Friday 17 December 2010

Friday 17th.December 2010

Firstly , leftovers from Monday's blog , when Davo/Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris , thought that a Gull that was in the shot taken on the frozen middle pond at Keston , might have been a 1st. winter Mediterranean Gull . I found another shot taken at the same visit , that shows the three Gulls that were on the ice with a number of dodgy Ducks , the two Gulls on the left being those in the original shot . Also , a close up of the original two . I've looked at all three and pictures of a 1st. winter Mediterranean Gull , and to be honest , I'm not sure either way . It would be nice to have the record of the species on the site , but will leave it to those who know better to decide .
Didn't get out yesterday , as work on the Common was cancelled , and it rained most of the day .
Had an appointment this morning , and was hoping to get out this afternoon , then just about midday , the sky went black , and just as the last of the snow was disappearing , a half hour blizzard covered everything again . That has now frozen , and with more snow forecasted for tomorrow , watch this space .
I have spent my spare time both days , processing the many photographs taken over the last week or so . I hadn't realised that just at Sevenoaks Reserve alone , in the gloom of the fog , I had taken well over 100 Water Rail shots .
What a difference when I got back to the shots taken at Mote Park , of which there were almost 100 in brilliant sunshine . The two birds almost look as if they are different species , with the colours and markings showing so much better in the sun .
With more snow tomorrow , the clear up task with the Surrey Group has been postponed .
Will I get out ?

5 comments:

Warren Baker said...

Probably not Med Gull Greenie :-(

Its not looking good for a trip out for tomorrow mate - unless you've got ski's

Ken. said...

Hi Greenie.
I agree with Warren. I would say it is a Black Headed Gull.
Nice photo's of the Water Rail.
Lets hope the weather isn't too bad tomorrow, you never know you might get out.

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris said...

Deffo a BHG now I can see it clearly Greenie - thanks for that, always worth a shout.

Cheers

Davo

The Birch family said...

Hi Greenie,

great to follow your birding and other exploits on your blog, as a fellow Bromley resident. Yes, these are all Black-headed Gulls, but it must have been nice to have stumbled upon the Black-necked Grebe amongst your earlier shots. If you ever turn up something in the Bromley area do drop me a line at mbirch (AT) christian-aid.org. Interesting birds in this part of the world are few and far between although the Waxwings in Queens Mead are pretty cool even if it's taken a few attempts to see a few.

Cheers

Martin

weather said...

weather maps from Global Forecast System

www.theweatherland.com