19/09/2026 - 6.30am to 12 noon with Jon Lowes and Ray Scally

The only obvious new birds this morning were a group of 4 Wigeon, all the other wildfowl were much the same as yesterday although we couldn't find the hybrid type Wigeon from yesterday.

Wigeon

At least 9 Snipe from a more thorough search today and 8 Skylark on the settling beds. Much windier, from the west, and no sign of any significant Meadow Pipit movement today and consequently it was much harder to find any passerines but still at least 5 Chiffchaff.

Gull numbers still very low with just 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arriving late morning but there were at least two Herring Gulls with them, first and second winter birds.

The photo below shows one of the main differences to separate immature Herring and Lesser Black-backs in flight; the pale inner primaries on the Herring Gull, which are all dark in the Lesser. The mantle colour would also be a help at this age with the Herring having a noticeably paler mantle.

Herring Gull 2nd winter (right) with 2dd winter LB-b Gull (left)