Sabine's Gulls

Today could hardly have gone better. But it didn't start that way...

Work. That's how the day started. The recent weather might have been good for seawatching but it has been rubbish for work, and I have a backlog. I got going about 7:30, and tried not to think about birds. Especially I tried not to think about what the storm might have left behind.

At 9:30 I had to interrupt work for a doctor's appointment. Arriving at the surgery I switched my phone to silent. And of course forgot to switch it back again.

Around 11:30 and I'm in the groove, toiling away for an honest crust. A quick look at my phone...

What??!!

Missed calls, much WhatsAppery and a mouth-watering photo of a juvenile Sabine's Gull at West bay!

What can I say? I can say 'Gripped!' I suppose. Because I was. Severely. Despite a nice tally of quality birds in the recent heavy weather, Sabine's was a conspicuous no-show. There were a couple recorded elsewhere in Lyme Bay, so it was always on the cards. But in the end, no, not at West Bay.

Until this morning. Typical.

I glanced down my work schedule and realised there was hope. If I bashed everything out as rapidly as possible, and if I skipped lunch, and if...IF...the bird lingered...well, maybe.

Around 14:00, and news of a juv Sabine's Gull at Seatown, around 3 miles west of West Bay. Same bird?

14:51 - the Seatown bird is still present.

15:10 - work is done, and I am heading east from Seaton at sensible, legal speeds.

Arriving at Seatown I spy a birder on the beach, with a scope. 'Yes', he says, 'Still here', and points. Yesss! There it is, a small, dark beauty, sitting on the sea. Almost immediately it is airborne, and I manage a burst of flight shots. Following a short sortie westwards, it doubles back and away east, landing again a couple of hundred yards away.

Reviewing my pics I notice the Sab's has a missing or damaged primary in its right wing. Hmmm. I was pretty sure the West Bay bird was feather perfect. A quick check of this morning's gripping shots confirms it. This is a different bird. I wonder if the West Bay bird is still there? There hasn't been any news of it for ages, so there is only one way to find out.

I'm at West Bay shortly after 16:00. Very few gulls at the harbour end, so I beetle off down the prom as quick as I can - there isn't a lot of decent light left. Looking east from the far end I can see plenty of small gulls, and spend a few minutes picking through them. No joy. As a last resort I have a quick look at the nearest bit of sea in case there is a straggler or two. There is. It is small and dark, and bobbing about just offshore. Within seconds it flies off east to join the others.

Juv Sabine's Gull at Seatown. Note missing p6.

The Seatown bird again.

The West Bay Sabine's. Rubbish light, but you can see how dark it looks on the water.

The West Bay bird again. A perfect set of primaries.

I've seen just three previous local Sabine's Gulls, all juvs. Two off Seaton and one on Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis. But these two are my first for more than ten years.

Worth skipping lunch for.