Feeling deflated

Friday 6th February 2009
Journeyed to the extreme limits of the county today ie Dosthill Lake, to look for Iceland Gulls. There had been 3 reported the previous day including an adult which I was eager to see in good light. I was joined by Graham Mant a partial migrant south in times of dire lack of birds at Blithfield. Indeed it was Graham who spotted an Iceland Gull drop in on the main lake. It was a very pale individual, not a typical juvenile but certainly not the adult. This bird is probably better described as 1st winter rather than juvenile. We chewed the fat about a of range of topics hoping the other Icelands would also drop in. Although further gulls continued to arrive the vast majority were Lesser Black Backs with relatively few Herring Gulls and no sign of any other Icelands. Apart from a couple of Oystercatchers on the Bund and a few Goldeneye nothing else of interest was seen. Graham and I went our separate ways.
I went to Kingsbury Water Park where the most interesting sight was the latest high tech anti Black headed gull device on the former Tern island at Canal pool. The device, defintely a mail order brown paper package job appeared to be a hybrid inflatable doll/Father Christmas. It was difficult to be precise as I only saw it in a flaccid state. According to an old dear who knew about such things it became erect intermittently after considerable effort.
On Cliffe pool there was I Snipe, 86 Wigeon and a pair of Raven.