Glaucous Gull

First winter Glaucous Gull at Hollingworth Lake

Ferruginous Duck and Glaucous Gull

Spent a few hours birding this afternoon. Had a look at the Ferruginous Duck at Pugney CP and then went to Anglers CP were the small gull roost produced a very nice juvenile Glaucous Gull. Also seen were a Barn Owl , lots of noisy Tree Sparrows, and some Whooper Swans

Short Eared Owl and Caspian Gull

Short eared Owl hunting at Calderdale Wetlands plus plenty of Pochard and displaying Goldeneye followed by great gull roost at Anglers CP. Up to 5 Caspian Gulls including a stunning ringed first winter bird that came close. Also seen were a second winter  Iceland gull and a juvenile Glaucous gull. 

Post script. Further input from experienced gullers now saying the above gull is a hybrid Herring/Caspian from Lithuania. That's gulls for you!

Iceland

Fantastic long weekend in Iceland with my family. Birds were not our priority but saw plenty of Raven in Reykjavik. Lots of Eider, Whooper swan, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, singing  Redwing and Snow Bunting. As well as all the amazing geology, the Aurora Borealis seen on our last night were breathtaking.

Gullfest!!

Myself and Dave went to Anglers C.P. for the gull roost today. Two first winter Caspian, a third winter Yellow Legged Gull, a first winter Glaucous gull and a Kumlien's Gull. Dave was so pleased he has got all the gulls for his year list in one go!!
My dreadful phone scope shots are included as record shots. More pics and info are posted on the Barnsley site  http://barnsleybirds.blogspot.co.uk/

                                                                          Caspian

                                               

                                                                          Glaucous

                                                             

Glossy Ibis!

Went to Leighton Moss ( again!!)  and were straight onto the Glossy Ibis showing very well near the rail crossing. We then went onto Heysham and got decent views of the juvenile Glaucous Gull and got some useful tips from local birder Pete Cook about where to go for the best views of the harbour. Then it was onto Fleetwood marine lake for the Long Tailed Duck. We also had the best views of a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers I have ever had!
Before returning home myself and cousin Dave decided to check out Marton mere. There were plenty of Teal, Pochard, and Wigeon. We also glimpsed a distant Sparrowhawk. Talking to some local birders they mentioned that a pair of Bewick Swans had been seen in a field close by and sure enough we located them along with 2 Mute Swans.
Overall an excellent day out in good warm conditions and a total of 4 new species to add to our lists.