A wild weekend

We've had two named storms come though over the last few days. Austen, which was a north westerly on Friday and then Boelo who entered the story late morning Saturday from the south west - with a lot and lot of rain!  Another front came through this morning too, not named but it brought a lot of rain and a strong southerly/south westerly wind.  

I had high hopes for gulling this weekend, but despite good numbers on the Estuary on Saturday, and ok numbers on Friday and Sunday, I couldn't find anything among them despite multiple checks.  This really showed me just how times have changed, as I was truly surprised NOT to have found a Caspian Gull!  

Thankfully however, all came good today with a lunchtime check of the Estuary revealing a second-winter Caspian Gull, my first of this age on the Axe this autumn...

Left hand bird.  Weirdly looked way more striking in field than appears in this pic as it was a big, long-winged and subtly but obviously darker mantled than all Herring Gulls

Now this is something you want to see on a second-winter Caspian Gull!  Not always there, but when it is it's a big tick.  White window on P10 - lovely.

 

The sea also saved itself today from being a complete flop during this spell of rough weather.  Except for a decent but distant movement of Gannets on Friday morning, all other looks over the sea on Fri/Sat/Sun were really disappointing.  

This morning was again very poor (probably too much rain) but a quick beach walk during my lunch break gave me the lovely sight of three Little Gulls gracefully but purposefully making their way west across the bay, just beyond the breaking waves...

One of each age too! 1st-winter below an adult on left, and a second-winter (paler underwing and black tips to upper primaries) on right.  Am so pleased they bunched together just as they came past me allowing this photo to be taken!

 

If this was any other year, these could well have been my only Little Gulls of the year, but I had a nice flurry of records in the first-winter period this year.   

There's been a couple of nice wildfowl highlights as well.  On Friday morning three fem/juv Pintail were on Bridge Marsh, which I was going to say were my first of the autumn, but they're actually my first here all year. Also a single drake Gadwall, 140+ Teal and heaps of Wigeon, Mallard and Canada Geese.

Three lovely Pintail. I know the drakes are smart but there is something so nice about fem/juvs

Early this morning on a flooded Colyford Common, a female Tufted Duck was a surprise sight with a group of Mallards!  Even more surprisingly, it didn't fly off when I walked right past it!  Also 10+ Cattle Egret around the flood water here.

A very unexpected sight!  Female Tufted Duck with three male Mallards on Colyford Common. There were several more Mallards just out of shot.

 

I am still seeing a few Redwing about, with a flock of 24 low west over Lower Bruckland Ponds on Saturday morning the biggest single flock I have seen so far this autumn.  There were three Coot there too.  Otherwise overhead migration has ground to a halt, not a surprise considering the weather.  Hopefully it will resume later this week when the weather is set to calm.

Other birds that have been seen here but I didn't catch up with include a brief Curlew Sandpiper seen by Tim C on Saturday morning on Colyford Common, and a pair of Egyptian Geese on Bridge Marsh on Sunday per Ian Mc.

Thanks for reading, do check back soon for more!