Sunday 1 November 2009 - AZOREAN ATLANTIC GULL in Oxfordshire - 31/10/2009

Saturday 31st October 2009

Azorean Atlantic Gull in Oxfordshire

On our way back from the successful BROWN SHRIKE twitch we decided to divert over to Didcot for the elusive winter plumaged adult Azorean Atlantic Gull.  I had already dipped out on this bird before my uneventful trip to the Isles of Scilly so I was determined to connect with it as a priority.

After a drive through the idyllic Oxfordshire countryside past cosy, thatched cottages and welcoming, old inns we arrived at one of the biggest blights on the English landscape - Didcot Power Station.  It's like a slightly more upmarket equivalent of Chernobyl.  It was here that the rare Gull from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean had been frequenting a nearby landfill site along with 4,000 other Laridae.  Typically as we arrived at the level crossing we were told that the bird had finished resting in a nearby field of winter wheat and had flown off towards the tip.  NOOOOOO!!!

We then crossed the railway, hoping that the bird had stopped off at the pool for a quick wash and brush-up.  After a nervous scan of the litter strewn stretch of water, a local birder managed to pick out the target and Steve Richards and I were soon watching the bird as it swam around.  With its dark executioners hood, its piercing yellow eyes and its grotesque looking bill it was quite a fitting bird to be watching on a dark and dingy Halloween afternoon.  It is truly a remarkably, ugly looking Gull but boy was I glad to see it.  We watched the bird from around 3.15pm to 3.30pm and just as I was setting up my 'digi-scoping' kit it flew off, back towards the tip.  Surprisingly the hood could still be seen well as it glided around in the distance with a couple of Red Kites.

Azorean Atlantic Gull (adult winter) - Didcot Landfill Site, Oxfordshire - October 2009

Photograph kindly provided by Steve Nuttall

With the Azorean Atlantic Gull in the bag we could then turn our attentions to the other Gulls on the pool.  The majority species was Lesser Black-backed Gull (of both the graellsii and the intermedius races) with a scattering of Herring Gulls (of both argenteus and argentatus races) and Black-headed Gulls with the odd Great Black-backed Gull thrown in.  We also spotted at least 4 adult Mediterranean Yellow-legged Gulls and best of all Steve picked out a 3rd winter Caspian Gull just as we were about to leave.  With a potential Baltic Gull also spotted this autumn, I'm sure this site will be a great draw for Lariphiles all over the winter period.     

Monday 9 November 2009 - Chernobyl