Glaucous Gull

Dengemarsh - cold, dry, sunny, w 3 - Glorious sunshine followed a night of heavy rain. Walking down the track at Boulderwall 3 Smew, including a drake, flew in and landed on one of the pools. Hundreds of Wigeon, Lapwings and Golden Plovers flushed by a Peregrine were kept on their toes by a succession of Marsh Harriers. A thick bramble patch by the Corral held a Dartford Warbler warming up in the sun, while the sheltered part of Hookers delivered Cetti s Warbler, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, but not a sniff of a Penduline Tit. A Bittern flew over the reedbed and a Raven `cronked` towards the power station.
On the walk back news came through of a Glaucous Gull, seen by AP, flying over Boulderwall towards Burrowes, which was duly checked without success. The Long-eared Owl was showing well by the pond and duck numbers, particularly Shoveler, appeared to have increased on the lake.
On the way back to Plovers a Black Redstart perched on a roof at the corner of Kerton Road was our first for the year, not that I`m actually keeping a year list of course...
Dungeness - Just as we were preparing to check out the beach at Dunge this afternoon news came through from PB that the Glaucous Gull had been relocated on the foreshore by the fishing boats where, slumped on the shingle, it afforded good photographic opportunities, before moving onto the sea. It was an extremely pale individual considered to be a worn 1st winter, so in its 2nd calendar year; a proper, smart gull, whatever its birthday, and late in the day a 2nd winter bird was discovered at Dungeness (DBO); talk about waiting for buses and then two come along...

                                Glaucous Gull, Dungeness