Saturday 27 September 2014

Yellow-legged Gull - Upper Loads

This adult Yellow-Legged Gull, with around 40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls was following a tractor ploughing a field at Upper Loads this afternoon. An increasingly regular autumn and winter visitor to both the Ogston and Carsington gull roosts this is the first I have recorded locally but is not unexpected as the number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls increase during the autumn.
Interestingly the white mirrors on the primaries are quite large on this bird which is sometimes given as a feature of birds originating from eastern Europe.
The Black Redstart is still around, this is its 61st day in the area I think. A single Merlin over Beeley Moor but otherwise rather quiet.

Yellow-legged Gull

3 comments:

  1. I've tried to find this Black Redstart but to no avail. Any chance you could furnish me with some more location details?

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  2. Steve it is at the farm on the B5057 in the area known as Peasunhurst. The farm looks in disrepair and has a large blue/green silo at the front of the building. There is a pull-in opposite the farm where you can get off the road, which is important as cars travel very fast on this stretch. The Black Redstart can be quite elusive but often sits on the roof of both the farm and the long barn. Please don't enter the farm.

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  3. That's great thanks for the info!

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