The cold weather wader spectacular on the local patch got better this morning with the arrival of 2 Knot, joining the 5 Grey Plover which had remained overnight. The Grey Plover commute between No1 Pit where they roost etc and fields just upstream to feed. One Knot went wth them, but I could't relocate it in the fields. I never expected to see Grey Plovers field-feeding locally!
Above: 5 Grey Plover & 1 Knot head over the 'Family Hide' viewpoint en route to feed in fields just NE of the site.
Above: A fine adm Peregrine landed on the newly re-profiled island just out from the Visitor Village late morning.
I always get a buzz from clinching colour ring details and today Pete Bainbridge and I clinched a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull each.
Above: 'My bird' - Black-headed Gull 270G was colour-ringed as a pullus on Lough Mask, Co. Mayo on 13/06/09 and is the first re-sighting since that date. It was colour-ringed as part of a project on both Common and Black-headed Gulls and is only the 2nd individual that has so far been re-recorded in England (Black-headed Gull 252B was recorded near Falmouth in Cornwall on 05/01/10 and 03/01/12).
Below: 'Pete's bird' - Black-headed Gull E5JL ringed in the Netherlands on 2nd June 2010:
Subsequent reports after ringing:
06/04/2010 Zoetermeer, you Huizer puddle 5204.35 N 431.54 E colorring read (Benny Middendorp)
03/20/2011 Zoetermeer, you Huizer puddle 5204.35 N 431.54 E colorring read (Maarten Kleinwee)
21/03/2011 Zoetermeer, you Huizer puddle 5204.35 N 431.54 E colorring read (Benny Middendorp)
04/01/2011 Zoetermeer, you Huizer puddle 5204.35 N 431.54 E colorring read (Benny Middendorp)
04/02/2011 Zoetermeer, you Huizer puddle 5204.35 N 431.54 E colorring read (Maarten Kleinwee)
04/18/2011 Zoetermeer, you Huizer puddle 5204.35 N 431.54 E colorring read (Benny Middendorp)
02/07/2012 Brockholes Nature Reserve, Nr Preston, Lancashire, GB 5346.00 N 2.35 W color ring read (Peter Bainbridge).
No species of interest could be found in the Fishmoor Gull roost, although I was delighted to clinch the ring details of a Common Gull (Left: white darvic X16K. Right: Metal), thought to be German, but I am awaiting confirmation of this.