PLODDINGBIRDER: Little Gulls and a Phalarope!

Sunday, 26 October 2014

Little Gulls and a Phalarope!

Excellent visibility this morning. On the left hand side of the above image, the small aerial is in fact the French equivalent of Nelson's Column the 53 mt high Napoleons Column at Wimille near Bolougne.

As I drove past Boulderwall Farm this morning the Cattle Egret was sitting on it's favourite fence, on the New Diggings a Great White Egret was also in it's usual place.

Shortly after arriving at the fishing boats I was joined by AJG and DW where we enjoyed an excellent passage of Little Gulls(Not quite on the scale of Cap Gris Nez). A first for me in the form of a summer plumaged Grey Phalarope. AJG spotted a wader coming towards us, but it was flying like a Phalarope, fluttering with short glides and almost settling on the sea, but it wasn't grey and white, DW realised first that it was a summer plumaged Grey Phalarope and eventually it did settle on the sea and disappeared in the troughs.

07.20-10.00:

Brent Goose:53 W
Wigeon: 1 W
Common Scoter: 3 W 10 E
Red-throated Diver: 1 W + 1 on sea
Manx Shearwater: 1 W
Gannet: 376 W
Turnstone: 12 around
Grey Phalarope: 1 ad summer plumage W
Great Skua: 2 E + 1+ around
Mediterranean Gull: 6 E/around
Little Gull: 236 W
Kittiwake: 17 W
Sandwich Tern: 56 W
Common Tern: 4 W
Arctic Tern: 2 W
Guillemot: 3 on sea
Razorbill: 11 W/on sea
Auk sp: 104 W
Skylark: 16 in
Starling: 371 in
Goldfinch:30 over
Linnet: 10 over

Arctic Tern at the fishing boats this afternoon

Before having another sea watch, I spent a bit of time this afternoon enjoying the gulls attracted by fish heads, fish guts, pop corn and loaves of bread put out by Mick and Richard.
14.45-15-45 from the fishing boats
Brent Goose: 32 W
Red-throated Diver: 1 W
Gannet: 47 W
Arctic Skua: 3 around
Mediterranean Gull: 6 around
Little Gull: 8 W
Kittiwake: 21 around
Sandwich Tern: 4 W
Arctic Tern: 2 W
Guillemot: 5 W
Razorbill: 4 W
Auk sp: 16 W