Yesterday was a rare gulling session in the sense that the gull in question was rare and I rarely watch gulls...
On an unsuspecting Sunday noon I found myself venturing to B and Q to buy paint for the kitchen walls. As exciting as this endeavour was (not), I found myself getting that itch to twitch something a bit further afield. For the past few days I had been eyeing up a Squacco Heron at Pagham Harbour as well as a Whiskered Tern in Romsey - however, driving two and a half hours down south held little appeal to me. Being due on holiday in a matter of 3 days I felt I had to get the twitching side of me out of my system before looking at rare bird sightings helplessly from abroad for two weeks. So when the holy red exclamation marks popped up on Birdguides, my initial reaction was one of excitement followed by confusion. Excitement that a first for Britain had rocked up to Cambridgeshire and confusion at having never heard of the bird. After mulling over whether to do the hour and twenty drive, I decided to get off my arse and twitch this truly mega bird.
After an uneventful drive the following day, I found myself at Graham Water and Cambridgeshire for the first time. Having decided that a first for Britain was worth the £4 parking fee, I eventually headed around the large body of water. On my way good numbers of Yellow Wagtails flew over and flitted around the path but they would have to wait a while - I had tunnel vision on one bird. To my amazement the bird in question was sat just a few metres from where I set up my scope on arrival; providing point blank views. Eventually, the Cape Gull gave a few flights before settling on the railings towards the water tower. Granted, this mega was perhaps not the most eye-catching of birds but the fact that it was so obliging was really a fine demonstration of twitching at its glorious best. Of course it's not always so simple...
Cape Gull
The rear end of the Cape Gull
In the early August heat, I stood admiring the beast and even managed to identify an adult Yellow-legged Gull - both a year tick and a demonstration of the minuscule knowledge I possess of fancy gulls. At one point the Cape Gull even sat next to a Yellow-legged Gull which provided some nice photos.
Yellow-legged Gull posing on the water tower
My favourite pic of the day - both Yellow-legged Gull (left) and Cape Gull (right) in a staring contest
After applying some factor 50, panic ensued within a few members of a crowd due to one twitcher passing out from heatstroke - certainly a first for me at a British twitch. Unfortunately an exhausted twitcher is not something I can tick. Anyway, I eventually decided I'd had my fair fix of Gulls for the day so headed back towards the car park. On my way I took a bit more time to admire the Yellow Wagtails and try and get a ropey picture of one.
Yellow Wagtail
A good scan of the spit revealed a Common Sandpiper amongst the ducks - providing me with a nice year tick of a species that I clearly do not see enough!
Common Sandpiper
When I was almost back at the car park, an enthusiastic birder gave me a scare when he stated that the Cape Gull was in fact a subspecies of Lesser Black-backed gull. After almost giving me a heart attack I was relieved to discover that the rare gull was in fact a subspecies of Kelp Gull and therefore still tickable! Phew! After cooling down in the car and consuming some much needed water, I decided to head to Berry Fen to try and see the reported Glossy Ibis' and Cattle Egrets. To cut a long story short I failed miserably - seeing neither of the targeted species. However, I briefly saw what I believed to be a Spotted Flycatcher through my binoculars but the blighter buggered off before I could get a good enough view to confirm. One of those birds that get away... Other than that a few Common Whitethroat and a Green Woodpecker were the highlights. Exhausted from the heat, I eventually summoned some strength after reports of Glossy Ibis at Fen Drayton Lakes. After persuading myself that the site in question was somewhat on my route home anyway, I decided to head there on a wild Ibis chase.
Eventually I arrived and summoned up my final reserves of energy to walk up to Ferry Lagoon where I managed to pick out a Glossy Ibis distantly in my scope. It certainly wasn't showing as well as the Cape Gull but no complaints from me! After a sense of relief at finally managing to connect with the Ibis, I trundled on further - seeing a Green Woodpecker and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers in almost the same place! However, my legs eventually gave up on me and I decided that it was home time...
Glossy Ibis (you'll just have to take my word for it!)
Green Woodpecker
Not a bad first visit to the county of Cambridgeshire which provideth a lifer and two other year ticks. But not just any old lifer - no less than my first first for Britain (a first squared if you will).
God bless Grafham Water...
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