Certainly the conditions for viewing were less than ideal with a murky gloom sinking over the grounds and the River Severn beyond. We saw a Wood Sandpiper distantly and Mark got very excited about a free flying Black Swan which, while very striking in flight, I informed him he could not count
Whilst touring the grounds we learned that a juvenile male Garganey had been discovered at my local Farmoor Reservoir this same morning and with not much else to see at Slimbridge we departed the grounds at around noon, intent on heading for Farmoor.
Coming back over the Cotswolds the weather took a turn for the worse, the rain manifesting itself as a low lying wet mist. blanketing the hills and limiting visibility. Depressingly it looked set for the day but as we got to my home in northwest Oxfordshire it had lifted and the weather now looked like it would only bring infrequent rain showers interspersed with dry spells and even sunshine
At least there was no wind to speak of.
It was grey but dry when we arrived at the reservoir in the mid afternoon and knowing the Garganey was at the far western end of the causeway we set off to see it. As we walked a post came on the Oxon Bird Forum about an adult Little Gull being found by Thomas on the larger basin of the reservoir but we were unsure of where.Scanning from the central causeway we could see no sign of any gull apart from the regular Yellow legged and Herring Gulls feasting on the dead fish that wash up at the water's edge
I checked for the Little Stint as we walked along but that had gone so I suggested to Mark we prioritise the Garganey and then go and look for the Little Gull which we learned was in the company of some Black headed Gulls at the other end of the causeway that we had just left. Frustratingly we had almost walked right past the gull but as we did not know about it that was hardly unexpected
The Garganey was easily discovered, squatting on the concrete shelving by the water, a noticeably small duck in the company of some larger dozing Mallard and a couple of Canada Geese and not at all phased by our close proximity.It made a brief excursion onto the water but soon returned to land.
We were halfway down the causeway when we noticed an ominous grey cloud that carried an imminent threat of rain approaching and which duly arrived but thankfully both of us had had the presence of mind to don waterproof jackets in anticipation of such when we had arrived. Even so the rain managed to inflict its customary misery but we soldiered on determined to do our best to see the Little Gull.The rain passed as quickly as it arrived and we were now confronted with dazzling sunshine, the light turning the waters to shimmering silver.
Getting to where the Little Gull had been seen earlier I asked another birder if he had seen the gull
No, was the short reply
We checked a group of Black headed Gulls hunting a shoal of small fish just offshore and which the Little Gull had apparently been associating with earlier but now we could find no sign of its presence.
We were on our own and looking into the sun, consequently all I was in fact checking were silhouettes of Black headed Gulls on the water.Not at all satisfactory but it did not matter as none were our prize bird.
Had it gone in the rain or moved elsewhere on the reservoir?
Then a gull flew above the other gulls sat on the water, it looked markedly small as it flew closer, banked and I could see it had diagnostic black underwings. We had found the adult Little Gull.
Initially the gull was quite distant and the sun having turned the waters to a very similar colour to the small white gull, made picking it out flying at long range difficult but we were not about to give up. It eventually settled with the other gulls to sit on the water doing very little and becoming even harder to detect.
We lingered for some time and then it flew back alongside the reservoir wall to the concrete hardstanding, somewhat whimsically known as 'the beach' by the causeway and from where they launch the sailing dinghys and here was the opportunity I craved to get some images and admire this most delicate and tern like of gulls.