It's Been Raining Gulls!

The Axe Caspian Gull influx of autumn '25 hit a new level yesterday, with three looks along the river showing the presence of SIX birds!  There were four at lunchtime, with a further two showing after work at 5pm.  

Five were first-winters...

Probably the darkest looking first-winter I have seen during this recent influx, with the dusky underparts really showing off the white head

 

This was the third Casp that I picked up in this smallish flock of Great Black-backs, it was alongisde the above bird and the second-winter below.  What a trio, all stood within 20 meters of each other!

This one was much more distant, but was on the Estuary at the same time as the first three, all which I could still see within the GBBG flock.  Another fairly dusky bird.

 

This bird was much later in the day, and I did see it much closer than this but fluffed my chances of a shot of it then.  Although hard to tell here, it was a really white thing - looking quite unlike any of the other first-winters on this day

 

I first picked this one up, with real ragged greater coverts, distantly when it was stood next to the previous bird of later in the day.  Thankfully it moved downriver and landed much closer.  Quite a hefty bird, but yes, a real worn and ragged individual.

 

And the sixth was a second-winter...

Would love to have seen this bird more side-on, a real classy 2w

This view was as side-on as it got for me

 

The Casps were accompanied by two Yellow-legged Gulls, an adult or near-adult and a first-winter.    I got a photo of the older Yellow-legged whilst trying to get some shots of a very distant possible adult Caspian Gull, which frustratingly I didn't get enough on...

The interesting adult Gull is just next to the tips of that Crows left wing - just look at those long pink legs!  The Yellow-legged is just beyond the next Herring to its left, looking straight at the camera

 

Mediterranean Gull was the other species of gull that arrived in unprecedented numbers yesterday.

Considering I could count the number of Med Gulls I have seen on the Axe over the last month (prior to yesterday) on one hand, I was a bit shocked when an early morning look along the Estuary revealed a flock of 110 Med Gulls north of Coronation Corner!!

They never seemed to settle that well so were often just a swirling mass of white

Part of the flock settled in the early morning gloom

 

Shortly after, and whilst the flock was still there, a look out to sea showed another 40 Med Gulls feeding offshore - making 150 the day count.  I had twenty fly downriver during the afternoon too, which could well have been additional but can't say for sure.

Although this isn't the highest count for the patch, which was when I had 243 Meds fly west past the seafront during the evening of 23rd August 2024, I believe it is a record for numbers present at any one time on the Estuary.  The previous highest single count made being 83 on 29th Jan 2020. The highest day-total for Axe Estuary was also the 29th Jan 2020, when 123 were counted flying down river up until dusk (so probably including all 83 settled birds mentioned above).  Am sure I would have beaten this too mind, with the twenty in the afternoon plus the 40 over the sea which probably would have ventured into the Estuary at some point during the day.  A remarkable event, and what makes it even more bizarre and random is...

...today I have seen a grand total of three Med Gulls!  So I presume they have all flown back towards Portland?

Common Gull is another species that has increased in numbers dramatically over the last few days, with 100+ birds recorded including some lovely fresh and still quite juvenile-looking young birds.

Today I have seen another Caspian Gull, and I know it was a new one for me as it was sporting a green ring. When I first clapped eyes on it I thought it was one of the birds seen at Dawlish Warren yesterday, however Gav nailed the ring number half an hour later proving it was a different bird...

The white headed dude at the back!  

 

No more Caspian Gulls for me despite another two looks at the Estuary today, but two more Yellow-legged Gulls included singles of first and second-winter birds. 

So these seven Caspian Gulls takes my 2025 Casp tally to 22 birds, of which twenty have been since 30th August (one in August, nine in September and ten in October).  I think I have probably seen another two birds, which on views I couldn't be certain were different birds but highly likely they were, but I will stick with 22 to off-set any potential double-counting, although I have tried to prevent that by taking photos of them all.

I have missed another five or six Casps seen by others (including a second bird seen today by Gav) so the Axe 2025 total is around 28 birds.  To put this into perspective, before the turn of the year a total of 38 Caspian Gulls had been recorded on the Axe, since the first in 2007.  2023 was the previous best year when six were recorded. Six.  Is this a one-off year or is it the new normal?  Only time will tell, but they are clearly still coming through/hanging around.

Other oddities that I've seen today include a Great Crested Grebe on the Estuary...

My first of the autumn

And at dawn, three Egyptian Geese on Black Hole Marsh...

Wonder if they're the same as the three we had in spring!?

 

I've also seen a couple of Redwing shooting around, and there were a few Goldcrest and Chiffchaff calling from nearby trees and shrubs when I was out and about.  When this wind drops I think there's going to be a few birds around to find - which will be fun.

Could do with doing some bush-birding really, before I start looking like a Gull!