Bonaparte's Gull at Swithland Reservoir, Leicestershire!

Bonaparte’s Gull is a species that has been a long time coming for my British list, having never gone for the returning Anglesey bird from 2009 to 2011 and with no other tempting individuals turning up nearby in the years since. Therefore, when a 2nd winter bird appeared on Swithland Reservoir in Leicestershire on the Sunday morning it was all systems go in an attempt to finally connect with this dainty trans-Atlantic visitor. 

Bonaparte's Gull at Swithland Reservoir!

Arriving on Kinchley Lane on the northern edge of the reservoir just after lunch, we were dismayed to learn it had flown off high no more than ten minutes earlier, leaving just a handful of Black-headed Gulls present on the water. Speaking to the assembled birders it came as something of a reassurance that the Bonaparte’s had done this at least three times already during the day - returning back to the reservoir after a period of absence each time - and we hoped it would follow the same pattern this afternoon.  

Sure enough, after just over an hour of scanning both the sky and the reservoir from our vantage point of the dam, the gulls slowly started to reappear, singles and pairs of Black-headed Gulls alighting on the water swiftly followed by a large flock consisting of around 50 birds – the Bonaparte’s had to be amongst them surely! Scanning through the newly arrived individuals it wasn’t long until Alex called out that he had it – success and Bonaparte’s in the bag!

Floating next to the assorted Black-headed Gulls the differences were subtle yet apparent, although without careful scanning and a keen eye, it could easily have been overlooked. Once you’d got your eye in however it was easy to pick out, the slightly smaller and daintier size in comparison to the Black-headed Gulls the main standout feature, along with the thin all black bill and darker grey nape, mantle and chest which all helped to distinguish it.

Comparison of the smaller Bonaparte's alongside the Black-headed Gulls

Offering distant but satisfactory views through the scope, we fired off a couple of phonescoped record shots and watched on as it paddled around for a good ten minutes or so before departing, flying off over the conifer trees to feed.

With no sign the following day or indeed since, it seems we well and truly jammed in on this small American gull, a great little bird to catch up with and refreshing to get one relatively close to home! 

Greater Yellowlegs - Titchfield Haven in Hampshire

When news broke of a Greater Yellowlegs at Titchfield Haven down in Hampshire at the beginning of the year, I was all the way up in Scotland having just been watching the Harlequin duck on the river Don, with no feasible way of getting down there! With no sign the following day, it was assumed this would be a one day wonder – no one could have predicted that exactly 3 months later to the date it would reappear in the same place, incredibly while I was up in Scotland again having just been watching Ptarmigans, Crested Tits and Capercaillies! Again, with no feasible way of getting down to Hampshire and the bird disappearing the following day, it wasn’t until a week or so later that it reappeared, when work and various other factors prevented us from connecting.

Luckily, I was awake bright and early when news broke for the fourth time this year that the bird had returned to Titchfield, remarkably on the same flooded field where it was first found, and after an hour or so we were well on our way down south hoping to connect with this beautiful American wader.

Arriving at the small car park next to the public footpath on Bridge Street, we made the short walk through the gorgeous fields and along the canal, serenaded by the calling calls of Cuckoos and Cetti’s Warblers whilst trout splashed in the clear water next to us. Eventually reaching Posbrook Floods, (the flooded field in question that the Greater Yellowlegs was favouring), we joined the small crowd of birders and immediately got our scopes on this rare American vagrant. Originally dozing quite distantly with a flock of Black-tailed Godwits, after a while it thankfully awoke, probing around in the vegetation and wading through the water in search of small morsels to feed on.

Flying considerably closer to join the nearer Godwit flock, we could really see the beautiful speckled plumage in much better detail, and as it waded through the water the bright golden legs were exceptionally obvious.

Superficially very similar to the more frequently recorded Lesser Yellowlegs, there are various subtle differences to aid identification between the two. When in mixed flocks the obvious size difference is an easy way to tell the two apart, but solitary birds can be considerably more difficult to determine, with bill size and structure the main feature to look out for. The bill on the Greater Yellowlegs is considerably longer, being roughly 1 and ½ times the length of the head, whilst the bill of the Lesser is just barely longer than the head. The Greater Yellowlegs’ bill is also quite blunt-tipped and slightly upturned compared to the straighter, sharp pointed bill of its smaller cousin. The underparts are also a good feature to make a note of, with Greater Yellowlegs having more extensive dark barring as opposed to the plainer underparts of the Lesser.

The barring on the underparts is obvious

Watching contently for a while, the Yellowlegs then remarkably flew right in front of the assembled crowd to the edge of the pool, giving excellent views to the 20 or so people there (the majority of birders in the country had evidently already connected on one of its previous 3 visits!) We could really admire the subtly beautiful patterns on the feathers and the egg-yolk coloured legs up close, and the bird happily made its diagnostic call on several occasions for us to hear – 3-4 high pitched piercing notes. This is also a very reliable way to tell the two species apart, with Lesser Yellowlegs making a short, rapid, 2 note whistling call that is much softer.

Posbrook Flood, Titchfield Haven

With just under 50 records of Greater Yellowlegs in the UK - the last one being the well twitched individual that overwintered back in 2011/12 in Northumberland, the Loch of Strathbeg and various points in the Highlands of Scotland - it was great to finally catch up with the rarer of the two Yellowlegs, having only seen my first Lesser in Buckinghamshire only a year earlier last spring.

Going missing for such long periods, it’s clear that this American vagrant is spending its time elsewhere in the vicinity that just isn’t being birded, either on the river Meon, on a private pool somewhere or simply out of sight on one of the lagoons at Titchfield. Either way, it’s been something of a mystery - I’m just glad it gave us a second (or fourth!) chance to connect!

The Yellowlegs with Godwits - the large size of the bird is apparent

With a Bonaparte’s gull showing well nearby in Southampton, we spent the rest of the day trying to locate it, first at Chessel Bay then on to Riverside Park near the Cobden Bridge. Unfortunately, there were only Black-headed Gulls present for the afternoon, and it wasn’t until half an hour later when we were enjoying a delicious meal of Crispy Mongolian Lamb and Chilli fried Chicken at one of my favourite restaurants in Southampton, the news came out that it was showing well on the jetty! Bad timing or what! Hopefully another North West bird will make an appearance soon that I can catch up with!!