Back from Miami and straight up the cliffs. A light NW both y’day and today, with a Westerly movement of large Gulls along the cliff tops taking place on the 14th. Highlighted by 7 Caspian Gulls – 2 First winters, 3 second winters and 2 third winters . The gulls were coming through in loose flocks of around 50 at a time, its abit of luck if you get onto a casp and then get time to photograph aswell so I only got a few of them. A fun way of gulling and often produces decent numbers of ‘rarer gulls’.
1st Winter Caspian Gull
2nd Winter Caspian Gull
3rd Winter Caspian Gull
8 Yellow legged Gulls (2nd winter below) were also counted among the 100s of Herring and Great black–backed, with only a handful of Lesser black backs.
2nd Winter Yellow-legged Gul
Today was a similar weather situation but basically no gulls moving except for this large, probably male adult Caspian Gull which flew east past fan bay.
Adult Caspian Gull
An almost perfect primary pattern let down only but the incomplete black band on p5, (you can see the ghost of the inner web’s portion) though nice long grey tongues eating into the black and very limited black on the underside of p10. perhaps some mixed genes in its family tree but could also be variation.
Other birds of note were 3 Chiffchaf, a Blackcap 2 Firecrest and a Woodcock that flew up ovr the cliff at fan bay mid morning.
PERDIX BIRDER 