A 30 minute look at the gull roost from Green Lane this evening in bitter, wet, dull and windy conditions revealed 2 yellow-legged gulls, the long staying adult and a 3rd winter which was new in yesterday evening. Photo is of the new 3rd winter yellow-legged gull (taken yesterday). 

Adult Mediterranean Gull off the car park taken today at around 11.00am. Took some shots and someone was asking if it was ringed. In one of the shots it is ringed but not sure what info you can get from this. Please take a look. Many thanks.

Adult Mediterranean gull off car park this morning also 4 wigeon.

Late news for yesterday morning when a single Redshank was present.

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

Adult and third winter yellow-legged gulls in the roost this evening. Also 11 wigeon in the centre of the flash for most of the day.

I see a few oddities amongst the gulls when doing the roost, and here's another. Presumably a lesser black-back, but much smaller than usual with a  deformity above the bill giving it the look of a fulmar!

The regular 3rd winter yellow-legged gull was in the roost this evening, but I had to abandon half an hour before sunset due to the weather and many birds probably hadn't even come in at that point.

Two yellow-legged gulls in the roost this evening, the usual adult and 3rd winter. No sign of the Iceland gull or any Mediterranean gulls. However the weather was pretty awful and we viewed the roost from Horrock's hide rather than Green Lane so anything at the western end was pretty much out of view.

Fascinating! Thanks Dave, I have a copy of your book. There were a lot of dunlin around at the time, I think there were about 70 at Audenshaw on the same day.

Not a lot happening at the flash today so far today, about 10 goldeneye, 10 goosander, 60 redwing (mainly western end) and a Cetti's warbler singing still in Ramsdales. If the rain keeps off I'll be back for the roost later.

This evening in the gull roost:

Iceland gull 1 2nd win. Presumably the same bird which was at Atherton today and at the flash two weeks ago.

Yellow-legged gull 2 (adult & 3rd winter)

Mediterranean gull 1 adult

Black-headed gull many 1000s including a leucistic bird (or is it albino, it seems to have a much redder bill than the nearby normal black-heads)

Once again apologies for the quality of the photos, they were taken on my phone in near dark at sunset. I took almost 700 photos of the roost today and these are the best!

Third winter Yellow-legged Gull present this morning, also the Little Egret still present and 10 Snipe.

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

Shannon Llewellyn wrote:

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1 yellow-legged gull (3rd winter, and many thanks, John, for allowing me to view this beautiful bird through your scope)

-- Edited by Shannon Llewellyn on Sunday 19th of November 2017 08:47:55 PM

---

 Not a problem ,always happy to share ,some pictures of the bird in my posts below .

Yellow Legged Gull - 1 x 3rd Winter and 1 adult pictures below
Goosander-28 including one group of 8 Males on thier own without females which was unusual.
Kingfisher-2
Sparrowhawk-2
Little Grebe - 1 that shocked me by flying past just after dark .
Black Headed Gull - c 6000 in roost
Herring Gull- c300 in roost including quite a good number of very dark backed Argentatus ,so if you check the gull roost ,don't just go off the Mantle ,wing colour for YLG ,make sure all other features are correct and get a shot to confirm if you can.
Common Gull- c200 in roost
Great Black Backed Gull - 6
Willow Tit-4
Great Crested Grebe-28
Goldeneye - 26

:)

Yellow Legged Gull - 2 x 3rd Winter (one our regular the other with a full yellow bill and slightly smaller bird in the roost ) + 1 Adult which arrived about 3.3o to roost. I think its the first time ive seen 3 different yellow legged Gulls in one day at Pennington.
Mediterranean Gull - 2 adult in the pre roost
Kingfisher-3
Pochard -2 (Male in picture be...low)
Little Egret-1
Goosander-26
Goldeneye -24
Grey Wagtail-1
Pink footed Geese - 26 > N
plus the usuals

Pictures - Pochard,Adult Yellow Legged Gull ,2nd 3 rd w YLG (distant grab shot) regular yellow legged 3rd w

pm - after dark

Little Egret - 1
Yellow Legged Gull - 1 3rd winter & 1 Adult in Roost
Mediterranean gull - 1 adult
Redwing -40 (south bank)...
Goldeneye-26
Great Crested Grebe-34
Tufted Duck-120
Black Headed Gull- c4000 in roost
Jacdaw-c 800 in roost
Kingfisher-2
Cormorant-56

pictures - Little Egret, Mediterranean Gull and Adult Yellow Legged Gull

This early afternoon:

Third winter Yellow-legged Gull still sat on its bouy

Little Egret feeding and showing very well from Horrocks Hide and later roosting in trees in Teal Scrape

1 Chiffchaff mobile around Ramsdales

43 Pink-footed Geese west at 13:21

2 noisy Water Rails from Tom Edmonson Hide

A flock of 20 or so Goldfinch by the screen at the back of Teal Scrape contain at least 6 Siskin and 4 Lesser Redpoll, all feeding in Alders; with another 2 Siskin by Bunting Hide

So far today:

Yellow-legged gull 1 3rd winter again on bouys from Horrocks

Little egret 1 western end

Redshank 1 info Bill Harrison

Goldeneye 14

Cettis warbler 1 singing Ramsdales 

Just for a change, no sign of the adult yellow-legged gull in the roost this evening, but the 3rd winter bird was present (not often seen in the roost). Other than that not much to report except for a leucistic black-headed gull (see photos).

Adult yellow-legged gull again in the roost this evening, but once again no sign of the 3rd winter bird in the roost.

So far this morning:

Yellow-legged gull 1 3rd winter

Goosander 27 inc 7 males

Goldeneye 13 inc 5 males

Pink-footed goose 15 over west

Siskin 5

Cetti's warbler 1 singing in Ramsdales

Redwing 30 western end

Water rail 1 western end

Adult yellow-legged gull and adult Mediterranean gull in the roost this evening, but no sign of the 3rd winter yellow-legged gulll between 2:30 and dusk.

Back in July this year a colour ringed adult Mediterranean Gull was observed by Bill Harrison. Having been also sighted at Woolston Eyes in May this year its visit to the flash on 17th July was followed by its reappearance in Newport, Wales only a week after it had been seen at the flash!

A map of its movements can be seen on the following link here 

The usual third winter Yellow-legged Gull present once again today, along with 10 Goosander and 2 Wigeon.

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

This morning, 7:30-10am:

1279 Pink-footed Geese over either well north or just south of the flash, with 1173 east in 7 skeins and 106 west in 3 skeins

393 Redwing north in 14 flocks

66 Fieldfare north in 2 flocks

270 Canada geese flew in from the west in one large flock at 08:40 and dropped onto the flash

1 Redshank flying about

1 Little Egret still present

12.11.2017

Yellow legged gull - 1 3rd winter

Whooper swan - 7 circled east bay and flew off ne 16.15

Goosander-1

Snipe-1

Kestrel-2

plus the usuals

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Monday 13th of November 2017 06:36:51 AM

7 Whooper Swans including 2 adults flew low SE at 4:15pm today and an adult Mediterranean Gull roosted.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

3rd w yellow legged gull off car park and a little egret of note so far today

Also Adult Yellow Legged Gull and an Adult Mediterranean Gull

Gull Roost of note tonight

Yellow Legged Gull- 2 - 1 Adult and the regular 3rd Winter bird
Mediterranean Gull - 1 Adult
Black Headed Gulls-6000+
Great Black Backed Gull - 1...0+
Herring Gull- 200+
Common Gull -150+
Jackdaw-400+
Kingfisher -1

The jackdaws definitely seemed intent on premeditated harassment of the black-headed gulls! They seemed to leave the larger gulls well alone.

Besides the Yellow-legged Gull and at least five argentatus herring gulls there was also a peculiarly-plumaged 3W lesser black-back with mostly-white scapulars which gave it a peculiar piebald appearance.

Highlight of the gull roost this evening was the return of the 3rd winter yellow-legged gull, the first time I have seen it in 3 weeks. Still up to its usual habits, it divided its time between sitting on a bouy and harrasing coots for mussels. I watched it from the gap in the south east corner where I always start, about 2 hours before sunset in order to watch the pre-roost. While I was there 15 whooper swans flew over calling, heading south.

By the time I got to Green Lane for the roost proper there were impressive numbers of gulls. It's very difficult to give exact figures because there are so many birds and they are dropping in all of the time and there are so few observers, often only me. There has been a definate build up this week though, with tonight probably 500 herring gulls (including a few of the race argentatus), 200 lesser black-backs, 6000 black-headed gulls, a single great black-back and a few hundred common gulls. Unfortunately I coudn't pick out anything else unusual,  but it's a fantastic spectacle, just so many birds. As well as the gulls there are a few hundred jackdaws flying around, often right over the heads of the gulls almost as if they were deliberately antagonising them. I even saw a jackdaw land on a bouy, the first time I have seen this. People go on about starling murmurations, but this is equally impressive in my opinion.

8.00am - 11.15 today

6 dunlin flew low into the western bay and then up over the trees and away west over Slag Lane at 8.30. At 10.30 I called in at Horrock's hide to find 7 dunlin flying around over the spit before also apparently departing away to the west. I can't be 100% certain that they were different birds, but the earlier flock did only contain 6 birds and they did fly over Slag Lane and away.

Apart from that, pretty quiet:

Goosander 9 (adult male and 8 females / juveniles)

Goldeneye 6 (1 sub adult male and 5 females / juveniles)

Water rail 2 calling in Ramsdales

Redwing 50+ mainly at the western end

Great black-backed gull 1 adult, first I've seen at the flash for a while

Lesser black-backed gull, a few including the the bird with white feathers in the scapulars and wing coverts as reported by John in October.

There was an Iceland gull in the gull roost this evening, a 2nd winter bird which may be last winters bird returning. As far as I know this is the first "white winger" of the autumn in the area, and its appearance coincides with a build up of large gulls since Monday, with at least 300 herring gulls and 100 lesser black-backs tonight.  The herring gulls also included a number of darker Scandinavian birds of the race argentatus. and these are also the first I have seen at the flash this winter. At least 5000 black-headed gulls tonight.

Sorry for the really poor quality photos, they were taken on my phone, through my telescope, with the bird at least 100m away in very poor light at about 16:50 and then heavily cropped! It's amazing that I got anything actually.

This mornings walk around the flash was pretty uneventful with fog hanging over the water. Highlights were:

Goldeneye 8

Redwing 50 (mainly western end)

Willow tit 1

Cetti's warbler 1 singing in Ramsdales

Water rail 1 calling western end

There were two youths with fishing gear standing on one of the islands in Ramsdales. I shouted to them, but they simply put their hoods up so that I couldn't see their faces, clearly an acknowledgement that they knew that they shouldn't be there. As expected, there wasn't a bird in Ramsdales.

12.30pm - 3pm today

Whooper swan 3 over west at 1.15pm

Fieldfare 23 in bushes at the western end

Redwing 50 mainly at the western end

Goldeneye 8 (male and 7 females)

Goosander 3 (male and 2 females) western end

Pochard 1 female western end

8:00am - 11:30am today and then later the gull roost 3:30pm - 5:15pm

Meditteranean gull 1 adult in the roost, definately a different bird to that I saw on Friday with John.

Black-headed gull 6000 in the roost

Lesser black-backed gull 70

Herring gull 70

Common gull 100

Goldeneye 8

Kingfisher 2

Goosander 2

Redwing 50 mainly around Sorrowcow pond

1st w yellow legged gull been on end of spit all day since 11 now gone into middle of flash with other gulls at Roost time

also in Roost

1 Adult Yellow legged Gull

1 a striking most likely 2nd winter Yellow Legged Gull with very white head-it was very dark when it came in ,but looked like one.

1 Adult Mediterranean Gull

Also of note today

12 Goldeneye

1 Female Merlin flying south over spit

A good day at the Flash with the following seen

Goosander - 12

Cormorant-61

Shoveler-40

Cetti's Warbler-2

Teal-60

Kingfisher-4

Siskin-2

Goldcrest-2

Goldeneye-12

Wigeon-1

Jackdaw - c1100 going into roost on the south bank

Then in the gull roost until after Dark of note

Black Headed Gull-c6000

Common Gull- 55

Yellow Legged Gull - 1 Adult a very large specimen and the first Adult this winter at the flash

Mediterranean gull - 1 Adult and 1 1st Winter

Pictures of the Yellow Legged Gull and Mediterranean Gulls taken almost in the dark at great distance through the scope so they are not very good

7:30 - 10:00 today:

Siskin 5 heard but not seen over south side

Goldeneye 10 in ones or twos all around the flash. All females / juveniles except for one sub-adult male

Goosander 11    2 males & 9 females / juveniles

Wigeon 10

Redwing 50 mainly at the western end

Willow tits and water rail heard. Also Cetti's warbler singing frequently in Ramsdales.

Single Whooper Swan present on the flash this morning.

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

A couple of early hours this morning with surrounding fog but clear over and around the immediate area of Ramsdales Ruck:

560 Starling flew west out of the roost at 07:07

70 Redwing SW in 5 flocks

8 Fieldfare west at 07:15 and another 8 west at 07:30 (latter thanks to Barry Hulme)

76 Woodpigeon south in several small flocks

1 lone Ring Ouzel (male type) flew strongly and directly north (!?) at 07:45

Cetti's warbler singing from Ramsdales Reedbed at 07:!7

I was delighted to see (and hear) a hawfinch over the ruck today. There might have been two others earlier but they were just that bit to distant for me. The flight call of the species is incredibly feeble for such an intimidating finch.

Also today:

120 redwing over mainly SW

Fieldfare 5

Lesser redpoll 5

Pink-footed goose approx 300 in flocks of approx 100, 150 50

Goldeneye 5 (sub adult male & 4 females)

4 Goosander

So far this morning:

130 Pink-footed Geese south and 180 NE

8 Wigeon

Yesterday:

9 Goosander

11 Little Grebe

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

First light to 08:35 today:

Hawfinch- one over Ramsdales Ruck at 07:58, gave itself away with its short and fairly shrill 'srree' call and watched well as it went overhead and strongly south. An incredible sighting, which even given the numbers being seen in the north of the county and in the UK in general, I was absolutely and genuinely gobsmacked with!

573 Woodpigeon south in 25 flocks

114 Redwing west in 6 flocks 

1 Brambling over

1 Yellowhammer over

General finch numbers over very low indeed!

277 Pink-footed Geese east, came in from due west but well south of the flash with 250 at 07:08 and 27 at 07:22

An evening visit, primarily for the gull roost produced:

2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull

390 Herring Gull

330 Lesser Black-backed Gull

c5000 Black-headed Gull

22 Pink-footed Geese fairly low east (SE?) at 5:48pm

Several Redwing bursting out of the thick scrub and bushes by Sorrowcow Farm pond just after dusk and heading out high into the sky

And the Jackdaw roost is officially massive with a very conservative 900 on the south side (probably easily over 1000) and another 400 in a separate roost on the north side by the golf course!

Fog spoiled play this morning, rolling in at 07:40, then clearing over the western side at 08:20 to 08:45, before coming back in again with a vengeance whereupon I'd had enough!

A single Brambling called from trees on the top of Ramdales Ruck at 07:45 having presumably roosted up there.

At least one Siskin was in with a Goldfinch flock roaming around the top of Ramsdales Ruck.

As the fog cleared for its short period a large exodus of Pink-footed Geese could be seen well south of the flash coming from the west and heading east. Three skeins totalled 1310 birds at 08:00 and 08:33; though the one of 770 consisted of a few skeins in one huge group.

Woodpigeons heading south totalled 676 in less than 30 minutes usable viewing with many large flocks very high up, so its anyone's guess just how many moved over this morning.