Friday 8 August 2014

First Balearics


second-summer lesser black-backed gull - present on the beach this morning with an adult bird.

Balearic Shearwaters have tended to show up earlier in the summer, normally mid - late July, so today's  four birds felt a bit overdue. They flew in from the east, while Nick and I were watching Maer Rocks, and started feeding with a small group of gulls some way off Orcombe Point. As well as the 4 balearic shearwaters there were 2 juvenile mediterranean gulls, 8 common scoter, 2 turnstone, 16+ sanderling, 5 common tern and 1 arctic tern, as well as small numbers of kittiwake, gannet and sandwich tern.
Yesterday morning, a similarly-timed early morning vigil, from the same spot, produced 1 juv shelduck, 2 juv mediterranean gull, 1 arctic skua, 17+ sanderling, 3 common sandpiper, 7 common scoter, 3 teal, 3 turnstone and 1 dunlin.


second-summer lesser black-backed gull


adult winter mediterranean gull - Mudbank - 1 of at least 8 present with good numbers of black-headed gulls over yesterday afternoon's high tide.

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