Of Gulls and Crests Mainly

In any normal year, finding a single Caspian Gull would warrant a full, gloaty post all of its own. But this is not a normal year. Steve has nicely summarized the current local scenario on his blog here, but in a nutshell: Caspian Gull has gone from Axe scarcity-bordering-on-rarity (38 birds in 18 years since the first in 2007) to dross (28 birds so far in 2025) in one fell swoop. Sunday's dismal weather produced an astonishing six Casps for Steve (Dawlish Warren also had six that day) and on Monday morning he found another. I wasn't able to get involved on Sunday, but managed a quick look after Steve on Monday morning and a slower one around 4pm. Each visit produced a Caspian Gull...

1w Caspian Gull - the afternoon bird...

...and again.

The morning bird. Also a first-winter, and wearing a green ring (T|P) from a Dutch project. Initially picked up on the water, I guessed a new arrival, but it was the same bird Steve had seen a little earlier.

Green T|P on the mud. Ringing details awaited...

The afternoon visit also produced a nice, sub-adult Yellow-legged Gull (4th-winter?) which got me wondering whether YLG is actually the scarcer taxon right now...

Presumed 4w Yellow-legged Gull on the left.

It is very nice living close to the Axe again. In ten years as a West Dorset resident I saw just five Caspian Gulls in the county, so currently I have a slight kid-in-a-sweetshop feeling whenever I pass the river and see a conveniently viewable gathering of gulls on display.

Prior to recent gullage there was a protracted spell of high-pressure weather, and many Chiffchaffs, including 60+ up Beer Head one morning last week. There were also 3 Firecrests, 2 Goldcrests and 4 Blackcaps on that occasion, which is pretty darn decent for Beer Head. And late one afternoon I came across another couple of Firecrests in the car park trees at Black Hole Marsh.

Flavour of the month. It's been a really good autumn for Chiffs.

Chiff again.

The only photo-opp that a Beer Head Firecrest gave me. All was beautifully framed, crisp and sharp...but the moment I pressed the shutter my subject leaped from the twigs to the fence, neatly spoiling the composition and putting itself very slightly out of focus. Sigh...

One of the Black Hole Marsh Firecrests. Just. I like this shot.

Same bird. I hadn't noticed that it was ringed. I wonder where?

I started with a gull, so I'll finish with one too. Prior to the latest Casp glut, one of the smartest gulls I saw last week was this rather swish juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull...

Long, lean, and looking very fresh - juv LBBG on the left.