You ain't "Cach"ing me out!

Monday 03/09/18 was a really good day on patch. It began with the rare discovery of an autumn Wood Warbler, foraging with a large tit flock on the edge of Grimsbury Wood. Great views were had, but not for very long and it managed to flick away just as the camera came out of the bag...of course! A Teal and a plastic Black Swan, both unusual visitors to the patch, added to the variety too.





The interest did not stop there. I popped in after work for another look. With heavy cloud overhead, I fancied something might drop in. It was all pretty quiet, however things were spiced up a little when some guy began flinging bread over the fence for the ducks! In very little time a juvenile Yellow-Legged Gull appeared and began fighting for the bread, together with a few Mallards and Black Headed Gulls





After a while, the YLG flew to the water, presumably to sit and digest it's bready treats! Another gull then circled in and joined it. This bird looked interesting and certainly a potential Caspian Gull, with a long, sloping head/bill, whitish ground colour and a distinct shawl forming around the neck. The barring on the scapulars were concerning me a bit, as was the underwing, which was whitish but not as bold as I have seen on Caspians before. I had a small hunch that it could perhaps be from a mixed colony. In fact, speaking to a couple birding friends later, they also suggested the same.





It flew around a bit and on reviewing the photos it was ringed.

Later, blowing the pic up on the computer, I could read it as XEHA and indeed the CR birding website confirmed it to have originated from one of the east German mixed colonies. Ronald Klein, running this ringing project sent the following details on the bird:

I also sent pics to Ian Lewington and he kindly made the following comments:

I think yours looks good apart from the heavily barred greater coverts and scaps so I would guess it's also of mixed parentage. I think the underwing is OK for cach. Ronald Klien says there are a few Herring, Yellow-legged and LBb Gulls in the same colony.

So not a new addition to the Grimsbury year list, but plenty learned and a rare, opportunity to discover so much more about a particular bird!