Med Gulls (lots), Waders and some pics

The Twitter feed on the right hand side of this page (might have to scroll down a little) gives a regular update as to what I'm seeing as it is much quicker and more convenient than blogging; I'll summarise here as well though.

Thursday morning at Black Hole Marsh yielded 14+ Common Sands but no new species. I had a look over the estuary from Tower Hide and was surprised to see a group of 8 Med Gulls together, comprising of 4 adults and 4 juveniles. They were very distant so I took the below record shot before hurrying to the other side of the estuary; I'll post some better pics when I have time to process them but heat haze was a problem all morning.

All 8 took off and flew high together, out of sight. Mid-afternoon yielded 2 juvs on the estuary which soon joined a 1st Summer on BHM and there were still 3 present in the evening. I probably missed some others during the day but this is the most I've seen here in 1 day and definitely the first time I've squeezed 8 into a single pic. The evening visit to BHM also gave 1 Green Sand, 4 Black-tailed Godwits and a Hobby.

One of the juv Meds came fairly close to Island Hide at one point. The heat meant getting a sharp shot was very tricky but these are stunning birds even if some of the detail was lost:

The Green Sand stayed distant but I'm quite pleased with how well this pic held up when cropped heavily:

Little Egret posing in the last few moments of warm sunshine

Friday 7th:
I was about to leave to head to BHM when Ian Mc texted with news of an LRP which is only the second one of 'Autumn' so far. I saw this distantly before heading home to carry on with some work.
Another visit in the afternoon produced 5 Blackwits and the Hobby again but little else of interest. A 3rd visit from 20:15 to 21:15 was only slightly more rewarding with the LRP and Green Sand showing again but distantly.