I decided to give Earlswood a go this morning. It was cloudy and there was a strong south-westerly blowing. My mind was set on finding a Kittiwake. Unfortunately, although March is the peak month, and a windy day seemed a good bet, I didn't see any.
Trying to predict the appearance of such birds (or of any species) is a popular pastime for many birders, but personally I am seldom successful. All I could do was count the gulls on Engine Pool and bide my time, hoping for a slice of luck.
There are currently as many large gulls as small gulls there, and my tally was 45 Black-headed Gulls, 21 Herring Gulls, 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and one Yellow-legged Gull. The latter was the dark-billed near adult which has been present off and on since it was first detected a few years ago.
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| Herring Gull and Yellow-legged Gull |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gulls with Yellow-legged Gull |
The only other distractions were a male Bullfinch, singing Blackcap and Chiffchaff, and the presumed hybrid gull (or maybe just a darker mantled Herring Gull) which was found in January.
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| Hybrid (on left) with Herring Gulls |
Checking the Bird Guides App when I got home I noticed Kittiwakes have turned up at Bartley Reservoir and Grimley near Worcester today, so it wasn't such a bad plan.
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