Glaucous gull saves the day.
A possible juv American herring gull on richmond bank was an exciting find for those watching there today. A juv glaucous gull was the best on show for me but still a smart bird showing very well. An adult yellow legged gull and a couple of ravens also today. I was hoping the new juv iceland gull that was seen on richmond bank earlier would have put in a show but no luck.
The gull numbers today were very low compared to recent weeks but still probably 5000 gulls on show .
I realised today that you can see another landfill site when looking north. Directly north at a distance of 10 km is Vista rd tip in haydock. I noticed today large numbers of gulls heading north and it would be easy for gulls to commute between these 2 tips. Vista rd tip is in Merseyside but the viewing is very restricted.

Richmond bank gives high returns
After recently trying to turn herring gulls into caspian gulls it was great to finally get to grips with the real thing. I suppose caspian gull is one of those gulls that 'once you have seen one'. This 1st winter bird was so distinctive that there was no ifs or maybe's , it was a caspian gull. What struck me about this bird, apart from the white head,dark eye, and black slim bill was the wing coverts. They really contrasted from the mantle and scaps and were a rich brown colour. The long black wings were another obvious feature to this bird as were the long legs. I suppose its a relief to finally see a caspian gull and now I dont have to try and make every snouty, dark eyed herring gull into caspain gull. Thanks to my fellow merseyside gullers today, as one of them found this smart caspian gull. A lifer for me.
Also today there were 2 juv glaucous gulls, a juv iceland which may possibly be a second winter, a 2nd winter yellow legged gull , a peregrine and a water rail calling.

The last 2 pics of the caspian gull illustrate how different a gull can look, from a relaxed posture to an alert posture.

Calling

Long necked.

Another good day .
All photos taken from tip perimeter at a great distance via digiscoping. There is no public access to the tip. Most of the gulls can be seen from Richmond bank and moore nr on birchwood pool.

An juv Iceland gull, a juv glaucous gull, a first winter yellow legged gull and a female marsh harrier were the best birds.

A good day
A 5 hour stint of determined gulling today produced a very satisfying haul of species . After the recent Caspian gulls at Arpley I thought I would give it a good go today to try and find one.
A 3rd w Iceland gull is probably the same bird that I id as a second winter last week. It was a lot closer today and the grey on the covert was a lot more obvious today.
A couple of 1st w Glaucous gull on the tip and birch pool were different birds and finally a 3rd w yellow legged gull capped off a fantastic days gulling.
A Green sandpiper flew over calling and showed well as it flew past. Probably it had been pushed off the mersey as the tide came in this afternoon.
The tawny owl was in its usual tree.

3rd w Iceland gull

3rd w yellow-legged gull

1st w Glaucous gull showing well on Birch pool

Plenty To See At Moore

Only a quick visit to Moore NR this morning and I was treated to great views of a 1st w glaucous gull and a couple of Yellow legged gulls. Nice.
The Seaforth wanderers did even better close by with a couple of Casps and THREE 1st w Glaucs. Also a very interesting Herring gull. See http://www.crosbybirding.blogspot.com/

Glaucous gull. Just a little angel

2nd W Yellow legged gull and 1st W Glaucous gull

1st W Glaucous gull at Birch pool

1st W Yellow legged gull and Glaucous gull

3rd winter Iceland gull at Arpley tip today

Prescot reservoirs,

A flock of med gulls today. Well 2 ad w meds was a 100% increase on the regular single we have been getting this winter. A redshank on the causeway and 400 lapwing to keep it company.

118 Pochard is a record count for the reservoirs,11 ruddy duck,11 teal, 80 tufted duck and 14 goldeneye.

2 bullfinch,12 siskin, 12 goldfinch, 4o redpoll but no sign of the recent possible mealy.

Well I never expected that!
I visited an area that I would probably not have bothered to go birding around only that it is in the tetrad that I am surveying. A small green area with a busy main road running alongside one side and the M57 along the other nestled between Prescot and Huyton. A pond, a small brook running through and a small field partially wooded. Its frequented by fishermen and dog walkers but its quiet early on. A couple of goldfinch, a chaffinch and a grey heron was a reasonable start but as I approached the brook a Dipper flushed from below me and landed on a branch across the brook a little way down giving stonking views for 20 seconds.
I could not believe it, a dipper 5 minutes from were I live in suburban Huyton on a brook 2 metres wide. I had only left the car and the busy main road 30 seconds before. I followed the brook only ever catching a glimpse of the dipper again as it moved downstream. The brook flows under the M57 and the last time I saw the dipper was when it flew into the 2 m wide pipe that flows under the motorway.
I know its not a rare bird but I was absolutely thrilled to find such a bird in deepest suburbia.

I later visited Prescot reservoirs and 3 female Common Scoter and an Ad med gull were showing well .

Time to reflect,
The 'Yellow legged gull' that was present on Nov 5th at Prescot reservoirs and was well photographed below, failed to muster any imput on its id so I will have to draw my own conclusions on this interesting gull. I now think that this gull was an Argentatus herring gull.
All the 4 features below can occur on michahellis and argentatus : The last three features usually attributed to michahellis.
dark upperparts
red gonys spot reaching upper mandible
yellow legs
lightly streaked head in early winter
but the wing pattern of this gull can only be Argentatus.I have tried to find images of Michahellis without black on P5 and failed so this is the main reason for my decision.If I had not taken the photo of the open wing showing the primary pattern then I would have certainly recorded this bird as michahellis as I am sure most others would have.
Initially I thought eastern Mediterranean and Black sea populations would fit but these birds still show black on p5 although to a lesser degree.
So next time you see an adult winter 'Yellow legged gull' just take a closer look. I think if this bird would have been seen standing it would have made the id much easier but it was only ever seen on the water. Please feel free to agree or disagree with the above but for me this bird was an Argentatus.
I suppose now that I have made my mind up on what this bird was, it makes the bird even more interesting for me as I have never seen a yellow legged argentatus before. Anyway thats gulling for you, not everyones cup of tea I know but come the winter it certainly keeps me interested.
Steve

The worst picture ever of a couple of woodcock.

Prescot reservoirs,

5 woodcock showing well in the headlights of the van this evening. Also tawny owl, redshank, peregrine,1wigeon m, 98 pochard, and 16 goldeneye

Prescot reservoirs,

A big arrival of gulls between 11.30 and 13.30 kept me happily occuppied for a couple of hours. Mainly Herring gulls and a count of 900 was made. A constant flow of birds arriving and birds leaving probably makes the count under what it actually was. A large ammount of the gulls were argentatus. I would guess about 10% of the herring gulls were argentatus. Amongst the herring gulls were 4 Yellow legged gulls. 1 1st winter, 1 2nd winter, and 2 adult winter. I was hoping for a white winger amongst this large gathering but no luck today.

A bar tailed godwit on the causeway with the lapwing was a rare visitor to the reservoirs today

Also today,

900 herrring gulls

262 black headed gulls

111 common gull

33 lesser black backed

8 great black backed.

1 adult med gull

4 yellow legged gull

97 pochard

94 tufted duck

1 ruddy duck

9 goldeneye

30 mallard

219 coot

7 little grebe

2 great crested grebe,

21 canada

100 lapwing

9 skylark
1 peregrine

6 snipe

New Brighton,
A leach's storm petrel struggled its way out of the river Mersey at high tide this morning. 4 kittewakes also during a 2 hour seawatch. A good November record.

Another image showing the yellow legs and feet

Detail of primaries.
Yellow legged gull still present today and yesterday on pr4.

Prescot reservoirs

An Adult winter yellow legged gull was at prescot res today. I managed a few records shots which seem to show an unusual wing pattern. p10 has a completely large white tip and p5 has only the faintest black mark at the tip. Maybe this is a bird from the eastern end of the range.Olsen/larsson say a completely white tip is more common in eastern mediterranean/black sea populations sometimes show white tip to p10 and only narrow black markings on p5. Any suggestions welcome from you gullers out there.

Also today,

Adult w med gull,11 wigeon,11 shoveller,49 pochard, 43 mallard,6 goldeneye 1m 5f,120 tufted duck, 2 f ruddy duck,4 little grebe, 1 siskin, 3 redwing, 1 stonechat and a peregrine.

I have not been able to get out birding lately but here are some recent reports from Prescot reservoirs.

2 Nov 3 whopper swans

1 Nov 115 fieldfare

31 Oct adult yellow legged gull

30 Oct 5 stonechat

21 Oct 163 fieldfare, 43 redwing, 2 stonechat and 1 ring ousel