Little Gulls

Martin called with news of a Little Gull in the estuary, that Ivan was watching from the Warren (cheers Martin and Ivan). I finished lunch and chipped down to Shelly Beach to see if I could see it. No sign at first but after a few minutes a smart first-winter bird flew downriver and started feeding around some moored fishing boats. At 1245 it flew out to sea, and I thought it may have gone. A couple minutes later, I watched a lovely pink-flushed adult bird sail into the estuary, and with it the first-winter. Both birds then fed in the estuary but were mostly pretty distant. I managed a couple record shots of the adult bird before heavy rain set in. Otherwise today, off Mudbank - 19 Great Crested Grebes, 24 Wigeon, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and 19 Pintail.