4 photos of the Baltic Gull showing the long wings of the bird and the top one showing the darkness of the bird compared to a Lesser Black-Backed Gull.My plans for today were to go to Suffolk in the morning and see the target bird then get back home in time for the Herts bird club conference. The plan however didn't come off! I woke early on Saturday and saw that the bird was still present so I got ready and headed for only my 3rd ever visit to Languard NR near Felixstowe. I arrived around 10.30am and managed to find a parking space. On the Friday i'd been in a t-shirt and had sweat running down my head. 24 hours later and I was wearing 4 layers, gloves and a wooly hat as the wind was a tad cold! After a bit of a wait and several shouts of it showing I finally got onto the bird as it perched on a dead Holm Oak. For the next 10 seconds or so I was watching through my bins my first ever SHORT-TOED TREECREEPER. I had good but brief views of it as it worked it's way along the Eastern side of the compound for the next hour or so along with fellow Herts birders Ricky Flesher and Steve Blake. Unfortunately i'd not noticed the time and had left it too late to get to the conference so I had a hot chocolate and a burger and watched a 1st Summer Mediterranean Gull over the car park I decided to head on to Lackford Lakes SWT in the hope of another potential lifer. I met the other two on site and we headed to the first hide where I saw my first Sand Martins of the year with around 50 flying over the lake. We then moved off to another hide over looking The Slough and almost immediately found the Sub-Adult BALTIC GULL and watched it for the next hour. It certainly looked different with it's very long slender wings when rested and almost black back. I'll let the gull experts make a descision!! A pair of Egyptian Geese on the way home also found themselves on my year list.
No comments:
Post a Comment