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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

No sign of the yellow-legged gull for me today, but I did see the following (mainly this morning):

Goldeneye 5 (male & 4 females)

Goosander 5 (male & 4 females)

Redwing 200+

Song thrush 40+

Goldcrest 30+

There were lots of thrushes and blackbirds around Sorrowcow pond and the western end.

3rd winter Yellow Legged Gull present again today but seems to only be at the flash after 1pm each day,so it must be somewhere else overnight and in the mornings. Middle picture below

Kingfisher-3

Goldeneye-1 f

Snipe - 7

Little Grebe-6

Teal- 88

Redwing - c100 > s and a few round the area in the trees

Also an interesting 2nd winter Lesser Black backed Gull with white feathers in the Scapulars and wing coverts pictures below.

7:30-9:30 this morning:

589 Redwing over south(ish) in 19 flocks, the largest of 120 birds; main movement after the drizzle had stopped around 9am

3 Fieldfare together in with a Redwing flock

17 Lesser Redpoll south in 4 flocks

1 Swallow south 09:05

14 Pink-footed Geese low west 09:08

4 Pintail (including 2 drakes) over high west 09:17

3 Wigeon on the flash flew off west 09:20

43 Goldfinch SW in one flock

35 Song Thrush with 24 down around Ramsdales Ruck and the western car park, including 8 together in one shoreline bush and 11 over south in flocks of 5, 3 and 3

4 Kingfisher around the north side of the flash

So far this morning:

Female Merlin south

c800 Pink-footed Geese east

8 Goosander

8 Snipe

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

A few shots of the Yellow-legged Gull from today. Many thanks to John for his company and for putting us on the bird. The bird is very aggressive and displaces other gulls from buoys and chases coot mercilessly. it also appears fond of mussels either stolen from coot or extracted itself from beneath the water. I hope the comparison shot with the Lesser black-backed gull is useful for any further debate about the bird.

Brian and Helen Burnett

Attached are a few of my photos of the yellow-legged gull from yesterday (thanks for the tip off John). It does look very much like the bird from last winter. Hopefully it will stay throughout this winter.

3rd Winter yellow legged gull centre of flash at the moment

Visible migration watch from 7:15-10:00 (passage all but dried up by 9am) this morning produced:

1507 Woodpigeon S/SE in 38 flocks

1096 Pink-footed Geese E/SE in 8 skeins from 08:18 to 09:25 and a single bird west at 08:39

2 single immature Whooper Swans low west, only a minute apart from each other at 08:30

82 Redwing south in several small flocks

22 redpoll south

52 Chaffinch south

26 Greenfinch south

31 Goldfinch south

many other finches over south unidentified due to their height/distance 

9 Goosander in groups of 3, 4 and 2

Other sightings around the flash included:

A Cetti's Warbler extremely active and showing very well out in the open, calling nervously continuously around the reedbed and shoreline bushes by the point on Ramsdales Ruck; probably one of the resident birds having a little wander 

13 Little Grebe

2 Kingfishers along the north side of the flash

A few photos of the common tern which has been present for the past few days. Interesting to me because it's my latest ever common tern, anywhere, in fact it's the first I have ever seen in October, so an opportunity to get a good look at it's plumage at this time of year. What makes the date even more remarkable to me is that this is an adult not a juvenile. I would have expected adults to be long gone by now, and any stragglers to be juveniles.

It was very approachable, and I wondered if it was unwell, but an angler told me that it had been feeding on casters which he had been throwing into the water, and later I saw it fishing in the western bay so perhaps it's just a tame bird (extreme northern breeder??). It's also more or less still in breeding plumage, with a full black cap and quite a lot of red in the bill (I love the yellow tip!). Just a hint of a carpel bar perhaps and the dark patch behind the eye is there, despite the fact that the forehead is still black.

It seems quite short legged and pale to me, but a I'm not trying to claim anything other than common tern!

Also this morning, common tern still present.

Adult Mediterranean Gull posted again this evening.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Single adult Mediterranean Gull present in the evening's gull roost today.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

This morning:

4 Ruff flew around the spit early am, landed briefly then at least 3 of them flew off east

Common Tern still present

16 Pink-footed Geese over NW

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

Early this morning:

c370 Pink-footed Geese over SE

8 Snipe

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

The Sandbach U3A Birdwatching Group visited today, and were a bit surprised to find the  hides locked. Opened around 1030. 42 species recorded, best being 6 Snipe in front of the Horrocks' hide, female Blackcap at Pengy's, and up to 5 Willow Tit seen between Pengys and Bunting hides. Good day.