Gulls of the World (Part 10) All Over the Place

It seems alien sitting indoors in the morning, but the abysmal weather has prevented any sensible 'birding'. Hoping for a lull this afternoon, to catch the ebb at Ferry Bridge, I'll utilise the time to bring you the final photographs in the Gulls of the World series. 36 of the 54 (self accepted) species have been represented in this montage, with a further 3 (Franklin's, Grey and Olrog's Gulls) only committed to 35mm film which I am unable to upload despite scanning. Please note, this Blog is not about accolade, but a chance to share a part of my life with a few like minded people. However, the few responses to my efforts so far have been unanimously positive and I have had a couple of requests to follow the Gulls with Waders. This I will be delighted to do in the days to come. Finally, it would be of great help and interest if all my readers could register as 'Followers' (just follow the links) as particularly whilst I'm away it would be good to hear, occasionally, what you lot are up to, a Blog should be a 2 way street. Any comments, withing the bounds of Google rules, would also be more than welcome.

PS
Ferry Bridge this afternoon 13-00 to 15-30 included, 76 Ringed Plover, 51 Dunlin, 2 Sanderling, 20 Turnstone, 4 Knot, a Whimbrel, plus an assortment of Gulls several juveniles.

Brown-headed Gull - Sri Lanka

Brown-hooded Gull - Falkland Islands

Dolphin Gull - Ushuaia, Argentina

Yellow-legged Gull - Essaouira, Morocco

Note on the last species: I have never been totally happy with my identification of this individual, as is often the case the image didn't represent the true colour of the bird. I noted at the time that the mantle and upper wing coloration was far lighter than the representation and so would welcome the views of any Gulloholics out there. My (open) view is that it is Larus cachinans atlantis????

Wet 'n' Windy Wednesday

This remarkable set of photographs came into my possession some time ago via a friend who has spent his whole life on the edge of the Fleet and comments he has never witnessed the likes before. Taken after the fairly violent storm of 9th February 2009, the location is adjacent the Coastguard Cottages at Abbotsbury. Before publishing these shots (for which I have permission) I decided it best to investigate them further, talking to a number of Portisham / Abbotsbury folk. They too have never seen such changes in the beach structure or such wide spread and prolific 'rock / clay scatter'. If any of my readers can shed further light on this phenomena I, and several others, would be pleased to hear from you. This can be done via the 'comments' line below each posting, just click the word in green. Any notes that follow should be taken at face value as they may be inaccurate or short of fact.

These ridges, on the Fleet side of the Chesil, are locally known as 'crubs' and regularly run horizontally, ie from Abbotsbury to Portland. They have been seen in the past but not to such depth.

Undermining of the beach by sea erosion is not uncommon.

Unidentified metal cast, maybe used as a 'clump' (anchor) to secure a small boat, fishing net etc?

Clay slip, again not unusual except for the amount.

The next 3 images highlight the vast amount of rock and clay 'scatter' more than recalled before?

The edge of the clay slip, known as The Hard was where, a friend informs me, local children would be sent to search for coins and other small artifacts, with some success.

I would like to thank Don Moxom, Joy Langford et al for their help, time and insight into this fascinating occurrence.

Note:- Changes have been made to this post as my brain decided to, briefly, click back into gear. See ammendment and appology at Waders of the Lost Arc-hive 'post'.

High Tide - Dry Day

Well, I thought the day was over until I found there was an outstanding text from Daragh that needed some swift action. A Wood Sandpiper at Lodmoor is not only an excellent bird to see, but a 'year tick' for me, the first since 12th June when we 'twitched' the Somerset Little Bittern. Dinner was at 19-00 and it was already 17-30, but the prophetic words of fellow birder Brett Spence came flooding back from the day I found the Fan-tailed Warbler and he drove back from somewhere like Ringwood pronouncing "there are some things in life much more important than a family holiday" (for family holiday substitute eating) I was soon marching down Abbotsbury Road at full tilt to catch a bus that never seemed to come, and embark on a journey that almost daily seems about 5 minutes when I'm walking. These days I just cannot carry all the kit and the 'scope has long since been forsaken for the camera and lens, so when I did locate 2 small Waders, at great distance, they did seemed to have the look of a WS and a Dunlin, but you can hardly commit that to the notebook. Enter Daragh, stage left, with trusty optic and newly 'acquired' tripod and we had it clinched, number 242 for the year, with the other bird being a Common Sand. As it was I needn't have worried as the photo above accurately tells the story, just look at those under-tail coverts?? As for the bird on the left I'm certain the tail length is right for Spot Sand!

Knot, or Red Knot as they seem to call them these days.

juvenile Mediterranean Gull

Despite an unfavourable forecast and some heavy overnight rain, things seemed set fair for a walk to Ferry Bridge at least. As I approached the Weymouth Fire Station a Hobby flew overhead, and watched as it continued north over the inner harbour and onward to Radipole. The walk was well worth it as the tide was about to flood, the foreshore seemed full of birds, and as I crossed the bridge a Grey Wagtail revealed itself 'on call'. Counts included 10 Little Egret, 2 Lesser & 4 Greater Black-backed Gull, 174 Ringed Plover, 78 Dunlin, 2 Sanderling, 6 Oystercatcher, 5 Turnstone, 4 Mediterranean Gull and a bonus by way of an obliging Knot. There was plenty of time to complete counts and search for that 'rarity', and to make things easier everything was concentrating on eating rather than flying all over the place. It's a steak and a pint with Daragh Croxson & Pete Coe in JD Weatherspoor's this evening so the place will soon be full of feathers and Parrot droppings!

Gulls of the World (Part 9) North Africa

Sooty Gull - Ras Mohamed (north), Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

Audouin's Gull - Essaouira, Morocco

White-eyed Gull - Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

Pallas's Gull - Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

Another quiet day bird wise, but another great walk around Radipole, Lodmoor and the Bill end of Portland. Lodmoor produced the most interest with 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 19 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plover, a dozen Lapwing, 3 Sandwich Tern, 5 Little Egret, a Willow Warbler, 3 Common Sandpiper, several (maybe 4) most vocal Water Rail, an equally noisy Green Woodpecker and a Common Buzzard. At the Obs, settling down to my now 'trademark' corned beef bun, I located a Curlew, on call, which was seen shortly afterwards circling the East Cliff before disappearing out to sea.

Black-tailed Godwits at Lodmoor today.

Lazy Sunday - Gulls of the World (Part 8) Return to the Home Front

After a relatively busy week, today I'll take it easy and finalise some plans for my next trip. It is intended to be a 'long one' so much to be done, details to follow.

Little Gull - Christchurch Harbour, Dorset

Black-headed Gull - Weymouth, Dorset

Mediterranean Gull - Ferry Bridge, Portland, Dorset

Black-legged Kittiwake - Buchan Alpha, 120 miles NE of Aberdeen

Common Gull - Radipole Nature Reserve, Weymouth, Dorset