All Quiet

I'm sure many of you are wondering why the Axe Estuary has been so quiet lately? No news of any decent gulls, or anything else for that matter! Well that's because it has been quiet! I've been out for at least a couple of hours every day, but I've seen almost nothing worthy of note.

Yesterday I trekked out to Weston again, and finally had good views of the Scoter flock. There were just under 200 birds, but unfortunately all were Commons.

Weston Cliffs; the furthest point is Beer Head

The gulls have been relentlessly crap. Whilst Radipole have had up to three Ring-billeds, an Iceland and a Caspian within the last few days - not to mention 350+ Med Gull - the Axe yesterday had six Med Gulls (4 unringed adults, 1st winter and 2nd winter) and that dark mantled hybrid third-winter large Gull that I photographed the other day. And that was it! Today was even worse, with just three Meds.

With some cold weather predicted, let's hope it shakes something up!

Scoter Search Update

So I trekked out to Weston Cliffs this morning, looking forward to finding a Surf Scoter or two at the very least.

At the cliff top I started scanning, and continued scanning, back and forth......and I couldn't for the life of me see one Common Scoter - let alone a flock of 200!

Just as I was starting to think I had gone mad - I picked them up, but they were even further to the west. They were off the cliffs on the other side of Weston mouth, probably not all that far from Sidmouth really! It's no wonder I couldn't see them sitting on the sea from Branscombe!

From where I was, they were still way too far away to check properly, but a quick count up revealed almost 300 birds! So I know what I am doing tomorrow now - trekking out to the cliff top at the other side of Weston mouth!

I drove back home via the Estuary, where I could see Gav and Brian H scoping the gulls from Coronation Corner. I pulled in a little lower down the river, and after a false alarm (I thought I had a good candidate for a Yankee Herring Gull), the Caspian Gull appeared in a gull flock upstream after they had all been for a bit of a fly around.

It is such a striking bird - way more obvious than the juv/first-winter Yellow-legged Gulls we pick out from late summer onwards. I won't bombard you with Caspian Gull pics, just the one I think shows best just how striking it is...

BRUTE! A brute with a beer belly too!!!

Check back tomorrow to see if I finally get to grips with this bloody Scoter flock!!!