Second Calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull

I started today by visiting both Cropston and Swithland reservoirs hoping for something to have been blown in on Storm Hannah, but I was disappointed. Brascote Pits was my next choice of location, but all was quiet there too.

I eventually arrived at Shawell just before lunch and you guessed it, it was quiet there too.

The only gull that took my eye was a second calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull that was skulking amongst a few hundred gulls on the bank between the two lagoons by the A5 road. The white squarish head with an obvious mask caught my eye, but other features are quite subtle. The mantle colour and pattern is very similar to many same aged Yellow-legged Gulls that I've seen in Portugal in spring. There are several replaced lesser coverts and a singe greater covert. This is quite retarded for most michahellis, but about right for lusitanius. However, I have seen similar looking birds in Bulgaria in January, so probably within variation of michahellis.

Second Calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull, Shawell

Second Calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull, Shawell

Winter's last Vestiges

An Iceland gull was enjoying the free buffet at Cotesbach landfill site today despite the sunshine and unusually warm temperatures for the Easter Bank Holiday

Four Wheatears had also stopped off before continuing north. Also two Yellow and a single White Wagtail were feeding around the fringes of the flooded sandpit.

Gulls were still present in big numbers but most are now immature birds.

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Shawell Sanpit, April 20th 2019

Video of Third-Winter Iceland Gull

The third-winter Iceland Gull was at Shawell again on Friday and Saturday. Below os a bit of video -enjoy!