On Wednesday evening I went down to Hayle estuary hoping to see a certain Nearctic gull that had been in the area. The light was fading when I arrived so I wasn't hopeful. From the causeway a scan of the gulls revealed nothing. A birder nearby said he was watching it and he put me onto the bird. It was very distant, roosting on the sand with lots of Black-heads and about 20
Med Gulls. I managed a quick photo just before the whole flock took off and flew south presumably going to roost in nearby Carbis Bay. Feeling a bit underwhelmed from such a brief view, I carried on looking across the estuary. I soon picked up the immature
*Spoonbill* feeding in the river and had nice views of
Bar-tailed Godwit and about 200
Wigeon on the mudflats. Back towards the car, 2
Water Rail were squabbling in the reeds and a few Redwings flew overhead.
I was eager to try for better views of the gull so yesterday morning I went back to Hayle. Upon arrival a large group of gulls on the waters edge was obvious, but looking through them showed very little of interest. A few more birders joined the search and after forty minutes of no luck I was needed to get back home. Eventually a birder picked it out on the shingle about thirty metres from the causeway...we all missed it fly in! The views of the superb adult winter
Franklin's Gull were excellent as it sat with a few Black-heads. It stayed put for a while allowing me to get some much better pictures. It then flew back over our heads and into the fields around the village.
Franklin's Gull
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