Over the next few weeks, thousands of Little Gulls make their way down the North Sea from their breeding grounds in Scandinavia and the Baltic. We are lucky here in East Yorkshire in that Hornsea Mere is a favourite stop-over point for these beautiful small gulls. They come in from the North Sea on an evening, sometimes the number can be over a thousand. Early this morning with the Mere calm and beautiful. On arrival, an estimated 650 Little Gulls were on the Mere, feeding on the many skimming insects, preening or just resting. Their plumages vary considerably with juvenile, 1st Winter, adult Winter and moulting adult Summer birds all moving through. My visit began around 0700hrs and close to 0900hrs, most of the Little Gulls were lifting off and gaining a reasonable height, before heading East and out to sea. With a bit of luck, a few Little Gulls can often be found on the boat jetty and, although looking into the sunlight, it was possible to have a close look at four birds, including a moulting adult. A small part of the flock assembled off 1st Field. Whilst at the Mere, I took the opportunity to find the Bearded Tits which are relatively new to this site. The walk through 1st Field led me along a hedgerow and trees which were bristling with small birds. Many fresh looking Willow Warblers were feeding along with Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat and a large Long-tailed Tit flock. I found the Bearded Tits on the 'shadowy' side of the reedbed which gave me a few problems with the light. A rather worn female Beardie showed first. After a short wait, a cracking male joined the female, working their way through the lower reeds. A wonderful annual experience was had with the Little Gulls and a pleasant couple of hours at Hornsea Mere.
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