Slaty-backed Gull Twitch

Thursday 17th February 2011

Well its been quite a week with two potential ticks in the bag. Unlike Monday's little escapade yesterday's trip to Rainham Marshes to see the Slaty backed Gull which has reappeared there, this was very much a regulation twitch. Tony Shepherd phoned up on Wednesday to discuss the options of going down. He'd considered going on Wednesday afternoon but sensibly decided to wait until Thursday. Looking at the road works on the M25 he would never have made it. So, we set off at a reasonable time arriving at Rainham Marshes RSPB at midday. We decided to have a coffee before the long trudge to the tip. I was just paying for the coffee when Tony tells me the Gull is showing now on Wennington Marsh. Great! So there we are making haste down the track trying to drink coffee as we go. Fortunately there was a bit of discussion amongst fellow birders as to the route to take which gives me a chance to enjoy the rest of the coffee. Theres even a passing lady who is happy to take the empty cup back to the cafe for me. You see the art of twitching is in the detailed planning. Anyway Tony calls on his vast experience to take charge and get the route sorted out. There were already 50 or so birders viewing when we got to Serin mound. The gulls were quite distant but it wasn't too long before the Slaty-backed was nailed. Easy. A steady stream of birders continued to arrive and were put on to the bird by us experienced Slaty backed gull watchers who had been there for at least 10 minutes. Hum.