Sutton Bingham - Sat 27 Sep

I managed to squeeze in about half an hour at the northern end of the reservoir this afternoon and I concentrated on the dam. The Osprey was still viewable as it perched in the ash tree that seems to be its new favoured viewing point. On the dam itself were half a dozen White Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail alongside a few Pied Wagtails. Two Little Egrets were present and a Common Sandpiper was still knocking around. A couple of Meadow Pipits were present and I also found rather an interesting gull.

 

My first thought was an argentatus Herring Gull, sometimes called a Scandinavian Herring Gull but I'm not so sure after studying the photos again and getting feedback from a few others...plus argentatus would be pretty rare in the south west, especially this time of year.Gull expert Rich Bonser suggested that it could be a hybrid Herring x Lesser Black-backed, while another suggestion is that it simply a 3cy Lesser Black-backed. Gulls never fail to amaze me, they are so varied and full of surprises.
Finally, six Wigeon were present off the dam, though they did not linger and flew south.