Wednesday 19 July 2017

Yellow-legged Gull + returning migrants

The scrub around Ynyslas has been producing decent numbers of returning Willow Warblers recently as well as 2 Blackcaps and a juvenile Redstart. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flying north over the dunes at Ynyslas the other day was an odd occurrence. 
The ploughed field at Ynys Tachwedd has been producing good numbers of birds, highlights including: 4 Common Gulls, regular Med Gulls, a juv. Wheatear, a juv. Whinchat and a Stock Dove. 
Yesterday evening a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was hanging around a sandbank in the estuary with a mixture of other large gulls.  
This morning a large cumbersome Common Snipe that flushed from around the small tidal pool near the Ynyslas boatyard had the heart racing for a split second before the bird banked and showed a nice white belly and paleish underwings...panic over, probably just a tired migrant.

Edward O'Connor