After a quick trip into Weymouth, to check on another camera I have purchased, I parked up in the Swannery Carpark and checked out the gulls in the carpark before having a look at the ducks etc. in front of the visitors centre.
There were as a good number of gulls in the car park, mainly Black-headed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls, and it was a good test for me to see if I could age them all. My efforts are below.
On the reserve the two main highlights were 2 Goldeneyes on the water close to the road bridge and 26 Black-tailed Godwits along the edge of the reedbeds. Also in the reedbeds were 10 Grey Herons all standing pretty close to each other.
Birds Recorded:
Cormorant
10 Grey Heron
5 Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Apart from a couple of Black-headed Gulls and a Feral Pigeon, the larger gulls here are Herring Gulls of different ages.
From what I can work out, I reckon there are 14 Common Gulls, 6 Black-headed Gulls, a drake Teal and 3 Grey Herons in this shot.
Cormorant
10 Grey Heron
5 Mute Swan
Canada Goose
2/3 Shelduck
Mallard
Teal
Tufted Duck
2 Goldeneye
Moorhen
Coot
26 Black-tailed Godwit
Black-headed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
20+ Common Gull
Wood Pigeon
Blackbird
Cetti's Warbler
Bearded Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
These are all Black-headed Gulls and apart from at least 3 birds are all adult Winter. The bird far left is an adult just darkening up into its Summer plumage. The bird middle far right is a Second-calendar year Black-headed Gull Here
Mallard
Teal
Tufted Duck
2 Goldeneye
Moorhen
Coot
26 Black-tailed Godwit
Black-headed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
20+ Common Gull
Wood Pigeon
Blackbird
Cetti's Warbler
Bearded Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
If the Cormorants aren't fishing then........
.......they will be on a post somewhere on the reserve.
Initially I only saw 2 Grey Herons, but as I looked along the reedbeds there were eight more.
A pair of Mute Swans
There are at least two Shelduck on this island, perhaps a third lying down in the centre!!
At the back is a female Mallard. As for this white duck......
.........a feral duck of some sort.
One of the two female Goldeneyes on the reserve.
Seventeen Black-tailed Godwit along the edge of the reedbeds.
A close up of them having a rest. There were a further 2 groups of 4 and 5 respectively.
Gull Shots:
This adult Winter Black-headed Gull has a leg ring. Try as I could, I just couldn't get to read it.
Here's another shot of the Second-calendar year Black-headed Gull. More Here.
This is an adult Herring Gull
A Third-calendar year Herring Gull
And another Third-calendar year Herring Gull
A younger bird, this is a Second-calendar year Herring Gull. More on Herring Gulls Here.
General Shot:
The visitors centre at RSPB Radipole Lake