It has been a tough week, work is slightly picking up, but my son is poorly again and needing more attention, so I have hardly been out.
Mid week I did see a pretty good candidate Yellow Legged Gull at LFGP, but I hesitated to get my phone out and it flew off before I could get a shot. It was larger than the LBB's, moulting it's mantle and scaps, which were lighter than the other immature LBB's, it had strongly marked coverts, good chocolate tertials, just a hint of pale fringe, no scalloped, dark and very long primaries. The bill was getting paler towards the base and fairly heavy, head shape was okay, but gave me 1% doubts. Legs were pale pink to straw and long, the breast was deep and angular.....when it flew I could not see a strong pale region on the inner primaries and the upper wing showed dark primaries and coverts, the dark band along the trailing edge of the secondaries looked good too.......I'll never know for sure.
What we did learn this week was the Oystercatchers deserted the nest on Sandford, no idea why, lots of terns are using the right raft at LFGP, mostly BH Gulls on the left.
Nobody has reported anything that I have missed, but with Roseate Tern thru QMR and my friends patch at Little Marlow having pretty good wader passage and a Marsh Harrier this week, something must have gone thru??
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