Back to the Point

... and just to keep the blog on track, I did visit Blakeney Point and Cley yesterday but it was very quiet

No migrants of note but wader numbers building up. A flock of 15 Turnstone and a few Common Sandpipers called from the harbour edges.

I did spot this very dark backed Lesser B B Gull in amongst a large group of 'normal'' looking LBBG's - Right hand bird

Next to a GBB Gull you can see that it is as dark, if not darker backed! Thoughts of Baltic (fuscus) Gull did cross my mind as there has been one reported here recently. However as you can see from the second shot it is in heavy primary moult and therefore unlikely to be a fuscus (as they would havee presumably moulted their primaries by now (?)

There was also one other dark backed bird present and I am guessing these are intermedius birds that are of continental origin ... but if anyone knows any different please let me know.

More crucially the bird was lacking any big white plastic rings which are apparently crucial when trying to get any fuscus accepted.

You can tell the birding is slow when you start getting distracted by large Gulls !!