LANCS: White-winger whinging!

White-winged gulls have been a part of winter birding for me since my days "patching" on the London Reservoirs as an eager teenage birder. News broke yesterday of a juvenile Iceland Gull on the sands of Morcambe Bay at Knott End but unfortunately I couldn't make it. This morning developed into a glorious day though so I decided to give it a go. On arrival the Hooded Crow that had been around some time that I had managed to miss, was out on the sands and surprisingly flew straight towards me and landed nearby. Now, my 'scope is on it's way back from a service so please excuse the dodgy "hand-held shots" but it didn't turn out too bad really.

In came the tide and despite a large number of gulls gathering there was no Iceland. A nice charm of Goldfinches on the saltings mixed with 40 or so Twite and a Little Egret flopped down nearby. A quick look at the mouth of the Wyre produced several Eider and a flock of roosting Oystercatcher. A nice start but no white-winger so I opted for a drive to Cocker's Dyke where I could see more gulls gathering. The Hooded Crow had made it's way down and there was another Little Egret and 20 more Twite, but no joy with the gull.

Only hope was the other side of the Wyre so I headed off to Fleetwood, stopping first at Rossall (30 Ringed Plovers plus a Sanderling) and the Marine Lakes where there was a nice flock of 250 roosting Turnstones mixed in with Redshanks on the islands.

The morning was passing by now and my last chance was the Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve where gulls sometimes bathe on the pools or loaf on the Wyre Estuary. Plenty of Herring Gulls, a few LBBG's and GBBG's on the pools plus a few quackers (Teal, Pochard, Tufties and a single drake Ruddy Duck) so I headed for the river. Lots of loafing gulls here and suddenly I spotted some pale coffee-coloured wing-tips. Bingo! With the tide droppng the gulls were getting itchy though and started flying around. The Iceland Gull flew up river and landed, drifting slowly back past me on the ebbing tide. You can just about make out the Iceland in the foreground in the pic above. OK it's not the frame-filling, crisp image like those posted yesterday on the Fylde Bird Club's website, but a record nevertheless.

Another good morning's local birding (great weather too) - I get the feeling there's a quality bird waiting out there at the moment.

Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve, Lancs 6 February 2008.