Cape-tastic! A Trip to See "That" Gull

Any birder who has their ear even remotely close to the ground must have heard about the amazing find of a "first for Britain" Cape Gull at Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire last Sunday. Found late morning on Sunday, it spent the entire day loafing around the dam area of Grafham Water, enabling those who were quick off the mark a comfortable tick. I couldn't go that day - I'd been out all day Saturday on my Honey Buzzard/friend reunion trip and my VLW would have taken a dim view of me rushing off again the next day. However I had no commitments on Monday. What's more at only 1.5 hours drive from home and, seemingly on show the whole time, this bird was about as nailed down as a first for Britain could be so it was a bit of a no brainer on my part. I did half contemplate going mid morning after doing a spot of work first but soon realised that I would not be able to concentrate on any work for constantly worrying about seeing the gull so in the end I decided to head off first thing (or what passes for first thing for me) "on news".

Monday dawned and RBA reported that the bird was still there following its usual routine of feeding on a dead trout before loafing on some railings. So a little after 8:15 a.m. I set off, stopping to refuel the Gnome-mobile before following the Sat Nat instructions which took me along A421 east towards Grafham Water. So it was that at about 10 a.m I arrived in the car park, found a spot, tooled up and hurried off in the already strong heat along with hoards of other twitchers. It was one of those special twitches where just about everyone in the birding world was there and the bird was reliable. Those on the way to see the bird had a certain amount of nervousness optimism and those who had seen it already were busy catching up with the social side of things. I fully expected to meet some fellow Oxon birders and indeed met CO on his way back who told me that IL and GW had just left as well. In addition at the twitch itself there was NH and MC so it was quite the social event that I was expecting.

It was about a 15 minute walk around to the dam in the south east corner. As I got closer I could see the crowd leaving the railing area and heading to the far corner. The bird must have gone to feed on more trout I guessed, and so I hurried on: still a little nervous that I had yet to see it for myself. I needn't have worried as when I arrived, there he was, quite unmistakable, loafing near a half eaten trout and tearing bits off periodically. I busily set up my scope and set about taking photos and video.

My first view of the Cape Gull. It had a surprisingly "leggy" appearance

When seen at close quarters it was a very distinctive bird

Cape Gull (larus dominicanus vetula) is a subspecies of Kelp Gull that frequents southern Africa (hence the name). Kelp Gull is a large Great Black-backed like Gull of the southern hemisphere, occurring around the coast of the South American continent,  along the coast of south east Australia and across New Zealand (nominate l.d. dominicanus), around the coast of the southern half of Africa ("Cape Gull" l.d. vetula), as well as a few islands with their own subspecies. Cape Gulls have gradually been extending their range, creeping northwards up the coast of Africa with perhaps a dozen records on the Iberian peninsular and a couple in France - one even turned up in a Paris zoo recently. With this gradually progression it was entirely possible that one would turn up eventually in the UK though one could see how it might easily be overlooked in a large flock of gulls. So full kudos to the finder for spotting it in such an unlikely inland location given their coastal preference. Mind you, actually the location would have helped tremendously as it offered such good views of the bird at close quarters that it was able to be identified.

So what marks a Cape Gull from a Great Black-backed Gull? Like all gull ID, it wasn't one thing but instead a suite of features: the bill was large and pale with quite a bulbous tip; the top of the head was flat with a dark eye (a feature of the Cape subspecies), the legs were a greyish green and it was dark backed about mid size between a LBBG and a GBBG. The bird had been aged as a 2nd summer though was quite advanced in its plumage for such an age. It had just a single dark tail feather left and the lower section of its folded wing was dark brown but the overall impression was largely of a fairly mature dark back. The innermost primaries and secondaries had moulted to next generation showing the start of the broader white band to the trailing wing that is characteristic of a Kelp Gull.

In flight you can clearly see the single dark tail feather left
and next generation innermost primaries and innermost secondaries

After feeding for a while it flew out onto the water for a clean up before deciding that it wanted a dessert and headed back to a different trout. However, it didn't seem that hungry so after pecking at it half heartedly for a while flew it back to the water for a final wash. Eventually it decided it was clean and so flew back to the railing for a good post-wash preen before going to sleep. The twitching crowd (perhaps a couple of hundred birders) duly followed it back to the railings and papped away vigorously from all angles.

On the water...

...and on the railings.

Having a good preen

Seeing this bird so well at such a close distance was great but I couldn't help but wonder whether I'd pick it out in a roost of birds floating on the water at dusk on a cold winter's evening - the chances were probably low. Still it at least offered another species to look out for in a roost and meant that there was more reason to give GBBG's a closer grilling.

Aside from the star bird there were some other species to be seen as well. We were treated to a wonderfully close fly-over of an Osprey with one or two others distantly on view periodically over the water. There were some Yellow-legged Gulls about, Common Terns were hunting over the water and quite a few Yellow Wagtails were calling in the fields below the dam. Swallows were hawking over the water and a single Redshank dropped in to feed along the margin. Apart from that it was the usual water fowl loafing around in the heat. In terms of the current heatwave the water was definitely low with large areas of dried mud exposed in the shallow corners. Still Grafham Water is such a vast expanse that there was plenty of water around yet. 

A Bonus Redshank

After a while I decided to head back, passing other birders still coming the other way. Back in the car I drank half a bottle of water in one go to quench my thirst - it had been hard work in the baking sun. Then it was time to crank up the car air-con to 11 and set the Sat Nav for home, basking in the warm glow of a "first for Britain" tick. 

Addendum

Given how settled the bird looked, I was fully expecting it to stay around for some time to come. However it soon started to be less reliable and by Thursday there had been no further sign of it. Thank heavens I didn't do my usual thing of waiting a while before going to see the bird as I would have missed it!

Wrestling with Honey Buzzard ID

Regular readers may recall that roughly this time last year I went to the New Forest, partly to see some Bog Orchids for the first time but also to do a spot of Honey Buzzard watching. I'd very much enjoyed my trip and had been thinking of maybe going again this year. So when a college friend of mine arranged a reunion of university friends at a house in Brockenhurst deep in the heart of the New Forest last weekend, I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to sneak in a couple of hours of Honey Buzzard watching before arriving. So with an official arrival time at Brockenhurst of midday, I got up early and headed straight down, arriving at around 9:15 a.m. to another warm and sunny day. 

Last time I'd had the pleasure of the company of a fellow HB enthusiast, GD who had steered me right on the difficult art of differentiating Honeys from their commoner cousins. By the end I felt that I was getting a better feel for it though I was wondering how I would get on if I were on my own. This time I'd spent the previous evening swotting up by watching videos about Honey Buzzards to get a feel for the jizz and to glean some background info (see this great video here by Mark Mallalieu). When I arrived I found that I was indeed on my own so I was about to find out just how well these lessons had sunk in. Conditions were bright and very hazy and I was wondering just how easy it was going to be to see anything. I needn't have worried as within about 10 minutes of starting I had my first BOP in the air and as soon as I got my scope on it I could tell it was a Honey Buzzard. Indeed, I was treated to 5 minutes of fantastic views as it circled around before eventually heading off. During that time as I watched it, I couldn't help but think that when seen properly like this Honey Buzzards looked nothing like a Common Buzzard at all. Indeed they have more of a hawk shape to them than any Buzzard. The way they move is also much lighter and more agile, unlike the lumbering turns of a Common Buzzard. I was very pleased to have got my target bird under my belt so quickly and poured myself a celebratory cup of tea from my flask.

Very distinctive! A grab from the video by Mark Mallalieu (c)

Shortly after that, a fellow birder turned up. He turned out to be RC, the number one expert on Honey Buzzards in the country - Mr. Honey Buzzard himself no less! We soon got talking and had a very enjoyable session together. He gently taught me the finer points of HB id, saying that the flat held wings were the main thing that he looked for above all else. What amazed me was that he just used a pair of bins for his watching but was able to id them faster than I could even find them in my scope. I guess that after as many years as he has put in, you just get a feel for them. Anyway, we had two more sightings of HBs along with plenty of Commons. He told me that in general Honey Buzzards will start flying earlier than Commons. In fact he likes to get to a viewing session at 8 am, saying that HBs will generally rise between then at about 9 whereas the Commons, being heavier birds, are generally rising from 9:30 onwards. A top tip!

There were surprisingly few other BOPs about today - with no Goshawks, Falcons or Red Kites seen at all. I did ask RC in passing about Dartford Warblers as it had been a few years since I'd seen one. To my surprise he said that you get them all around where we were. We started listening out and after a while heard the distinctive scolding churr of a Sylvia warbler - a Dartford! Seeing them was another matter. RC picked out a distant one but, being shorter in height, I just couldn't see it. Eventually RC had to leave and as time was marching on I decided to pack up my scope and head back to the car slowly to see if I could find and see a Dartford of my own. I found a good looking area which seemed to have more bird life, including some Stonechats that Dartfords like so much for company. Sure enough eventually I managed to winkle out a Dartford sighting. I even managed an appalling record shot of it though I won't shame myself by publishing it. Instead below is a stunning photo of a bird that turned up on the Oxfordshire downs last month, taken by Roget Wyatt.

Instead of my rubbish, here is a exquisite photo of a Dartford Warbler taken by Roger Wyatt (c)

Back at the car, I drank a lot of water to quench my thirst from having been out in the sun for such a length of time. Then it was time to head over to Brockenhurst to rendezvous with my college friends. There we had a lovely afternoon of catching up and reminiscing, along with a walk in the baking afternoon sun. Finally it was time to head back home. It had been a great day out - I think I might try to make this Honey Buzzard pilgrimage an annual event.