A couple of weeks ago another Bonaparte's, this time a first summer bird, turned up at a place in Kent called Oare Marshes NR. Today we 'twitched' again, but on this occasion we were successful in our mission.
It is supposed to be 'Flaming' June, but on arrival the wind was blowing a gale, spots of rain were hitting the windscreen and the temperature gauge dipped into single figures. Summer time in Britain. Nonetheless, the bird was seen and after giving us a bit of a run around, gave good views.
A bird that is from the States, as common there as 'our' Black-headed Gull, but is smaller and has an all black bill, along with short, pink legs.
Finally, Boney was in the bag!
Thanks, again, to Chris for driving. We must be mad!
A fantastic spot John... Gulls are definitely not my strong point.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrew,
DeleteWhen seen in the flesh, so to speak, the bird was quite obvious, smaller than the Black-heads and the black bill gave it away!
Gulls are an art all to themselves and to be honest, an art I am yet to master in any way.
J
Forgive my ignorance John, but surely these birds don't migrate from the States?
ReplyDeleteBazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’ is back. Click here for thrills!
They will have come the States Bazza, blown off course by strong winds and found themselves in Blighty. With a bit of luck and the right winds, they may find their way back.
DeleteNot ignorant at all :)
J
Hi John great to see this bird. I have seen one afew years ago. I have just come off Copeland Island and saw some gulls at close quarters even handled chicks of Lesser Black back. Will post when I have more time, Just about to go to Rathlin Island. Margaret
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret,
DeleteIt was good to see it, even if it was just to numb the pain of missing the one in Eastbourne a few months back!
Looking forward to your post already! It must have been quite special to have handled those chicks.
J
Well done John. I'm ashamed to say my knowledge of gulls is such that if I saw one among other gulls I probably wouldn't even realise!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan,
DeleteI think that you would notice something different about it. The all black bill is something that makes it stand out as something different from the Black-heads, they never have a black bill. That and the fact that I knew it was there helped! :)
J