My plan to spend a quiet day in the house was abruptly changed when a Whatsapp message announced the presence of a Caspian Gull at Earlswood.
Overnight snow made it one of the slowest twitches ever, and by the time I got there the finders, Matt and John, had not seen it for a while. The lakes were almost completely frozen and hundreds of gulls were standing on the ice.
Disappointingly the Casp could not be relocated. In its place was a small group of consolation year-ticks. These included at least 24 Common Gulls (John reckoned at least 30 were present), the long-staying Yellow-legged Gull now in its fifth year and still showing a largely dark bill, and legs which are only just starting to turn straw coloured, a Little Grebe in one of the holes in the ice, the long-staying drake Wigeon, and a fly-over Grey Wagtail.
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| Yellow-legged Gull on left, Common Gull on the right |
I doubt whether I'll be able to resist trying again tomorrow.
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