I took a morning excursion to Tice’s Meadow Nature Reserve with Peter Alfrey. The two Tice’s Generals were present Richard Horton and Richard Sergeant to welcome the wandering souls! This site has featured numerous species of shorebirds of late and did not disappoint with perfect habitat to hold numbers of Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Green and Common Sandpiper, Snipe and Lapwing.
A handful of Yellow wagtail had joined the feeding masses on the flooded field on the west side of the reserve. A mix of fifty gulls was also taking advantage of the conditions which were wet and murky.
One particular gull caught Pete’s attention and on closer examination a discussion ensued about the identity of the bird. Photographs were taken in various state of pose to compare features of this interesting bird!
The other gulls kept their distance as the bird fed in patches of cow dung. Anything that ventured too close was soon shood along including a very brave crow!
The bird was strong in overall appearance with a black bill and slight mask through the eye. The head was white and anvil shaped with a visible shawl around the white neck. The mantle and back was brown with white edging to the feathers. The underwing was pale and when stood upright the back gave a ski slope appearance with long fleshy pink legs. The tail had a broad dark band with white edging.
The appearance did not fit a standard Caspian Gull (if there is such a thing!) and talk of hybrid influences took centre stage! Photos were sent to Josh who deals with more juvenile type Caspian gulls than we do at Beddington Farm. The general consensus was the bird was a hybrid possibly with some Herring gull influences. See Peters blog for a more in-depth analysis!
A very interesting bird which thankfully was very obliging for the cameras! I finished the morning of with my Day 20 twenty five press ups for a cause raising awareness of PTSD, anxiety and depression that results in suicides, in the hide on Horton’s Mound.
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