This morning, I took a drive out to Barmston on the coast to see if the reported Kumlien's Gull was still in the area. I have a previous record of a Kumlien's there and have seen Glaucous Gull on the beach too.
This bird was in the air as soon as I got out of the car, in company with a few Herring and Common Gulls and stayed around for a few minutes before flying South down the beach. There was a force 7 to 8 Westerly wind blowing, the tide was starting to recede and I wasn't sure whether it would return or not. I thought a coffee in the car would be the best idea, as I had a good view down the beach from there. Twenty minutes later, I saw the Kumlien's making its way back up the beach. It passed below me flying very low over some rocks. After a while, I realised none of the gulls were attempting a landing in this wind and they were simply flying up and down the beach, presumably in search of food as the tide went out. With the bird now North of me, I headed down to the beach and tucked myself in the bottom of the cliffs, out of the wind. I watched the Sanderlings being blown along the tideline and a Red-throated Diver went South, being the only interesting sighting on the sea. Eventually, the Kumlien's came back and I was able to get a few photos of its underside, though I would have liked some of the upper wings too. Comments are closed.
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