swallows have also been around in good numbers, despite their fate in the UK as a breeding species, with some decent easterly passage on a couple of days this week.  Meadow Pipits have been around of course, but not in the numbers I'd expect considering the time of year.

Last night I ended a busy day at Black Hole, and it was wonderful...

Looking south from Tower Hide

 

Sadly I wasn't joined by any of the crake species, one of which I was hoping might appear with the four Water Rails feeding on the lagoon edge, but there were plenty of other birds around.  Most of them were gulls, which is fine by me, with the small gulls including two first-winter Meds and seven first-winter Commons.  There were 90+ Teal on the marsh which were fun sifting through, but wader variety disappointing with just three Snipe, two Greenshank and a Green Sand of any real value.  A lone Cattle Egret spent the entire time I was there huddled down on a grassy island...

May not be the rarity it once was but I am always thrilled to see them!

 

Hopefully I will have a few hours out in the morning. With a strongish southerly wind forecasted am not sure where I'll be heading, but hopefully something will be waiting for me wherever I do end up...