Yet Another Yellow-legged Gull at Wembury

Monday 21st September was another very busy long day shift at work and on getting home at around 9pm I put the moth box out in the back yard again. It was a still and warm night again although cooler than my previous nights trapping on Saturday and in the morning I disappointingly only had 8 moths of 7 species in the trap - Silver Y, Light Brown Apple Moth, Tachystola acroxantha, Square Spot Rustic, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Large Yellow Underwing and 2 Willow Beauty (1 of which was faded and which I thought at first was an Engrailed).

Willow Beauty

Willow Beauty (ID'd with help from @MothIDUK)

After sorting out the trap and having some breakfast I headed out to Wembury for a walk. It was cool and overcast which seemed to keep visitor numbers down and which meant there was less disturbance along the beach for the birds roosting there on the very high tide.

The usual Gulls were feeding on the rotting seaweed along the beach and roosting on the rocks but numbers were much reduced from my previous visits. Mostly Herring Gulls of assorted ages were feeding on the seaweed with a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull and a few juvenile Great Black-backs while Black-headed Gulls noisily fed along the breaking surf line. Amongst them were 7 Mediterranean Gulls (1 juvenile) and all unringed. 

Mediterranean Gull

I did find another juvenile/1st Winter Yellow-legged Gull amongst them, giving itself away as it flew onto the rocks and showing its white rump with smartly contrasting dark tail band.

Yellow-legged Gull 

Yellow-legged Gull 

Yellow-legged Gull 

Yellow-legged Gull 

Yellow-legged Gull 

I have had quite a run of Yellow-legged Gull sightings at Wembury in the last 2 weeks, presumably due to the high number of Gulls feeding along the beach and attracting the Yellow-legs in. Or maybe there are more around this year or I am getting better at picking them out or maybe I'm spending more time looking for them. Whatever the case it has been nice to find 4 of them now with 3 photographed (badly) and clearly different birds.

Waders were also showing well on the high tide with 2 Knot roosting amongst the 54 Oystercatcher and 6 Curlew present at The Point, only my second Wembury sighting, while along the beach there were 15 Turnstone, 9 Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit (presumably the same birds seen on previous visits) and 4 Grey Plover.

Ringed Plover

Bar-tailed Godwit

Knot

Grey Plover

Grey Plover

While watching the Gulls and Waders a Kingfisher flew in to fish in the rock pools while a Wheatear flew along the beach and Gannets dived offshore. 5 Little Egrets were looking a little forlorn as they roosted together on the rocks and Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipits fed along the beach with a few Meadow Pipits. Overhead a Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk and a Peregrine were noted and along the coast path Stonechat, Chiffchaff, Cirl Bunting and Blackcap were seen.

The cool and sunless conditions meant only a single Red Admiral and 2 Large White were seen along with a surprise Wall, presumably a third generation individual. In the toilet block there were 2 Rusty Dot Pearl and 2 Eudonia angustea which I caught and released outside.

Eudonia angustea

Ivy Bee on Ivy - a new species for me

A very nice walk as always with a tasty Chunk pasty for lunch from the cafe on the beach topping off a nice trip out.