At last, the floods ar Wheldrake Ings had abated slightly, so I thought I would give the gull roost a go. Duncan was in Tower Hide, but a lot of birds were roosting on the grassy spits protruding from the water in the main meadow, so I decided to watch from the bridge. This proved successful, when after a few minutes, a striking white head and black bill among the immature Herrings, caught my eye, and after watching it for a while, a fine first-winter Caspian Gull revealed itself. A very handsome bird, with distinctive jizz and plumage, making it stand out from the crowd. I rang Duncan who fortunately could see it from Tower. A little later, I picked up a first-winter Mediterranean Gull in the vicinity of the Caspian, which was a nice end to my first roost in a while.
And the Med...
We estimated about 30,000 gulls in the roost: 39 Great Black-backed, 300+ Herrings, 10,000 Common and 20,000 Black-headeds. Also, 500 Golden Plovers and two Goosanders noted.
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