Another YLG in Rotherhithe this evening

Every morning and evening, before and after school, I check Greenland Dock. There seems to be a pair of Sand Martins nesting here this year, which is a new breeding pair, while there are always a few cormorants and gulls loafing around. Tonight, there was quite a nice looking 2nd-summer Yellow-legged Gull that allowed quite close approach: -

2nd-summer Yellow-legged Gull - red orbital ring, yellowish legs and dark grey upperparts. In flight this bird had retained a lot of black in the tail, still forming a neat band. Note the predominantly adult-type grey scapulars, with a couple of retained old feathers in the rear scapulars, as well as the abraded (presumably 2nd generation) greater coverts.

Numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls on the Thames usually reach an annual low about this time (or slightly earlier), so numbers should start to increase again hitting a peak late summer.

Dusky Thrush in Kent

Fraught is the word that comes to mind. Somehow, I'd managed to get myself involved in having to supervise a load of 16 year olds on a revision/activities weekend in landlocked Wiltshire in mid-May. I generally chance these kind of situations, safe in the knowledge that previous efforts mean. I rarely have to make a move for rares nowadays. However, getting a call from Josh late Friday night about photos of a Dusky Thrush in Kent had me sweating somewhat. And then, with a text from Lopez the next morning letting me know it was still about just before 6am, I was well and truly caught with my pants down... totally unprofessional.

Being the first twitchable Dusky Thrush since 1959, desperate times call for desperate measures and so, with balls of steel, I was watching the first-winter female Dusky Thrush in Margate cemetery by mid afternoon: -

first-winter female Dusky Thrush Margate, Kent 18th May 2013

Remarkably, this was my second new British and Irish lifer of 2013 (after the Pine Grosbeak) - equal to my year end total for 2012 (Western Orphean Warbler and Belted Kingfisher). Don't really like talking about lists, but two new birds by mid-May is exceptional these days. Obviously this Dusky Thrush was a top bird as all thrushes generally are, but nothing looks wise on the first-winter male I saw in the sparkling Belgian snow in January 2009. Allow me to reminisce: -

first-winter male Dusky Thrush Erezee, Belgium January 2009

I was back in Wiltshire by early evening, while back in London this evening a trip to Crossness revealed absolutely nothing. It was a year today that the first of two Bonaparte's Gulls turned up down there so, with that in mind, I at least wanted to have a look through the Black-headed Gulls but predictably to no avail. Reason for no posts for a while? Stale local birding with no birds. Highlight last weekend were a couple of Wheatears.

Gulling in May? It must be quiet

Well, that was a non-event. Back in the day when I was a pager-toting teen, I was positively salivating at the prospect of a bank holiday weekend in May - heading south from my home in Cheshire to feast my eyes on a load of European scarce in the southern half of England. Now I live down here, the birds are gone. Bank holiday birding excitement is no more. At least this weekend didn't do it. It felt more like early June locally than it did early May. Spring really had died on its arse, though hopefully just momentarily, as the quality from the northern isles still awaits us cheque book birders.

Crossness highlights first thing were a paultry Dunlin and 2 Curlew. A bit of sunburn, a Red Kite and nine Crossbills were all rural Essex had to offfer. It's not a good sign that when you live in Central London, bird of the day is actually within a couple of hundred metres of my flat in Rotherhithe. A showy 1st-summer Yellow-legged Gull - not a good month for the species even in London, so here are a few photos. Thought it might be a lusitanicus-type, but they're not meant to be as leggy as this bird: -

Anyway, while chilling out trying to pap the mich, Greenland Dock was a (comparative) hub of bird activity - 2 Common Buzzards over, a couple of Sand Martins, a pair of Egyptian Geese and two Common Terns. Just hope that next weekend is better.

Stalking seagulls

I've got a big gathering of large gulls on Greenland Dock, next to my flat in Rotherhithe, at the moment. They may look a little worse for wear at this time of year, and they're all non-breeding youths cackling away. Early this morning as I was heading out to Crossness, I found this 1st-summer Herring Gull and bizarrely the ring combination rang a bell for some reason: -

Herring Gull VY8T Rotherhithe, London 4th May 2013

When I got home, I checked my geeky 'gull rings 2013' spreadsheet and hey presto, I'd seen this bird on the tip in Essex on 16th March 2013 (and it had been ringed at Rainham, London, on 15th December 2013). Here's a shot of it from March: -

Herring Gull VY8T Essex 16th March 2013

Otherwise, today at Crossness was quiet except for an unobliging male Whinchat in the paddocks and a couple of Arctic Terns bombing west past the outfall mid morning. I went there on Thursday too, where there was a Turtle Dove (a rare sight these days) and a Green Sandpiper amongst the usuals, while a couple of Common Terns seem to be back in Rotherhithe today. Hope there is some action this Bank Holiday...

BTGs and GWT at Crossness today

Uneventful across the country today, with a real turn in wind direction and drop in temperature. I hadn't had a lie in past 7.30am for over a month, so deserved the one I had this morning to recharge the batteries. John A had done Crossness in the morning, so I decided that a late afternoon visit was the way forward, especially with more overcast conditions forecast.

It was quiet though with no noticeable passage and just the usuals to look at. So with the 35 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits looking better and better by the day, I focused on them for a bit. In this flock was one ringed bird that has been present in the Crossness/Barking Bay area since 31st March: -

Black-tailed Godwit - ringed at Levington on the Orwell Estuary, Suffolk on 18th August 2008 then seen at Alton Water, Suffolk on 1st September 2009, Abberton Resr, Essex 19th September 2009, Loire Estuary, France 14th February 2010, Ouderkerk, The Netherlands 16th March 2010, Trimley, Suffolk 22nd July 2010, Cliffe, Kent 13th July 2011, Rainham, London 27th December 2011 and then Manningtree, Essex 16th September 2012 before turning up here in late March (look here to see how much it has moulted).

Jim Wilson flagged up a project that he's involved in on one of my earlier posts, where three schools (one in Ireland, one in Devon and one in Iceland) have got together, promoting awareness of this species. Have a little look here if you fancy it.

The numbers of Black-headed Gulls are building up again at Crossness - presumably non-breeders - so I'm wondering whether either of the two Bonaparte's Gulls from last May will come again. However, the current yank was back. It obviously has good taste, preferring south of the river after its day trip to Rainham yesterday.

drake Green-winged Teal - several observers have commented on the more extensive 'mane' of this bird compared to the drake Eurasian Teals. This photo, taken today, exemplifies this.

Showy Subalpine Warbler in Suffolk

Some birds just have it in them to show well. And a Subalpine Warbler that first turned up at Landguard, Suffolk yesterday evening was a good example of this. Having hung around with Jonathan L and Nick C waiting for news on this bird or the Rock Thrush at Spurn (which had gone), the decision on which way to turn was easy. So by mid morning we'd parked up and in no time at all, found this showy male feeding actively in brambles and scrub: -

The bird was superb, a nice male albistrata with a deep red throat and upper breast becoming paler towards the under belly as well as a broad moustachial stripe. I didn't hear it call though. All this loveliness was slightly tempered by a few sour faced souls not happy with the way the crowd was viewing the bird at point blank range - the types who take up birding during their mid/late life crisis, buy a pager then optics before moving to Norfolk/Suffolk where they feel at home as the don of their poxy manor and twitch any old nonsense that they could find themselves if they had any idea what they were actually looking at. Nothing wrong with good views of a showy bird guys.

A nice gathering of a dozen Wheatears were on the common at Landguard, while the journey back to London was a tale of two ducks - a female Ring-necked Duck in amongst a few Tufted Ducks at Chigborough Lakes near Maldon, and then the Green-winged Teal from Crossness had made it across the river to Rainham, where it showed appallingly in heavy showers early evening.

Rotherhithe's first Wood Warbler

It's fun times at the moment. The sun is shining, and the weather is hot. I've been stuck inside, as usual, since the weekend and with little in the way of migrants in London on Monday and Tuesday decided to do admin stuff and footy, shelving the birding. But, with a step up in action today, I headed out after school onto the mean streets of South London trying to find some birds.

So I got myself to Russia Dock Woodland - scene of the infamous marathon crash on Sunday (check out after about 5 seconds on the video here for the entrance to this mighty woodland) - and started my evening, pre-Tesco stroll. Nice, a couple of Swallows over to start with and then, along with a handful of Chiffchaffs, a Reed Warbler clucking away in the vegetation was evidently a migrant (though they do breed in Rotherhithe - in the reedbed at Canada Water).

So, back to the car and as I was approaching, glanced up into the nearby trees at the back of the primary school and before I even raised my bins knew that the squat, short-tailed stocky phyllosc I'd just found was going to be something special for Rotherhithe - with a couple already found today in London, I'd located Rotherhithe's very own Wood Warbler. Get in. Massive bird here in Central London, and my first in Rotherhithe so happy days. It's all about context, and Wood Warblers are birds I rarely see these days so I was made up just to see one.

News out, but gutted that like with the Redstarts at the start of last week, my camera wasn't with me. Not sure I want to keep a nice SLR with me each day where I work, but this being the second time in as many weeks where I could have papped a Rotherhithe mega and didn't has made me think. John A and a couple of other locals arrived just after I'd last seen the bird (7.10pm) in the declining light so missed out, though with a bit of rain tonight who knows. Though Wood Warblers have a poor track record of staying over in London, but we'll see. Funny thing is that Josh and I were only talking about Wood Warbler as an obvious bird for Russia Dock Woodland as we wondered around the place the Saturday just gone.

Russia Dock Woodland, Rotherhithe April 2013

I didn't do a write up on Sunday's birding, not because it was gash but just time got the better of me. Anyway, a nice long walk with John A around Crossness produced a male Whinchat on southern marsh as the highlight, while 5 Wheatears remained and the Green-winged Teal was still there. Two Lesser Whitethroats were new for the year, and nearby at Crayford I located a couple of Whimbrel while successfully searching for Kev's Spotted Redshank. All good stuff.