Caspian Gull at Little Marlow

A later afternoon visit to check the Gull roost and to see what else was around was planned.  I counted 12 Common Snipe but there was no sign of the Jack Snipe that had been seen recently.  Near to the main island the drake Pintail that had been present for some time, was showing.  The Herons and Cormorants are starting to take up the old nests from last year and some of the Cormorants look as though they are sitting already!

There were already quite a few gulls of the sand spit but as dusk approached more gulls arrived. After scanning through them several times I came across a first winter Caspian Gull which was the bird of the day.  A bit tricky to ID in among the hoards of other gulls!  It was certainly a fairly large gull and it was rather throwing it's weight around.  Adam Basset believes this to be the same bird that he has seen at Little Marlow and Springfield landfill recently.