February 6th 2008

Another night of rain, clearing by early morning. Still breezy as I cycled down the A45 with Tawny Owl calling near the prison and the same or another one calling in Willoughby village. The Long-eared Owls were hunting in the gloom quartering field and interacting with each other before doing there usual trick of disappearing before daylight. Two Barn Owls were more obliging staying out till well after daybreak when the pair of Stonechats started foraging nearby. Returning home came across a good group of finches with 20+ Tree Sparrows. The A45 was extremely busy but managed to see Buzzard and 10 Cormorants heading east in to Northamptonshire.
Tim Marlow rang just before dinner offering a trip into valley so planned to be picked up at one thirty but due to some work issues arrived at two so we decided to do roost instead and notified John Judge to meet us in café.
After meeting up with John we walked to rainbow corner where with in thirty seconds of setting up John found a second winter Med Gull just off the inlet (1535pm) and as I panned to where John was looking the first thing I saw was an Iceland Gull which I called out only to realize seconds later it was a Kumlien’s Gull – so I shouted even louder. Frantic discussions took place and urgent phone calls made for plumage details and hybrid pitfalls while Tim moved round towards the inlet to get closer views and we then joined him taking mental notes over the next twenty minutes before it flew off towards toft then turned to land in biggen bay. Lots of back slapping as this was a Warwickshire tick for all of us even though at the moment it’s only a sub-species of Iceland Gull. All those nights spent watching roost this winter finally paid off – no pain, no gain. By 1555pm it flew back to inlet where more good views were obtained and joined by a first winter Glaucous Gull. By this time the wind had dropped and the light perfect so we all systematically panned checking as many gulls as we could and managed to find another first winter Glaucous Gull, two second winter and one first winter Caspian Gull and two first winter and one adult Yellow-legged Gull. Great-northern Diver was seen briefly when the Kumlien’s Gull was in flight, Kingfisher flew in to rainbow corner, two Raven landed behind us before flying towards draycote hill near Birdingbury and at least 16 Goosander noted. Stayed till we lost the light for viewing gulls and as I was packing up and folding the tripod away looking down towards the water a Snow Bunting possibly a female flew passed us towards rainbow corner and though I shouted I couldn’t get Tim or John on to bird and a quick search failed to relocate it. This is my 18th record of Snow Bunting involving 23 birds at Draycote and my first in February.

Richard