Kumlien's Quest

Broom before work and at lunchtime today. Not much has changed. 8 Redshanks, and 4 Ringed Plover were the highlights. Plenty of Buzzard activity at lunchtime with several parties spiralling over the woodland around Old Warden. The gulls have settled back on Peacock's island and were displaying well. Just waiting for the first Common Terns to arrive back, any day now…

After work shot around Gypsy Lane East - 3 Green Sands, 2 Shelduck, 1 LRP, and 1 Ringed Plover the best. Very few pipits and wags this evening.

Headed over to Stewartby Lake to see if the 2nd winter Kumlien's would come in. It did, and early, but was spooked by the boats on the far side. I decided to try and relocate it, and finally found it roosting in Quest. A really striking gull. Almost completely white from a distance. Its grey wing-tips were about the darkest park of the bird. The bill was two-tone, and it was just about getting a pale grey mantle. In flight, it had a dark (broken) band on its tail, which was about the same shade of grey as the wing-tips. It looks identical to the Leicestershire bird, so it presumably moving south with the Lesser Black-backs?

After a lot of strange and odd looking gulls in the county recently, it was nice to see such an obvious Kumlien's. Mark and Mark turned up shortly afterwards and we watched it 'till dusk. As we were about to leave a Barn Owl did a fly-past - nice.