Arriving at the southern end of the reservoir at about 5.20pm I found it was devoid of birds, so I headed straight for the northern causeway and set up my 'scope.
This turned out to be much more productive in what turned out to be an excellent evening's birding. As I got out of the car a flock of thirteen alba wagtails were flitting about and perching on the fencing before heading off south. Whilst primarily Pied Wagtails, there were at least two White Wagtails as well. A sign that some migration is underway.
As I scanned over West Pool I noted forty Wigeon on the water's edge plus twelve Tufted Duck and eight Teal on the water, as well as two Little Grebes. Grazing in one of the fields neighbouring the reservoir was a flock of twenty five Canada Geese, and surprisingly, a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose.
I then turned my attention to the gathering gulls and spent some time trawling through them all to see what was about. There were well over two hundred Herring and Black-headed Gulls, while Lesser Black-backed Gulls numbered around twenty and there were about ten Common Gulls present. Then I thought I'd hit the jackpot...an Iceland Gull...or was it? Apparently, a very white Herring Gull has been doing the rounds in west Somerset and east Devon so it is a possibility that this was the bird I was looking at. Close but no cigar as they say!
I turned my attention back to West Pool as a flock of thirty Fieldfares flew in to roost in some of the waterside trees.
Mammals were also noticeable this evening, with two Roe Deer and a Red Fox being present. Just as I was about to head off home, light was fading fast and my fingers were frozen, I noticed a disturbance in the water on West Pool. Hoping that what I thought I had just seen would reappear I waited and was eventually rewarded with a good view of a swimming Otter. A wonderful end to a great hour and a half.
UK list for 2010 now at 151 species.
Where do the gull actually roost. You say it was in the pre-roost??
ReplyDeleteI'm not 100% sure. The vast majority of the gulls fly in and bathe and then head off south before dark, so I presume they actually roost somewhere like Weymouth Bay.
ReplyDeleteHi Tim,
ReplyDeleteI don't want to put a dampener on your 'Iceland' Gull.....but was it VERY white?? I ask because at Chard Res we have had an 'all white' Herring/LBB Gull type drop-in several times over the last few months. The same bird has also been seen at Seaton 3 or 4 times, by Steve Waite & Gavin Haig...even these gull experts are unsure of it's true ID !! There are photos of the bird on the Chard Res website & also Gavin's 'Not Quite Scillies' Blog.
Hi Dave.
ReplyDeleteWith hindsight there is probably enough of an element of doubt due to the poor viewing conditions that this could well be the same bird. As a result I shall put my celebrations on hold and wait for the next one! Cheers.