The calm before the storm Newfoundland style

People talk about the weather wherever you are. Although when you're up here in Newfoundland, driving past 10 foot piles of snow everywhere, and then everyone you see says 'we're in for a winter storm tomorrow' it is probably worth taking note. And so with tomorrow (Tuesday) potentially a white out, we made the most of today's calm (though dull) conditions.

American Herring Gulls St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

With things back to normal after the weekend, there were loads more gulls about at Quidi Vidi Lake today - mainly due to the landfill at the top of the hill back in full swing. Among the hordes of American Herring and Kumlien's Gulls, there was a large increase in the number of Glaucous Gulls; probably in excess of 20 birds, with the great majority being big white juveniles.

juvenile Glaucous Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

An interesting bird was this Iceland/Kumlien's Gull - the lack of any pigmentation in its primaries, no tail band and an extensively pink based bill would suggest nominate glaucoides but can a bleached kumlieni actually be ruled out? Suffice to say, if this was in Britain there'd be nobody mooted it as a Kumlien's Gull...

juvenile Iceland/Kumlien's Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

With a bit of snow overnight, the gulls today performed nicely on the white background. Here's a selection of the usual suspects...

juvenile Kumlien's Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

2nd-winter Kumlien's Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

1st-winter American Herring Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

adult Kumlien's Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

2nd-winter American Herring Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

adult Ring-billed Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

adult Common Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

It wasn't just about the gulls. Quidi Vidi, like all of St. John's parks where there is freshwater, provide a haven for wildfowl and there were a couple of Eurasian Wigeons, ten or so American Wigeons, three Goosanders (Common Mergansers), a dozen Tufted Ducks and loads of Black Ducks, Mallards and hybrids.

drake American Wigeon Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

Slim pickings on the passerine front understandably, with a single Red-winged Blackbird still living through the freeze along with those hard fellows, Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos.

Dark-eyed Junco Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 13th February 2017

The gulls and ducks of St.John's, Newfoundland

The first full day in Newfoundland - and predictably, it was a good one. For a European birder it is a fairly easy adaptation if I'm honest. And I would imagine for North American birders, you can see the appeal - Tufted Ducks are the commonest freshwater aythya, Black-headed Gulls the commonest small gull, Common Gull have outnumbered Ring-billed Gulls (admittedly two vs one) while Eurasian Wigeon are relatively straightforward to see too.

I'm staying right near the harbour in downtown St. John's, so first stop was down by the quayside. Predictably first bird of the day was Kumlien's Gull - the main flock was on the other side of this picturesque natural harbour, but with a bit of baiting the day was off to a nice start: -

adult Kumlien's Gull St. John's, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

The first of several trips to Quidi Vidi Lake started off with a quick walk about with the usual wildfowl present.

American Wigeon Quidi Vidi Lake, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

Tufted Duck Quidi Vidi Lake, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

Pintail Quidi Vidi Lake, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

Given the temperature overnight, it was unsurprising that passerine activity was pretty manic first thing with Song Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and a Red-winged Blackbird the lot.

Song Sparrow Quidi Vidi Lake, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

Red-winged Blackbird Quidi Vidi Lake, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

On the lake nearby, I laid eyes on my first 'European' Common Gull on these shores - a nice adult, metal ringed (from Iceland apparently).

adult Common Gull Quidi Vidi Lake, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

And then it was to the predictable stuff I was here for - Kumlien's Gulls and the odd American Herring Gull too, including ringed birds of each species (both ringed in St. John's during previous winters).

Kumlien's Gulls (adults top two, third-winter middle two, juvenile bottom) Quidi Vidi Lake, Newfoundland 12th February 2017

A change of scene took us to Mundy Pond, where there were loads more photogenic American Herring Gulls than at Quidi Vidi - good to get the classic bayonets on these Newfoundland adults - and a 2nd-winter Glaucous Gull was about here too.

adult American Herring Gull Mundy Pond, St. John's, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

2nd-winter American Herring Gull Mundy Pond, St. John's, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

1st-winter Black-headed Gull Mundy Pond, St. John's, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

2nd-winter Glaucous Gull Mundy Pond, St. John's, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

We then headed ten or so miles out of St. John's to the small outfall at Chamberlain's near Conception Bay South. There were groups of Goldeneye and Greater Scaup on the sea here, while gulls around the outfall included c.15 Black-headed Gulls, another adult Common Gull, a showy juvenile Glaucous Gull and of course a host of Kumlien's and American Herring Gulls.

juvenile Glaucous Gull Conception Bay South, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

Back in St. John's, we had a scout about the harbour again, where we got accosted in a very un-British way by the security guards; one of them provided us with a printed version of a poem 'Sea Gulls' by a Newfoundland poet John Pratt. Out of courtesy I have read it this evening, but it in no way lights an ever put out flame for poetry. Three Glaucous Gulls were among the hordes of Kumlien's Gulls, as were a good number of American Herring Gulls.

juvenile Kumlien's Gull St. John's, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

The last stop of the day, after another quick check of Quidi Vidi, was Bowring Park. This place was absolutely teeming with Black Ducks (as well as Mallards and assorted hybrids), and like other places in St. John's wherever there is a small amount of water the ducks seem to get fed. So rather disconcertingly all the wild birds were up for any food given - which in this case included two Wood Ducks, a female Green-winged Teal and a drake Eurasian Wigeon!

drake Eurasian Wigeon Bowring Park, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

Wood Duck Bowring Park, Newfoundland 12 February 2017

And that was that - the end to a pretty enjoyable day. We made the most of the good weather, and it is currently snowing a bit here. Tomorrow should be decent but there seems to be a weather warning out for a heavy snow storm on Tuesday. Which could be interesting...

The afternoon in Newfoundland

I've made it to St.John's, Newfoundland. Wintering home of Kumlien's Gulls. And it couldn't have been easier - with a direct flight from London of a shade under 5 hours, a small hassle free airport and then a 10 minute drive down to where the action is...

This is a trip I've thought about doing for several years, and Richard S and I decided to bite the bullet this year. I've only had a couple of hours of birding this afternoon and only been to one place - Quidi Vidi Lake - but it already has a nice feel to it. Slightly Irish with a bit of Scandinavia thrown in, along with that rugged Atlantic influence that always gets me going. A bit of a bizarre collection of birds too - the common aythya being Tufted Duck and then a swarm of Black Ducks, Mallards and inbetweeners, some showy Pintail and American Wigeons, a lone American Coot, a couple of Double-crested Cormorants, a single Ring-billed Gull and then lots of Kumlien's Gulls and American Herring Gulls. So here are a handful of pics from this afternoon, that'll inevitably get upgraded as the trip goes on...

Kumlien's Gulls Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 11th Feb 2017

So far, all the Kumlien's Gulls seen were mid range birds - nothing alarming and to be honest, what I expected. Tomorrow's targets? Black-headed Gull and Common Gull. Among other things. 

Black Duck Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, Newfoundland 11th Feb 2017

Four Caspian Gulls Thames Barrier Park 4th Feb 2017

I had a day around the usual sites yesterday - Thames Barrier Park and the O2 specifically; something seems to have happened at Lyle Park with the factories for the time being not pumping out stuff to attract London's larids. So focusing on just the two sites between 10am and 3.30pm (the low tide period), Dante and I had a decent day with 4 Caspian Gulls (all new individuals for me - two 3rd-winters and two 1st-winters, including a German ringed bird) and similar numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls. Ring wise, there were a dozen birds in total - half being local, a German Caspian Gull, Lithuanian and Berkshire ringed Black-headed Gulls, two west country ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Norwegian Common Gull (that I'd seen at Wanstead a couple of weekends ago).

So not wanting to break tradition, here are a few shots of the Casps - the most showy bird was this third-winter, found last Sunday and a slave to the bread. 'Oleg' was at Thames Barrier Park for the whole time we were there: -

Caspian Gull 3rd-winter (bird 1, 'Oleg') Thames Barrier Park, London 4th February 2017

A more pale-eyed third-winter Caspian Gull showed up mid morning, and was then present on and off for the remainder of the day - really scruffy looking on the deck, but more advanced than Oleg, the bird above. 

Caspian Gull 3rd-winter (bird 2) Thames Barrier Park, London 4th February 2017

Although there was little at the O2, on our return to Thames Barrier Park early afternoon a couple of 1st-winters showed up on the incoming tide. First one was this distinctive bird - presumably a male based on large size, and a new bird for us for the winter (we're now in the early 20s in terms of actual individual Caspian Gulls at the O2, Thames Barrier, Lyle and Rotherhithe this winter period): -

Caspian Gull 1st-winter (bird 1) Thames Barrier Park, London 4th February 2017

Then, just as the bread was running out - and it wasn't as if we'd come unprepared as over a dozen loaves must have been thrown throughout the day - this German-ringed Caspian Gull turned up at Thames Barrier Park.

Caspian Gull 1st-winter (X319) Thames Barrier Park, London 4th February 2017

This bird was seen by David Campbell at Beddington on 16th January 2017, having previously being ringed at Grabendorfer See, Brandenburg, Germany on 6th June 2016 and seen on Terschelling, The Netherlands on 19th November 2016.

White-billed sea monster in Lincolnshire

It is rare that I am dragged away from the gulls of London and the southeast for something I have seen before. However, some birds are worth the effort and today was one of those days. Roll back 21 years to March 1996 when I was a fresh faced 15 year old, and a day where my mum had driven me and Tom Lowe so we could see our first White-billed Diver on a small Lincolnshire river near Tattershall Bridge. That was the River Witham. And merely five miles north of there today - on that same inland Lincolnshire drain - was another of that same species of Arctic beast. There are birds and there are birds, and this massively impressive specimen falls into that latter category. Seemingly feeding quite nicely, and looking fine in the sunshine, I had a fantastic few hours on the River Witham to the north of Kirkstead Bridge today. Enjoy...

White-billed Diver River Witham north of Kirkstead Bridge, Lincs 29th January 2017