Initially sheltering under a brolly,
I spent the last two hours of the day at Stewartby
Lake
The murmuration of Starlings over Rookery North
was brilliant but then I picked out not one, not two, but three Peregrines passing them, two of which
did a food pass. A fourth
Peregrine was atop one of the old brickworks chimneys as well –
amazing!!
Earlier I’d found a splendid
winter adult MEDITERRANEAN GULL, not too
large compared to the BHG’s so presumably a female, some dusking to head already
appearing, thickish red bill with pale distal end and nice white primaries and
tail etc. LGRE twitched the Med and one of the Peregrines successfully but then
left as did the Med just as Bob Hook arrived. Pete Smith was parked up in
the sailing club carpark and I was on the mobile to him when Bob saw the
Kingfisher zap past.
Late on, I found 2 LITTLE GULLS, nearer PS than Bob and I
and Pete managed to see them to - both with white wing tips and puny alongside
a couple of Common Gulls, one had a winter head pattern but the other already
had some extensive black to the ‘hood’. The light was fading now and
unfortunately when some late BHG’s arrived we lost them too view, only a few
minutes before Lee dashed back in the interim having scored with 3 Greater Scaup at
Brogboro’ and the pair of
Goosander I’d seen on Drakelow, Woburn Park earlier today.
Many of the few hundred BHG’s
lingered here merely for a ‘wash and scrub up’ before heading over the north
corner towards Grafham, ditto the likely 50
or more total Common Gulls. 2
Great Black-backs, 5 Lesser
Black-backs and 22 Herring
Gulls completed the 7 species gull roost tonight.
39 G C
Grebes were noteworthy, also 5 Dabchicks and a Little Egret.
At Eversholt Lake in the mire this
morning, I found a flock of 60-100 Siskins by the lakeside but failed to find
any Mandarin, Goosander, Woodcock, Raven, Bullfinch or Marsh Tit there or thro’
Milton Wood in very muddy, slippery conditions.
MJPalmer
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