Med Gull and other sightings

Pete Lambert Wrote yesterday:

Tuesday 29 November 2011 and very blustery, so most of birds out of sight.  But at 9.10am I arrived at the Chalk Bridge (crossing the Lee Navigation at the north end of the Marshes) where as usual I checked the gulls sitting on the roof just NE of the Bridge, at the Bus Garage.  Most mornings there are a group of Black-headed Gulls standing here, although sometimes one or two Common Gulls join them.  Today though, the most right hand bird was a Mediterranean Gull!  Looked like a full adult, although I couldn’t see the tips of the primaries clearly enough to be sure it wasn’t a 2nd winter bird.  The only other record I have of Mediterranean gull was in 1996 when another adult flew along the west edge of the Lockwood Res and on north over the East Marsh.  This also made my 100th bird for the year seen at the Marshes.  Photos attached are rather indistinct, but you can see the thick bill of the bird (the last one on the right), and the extensive black “shawl” behind the eye.  Through the bins the primaries appeared all white (2nd winter birds show variable amounts of black in the wing tip).

Apart from that, Kingfisher at Pymmes Brook from bridge to Northumberland Park, Jackdaw SW over Stonebridge Lock calling, 2 Teal in west channel at East marsh, Goldcrests calling at Stonebridge Wood and Chiffchaff calling at East Marsh.

Pete

Click on Pic to enlarge