Tues 20th Dec. Quick call in on way back from a very busy Liverpool route.
- 2 x 1st winter Caspian Gulls on 384 roof. As I got out of the van with my camera a wagon drove passed and clattered over a road divet flushing a few of the Gulls including 1 of the Caspians. The other one stayed and I could see it was Dutch red ringed. It did a quick fly round and landed back on the roof. The ring number was 5.3
Of note - 40+ adult Great Black-backed Gulls on 384 & BCA, many more Gulls in the air so possibly more
No sign of any Caspian Gulls for me but there was an intriguing 1st winter Herring Gull with a fairly white head and longish slim bill, on the 384 roof and then in the yard, but as it took flight its underwings were dark and it didnt look right for a Caspian, so for me it was a Herring Gull.
Morning visit. - 3rd winter Caspian Gull showing well at times on 384 roof then disappearing behind the rubbish mounds in the yard. It was still knocking around at 11am when I left.
Other birds of note - c15-20 Argentatus Gulls - 5 Redwings over - 1 Wren
Nice to see Pete Kinsella & Co today. They were present when I arrived for my 2nd visit and theyd had the Caspian Gull mid morning so I reckoned it was only a matter of time before it returned.
Other birds of note - 14 Argentatus Gulls (probably more, difficult to count as there was lots of activity with Gulls coming and going) - 1 green ringed Herring Gull (missed the number) - 1 white ringed Black-headed Gull - 7 Redwings over - 1 Grey Wagtail - 2 Pied Wagtail
I went back after Lucas football class and after a bit of a wait I picked up a bird in flight over Redgate Lane. It continued over the yard then towards Hyde Rd before swinging round the 384 building and landing in full view on the roof. What a beauty of a Gull this is! It continued to show well on the roof before dropping into the main yard where it showed on and off, it kept disappearing behind the rubbish mounds.
Clocked it at distance first off on Stoodleys roof then realised I could get a better view. Showed well for a bit then it became mobile, before landing on the 384 roof. I lost it eventually but I had to go anyway.
Afternoon tacho break on way back from Southport. I was there until it gone 4 and getting quite dark. Virtually all of the Gulls had flown off by the time I was leaving anyway.
Of note - probable 1st w Caspian Gull in flight (bad light so not 100%) - c10 ad Argentatus Herring Gulls - 3 ad Great Black-backed Gulls (including the one with the hanging down wings)
Called in on way back from Liverpool, absolutely loads of Gulls, c150-200 large Gulls around the site with a rough count of 60 on the 384 roof alone.
- No sign of the 2W Caspian Gull, probably already at Audenshaw - 25+ Argentatus Herring Gulls, varies every day - 1 Grey Wagtail - 3 Pied Wagtail - 1 Robin
and then the highlight, an adult type Iceland Gull appeared in flight over the yard, no time to get the camera so I swiped my iPhone to camera and took an image of the large group it was in before it disappeared. I think I got it but could be wrong. Hopefully gets picked up at Audenshaw as I wont be at Redgate now until Friday.
- a 2nd winter Caspian Gull appeared flying over the yard then towards Hyde Rd. I re-found it on the 384 roof on the Hyde Rd side but in an awkward spot for any good photos but I took some anyway.
Also forgot to post Herring Gull N:54L yesterday afternoon.
Mon 28th Nov Afternoon visit during work lunch break.
- a superb 2nd winter Caspian Gull flying around and then dropped into the yard in full view.
I thought I had a 1st winter Caspian Gull too in flight over Redgate Lane looking ready to land in the yard, but the area I anticipated it landing didnt pan out and it disappeared over the back fencing so didnt get a close up Im afraid.
-- Edited by Rob Creek on Monday 28th of November 2022 06:31:56 PM
Mon 14th Nov Nipped out in my lunch break mid afternoon.
- 4 ad Great Black-backed Gulls - 9 ad Argentatus Herring Gulls - 2 Pied Wagtails
Then as I was driving off on Hyde Rd I noticed an adult Gull coming in and land on the 384 roof near the corner of Redgate Lane and Hyde Rd. Something about it just said have a look before you go Rob, I pulled in to the side street and got my bins out.
- adult Caspian Gull Beautiful bird. I was in the right place at the right time, and managed some ok shots from across the road, it will be submitted as always. I even saw it cough up a pellet or something like, it then ate it again. Image time & date says October, my fault, its November!
-- Edited by Rob Creek on Monday 14th of November 2022 10:53:14 PM
Fri 11th Nov Mid afternoon visit on break - Lesser Black-backed N:W34 again
Sat 12th Nov Lunchtime visit for an hour or so. - c50 Pink-footed Geese over W towards the city centre - 7 Redwings together - 2 Greenfinch - 2 Grey Wagtails - 3 Pied Wagtails - 2 ad Great Black-backed Gulls - 6 ad Argentatus Herring Gulls - c100 Black-headed Gulls
Also worth a mention was the decent number of Woodpigeon over, mainly singles and groups of 5-10 birds, possibly around 50-75 birds over, nothing spectacular I know, but over a virtually city centre site I thought was ok.
Didnt get much chance to visit the site over weekend as my car went into shutdown mode after the battery decided to pack up on Hyde Rd on Saturday morning.
Called in this afternoon (Tues) on tacho break.
- 14 Redwings over N - 2 Argentatus H.Gull - 1 Grey Wagtail
Went back after work but there was no sign of it, I thought I had another Caspian Gull possibly a 2nd winter but it was distant and difficult to tell, Ill probably put it down as a Herring Gull.
- Herring Gull Y:685 still visiting the site. Looks totally different to a month ago now with its streaked head. It will probably visit the site on and off over the winter as it?s done in the past.
Tues 11th Oct
- 1 Jay over BCA, dropped down near PDSA (am) - 2 Raven over Hyde Rd / Redgate Lane (am) - 4 Grey Wagtails this evening (2 on 384 roof, 2 on prefabs)
Few visits this week but with the darker nights drawing in its been a bit late after work and most of the Gulls have gone to roost.
However, just had a Raven low over the site (Friday) and on Tuesday and Wednesday there were 2 Grey Wagtails both visits, and a Sparrowhawk on Sunday afternoon.
Few visits over weekend, a few intriguing Gulls seen but I will probably dumb them down as nothing interesting.
Sat 24th Sept. - 3 cracking Argentatus Gulls
Sun 25th. - 4 Argentatus Gulls - 1 Ring-necked Parakeet
Mon 26th. - 4 Argentatus Gulls
and a Lesser Black-backed Gull K+N on a very pale green ring. Bird flew off so no images but got the ring number with my bins when it was fairly close in the yard. Tried cr-birding with a lime green ring and 2 alpha settings, even though it wasnt really a lime green. Pete Rock came up as possible ringer and if it wasnt one of his then hed probably know whos it was as he is one of the cr-birding co-ordinators.
Had a reply this afternoon and it is indeed one of his. It was ringed in Bath 09.07.14, has been seen again in Bath 2016, but as Pete put in his reply Good work Rob, this bird has stayed under the radar for over 5 years. And his definition of the ring colour is PG3 (Pale Green 3) that he has only used 3 times, certainly not lime in his opinion!
- adult Yellow-legged Gull Showing well for a short while on 384 roof this afternoon but flew off towards BCA, tried to relocate it but the rain was getting heavier and my lunch break was ending.
-- Edited by Rob Creek on Thursday 22nd of September 2022 09:20:05 PM
Just had a reply from Mark Fitzpatrick, Manx Ringing Group.
Lesser Black-backed Gull T0XM
I apologise for the lack of replies. Thanks for your three emails about T0XM. It is interesting that it is hanging around the site and not just feeding up and moving on south. This LBB Gull was ringed as a chick near the Point of Ayre, at the northern tip of the Isle of Man on 1/7/2011.
Some of our Manx LBBs of a similar age have been seen over 20 times, mostly from their wintering sites in southern Spain or in Portugal. This has been seen only twice since ringed, prior to your sightings:
visit_date capture_time location_name gridRef 01/07/2011 18:00 SAN-POA (Point of Ayre) NX4604 22/12/2012 12:00 SANLOR (San Lorenzo Beach, Gijon) 06/08/2014 12:00 AGP (Point of Ayre Gravel Pits) NX4504
San Lorenzo Beach is on the north coast of Spain, west of Santander.
Back early hours Friday morning from a week in Crete, serious Gull withdrawal symptoms not only from missing Redgate but also through a lack of Gulls over there!
Of interest I has a few replies from Tim Frayling regarding some recent ringed birds seen here in the last few weeks.