Norm Milligan

Some really interesting looking birds amongst the argentatus Stephen, coming in various shades and sizes. Every day is a learning day with gulls. Very few small gulls there during the day with a 3cy Med on 26th the only one of note.

They are symmetrical M. Also attached better pics of jizz and leg colour @aberladybirder.bsky.social

Leg colour was an insipid, washed-out pink (to my eyes). BTW, BirdGuides labelled it as a near-adult (and probable 🤔) and they are probably correct regarding age as, looking at other pics, there are small, black markings on the greater primary coverts.

Thanks. I may have seen the bird you saw but in the end I put it down to HG. Once located, the adult does stand out and its a smart looking bird. It was also dong the “albatross” thing.

Adult Caspian Gull front, centre with various ages of Herring Gulls. On sand with water and rock in background.

Adult Caspian Gull with wings outstretched showing diagnostic wing tip pattern.

Third calendar-year Caspian Gull (left) standing in water with two Herring Gulls.

Distant photo of 3cy Caspian Gull with outstretched wings showing pale under-wing coverts.

Smart adult and bulky 3cy Caspian Gulls at Gosford Sands today. Have only ever seen 1cy Casps so happy with this😊 @birdinglothian.bsky.social

Juvenile Brent Goose on the sea

Flock of Barnacle Geese flying over the sea with distant land in the background

Geese at Gullane Point today. Confiding juvenile Brent Goose and a close pass of a flock of yapping Barnacle Geese #BirdingLothian

Probable hybrid duck showing features of both Tufted Duck and Scaup (right hand bird)

Probable hybrid duck (right hand bird)

Slavonian Grebe with forward facing Wigeon

Male (left bird) and female Pochard

Yesterday at Gladhouse, probable Tufted Duck x Scaup, one remaining Slav Grebe and m&f Pochard @birdinglothian.bsky.social

Siberian Chiffchaff in trees looking right, showing its pale supercilium, dark eye-stipe and tan ear-coverts.

Siberian Chiffchaff in trees looking left, showing its brown/grey upper parts, whitish underparts, pale wing bar and black bill, legs and feet.

Good to bump into this Siberian Chiffchaff in the gloomy, damp under-storey of the wood at Barns Ness this morning @birdinglothian.bsky.social

2 adult Little Egrets with a young (1cy) Little Egret on the left feeding at the water’s edge with a background of mud and vegetation

2 adult Whooper Swan on calm water

Adult male (in eclipse plumage) and adult female Goldeneye (bird on left) on water.

Gladhouse this afternoon had 3 Little Egrets for the first time and the cooler conditions brought in 2 Whooper Swan and 2 Goldeneye (both unusual here in September) #birdinglothian

Good to meet you as well Dave and I hope you enjoyed your visit

Thanks Lukasz👍

1cy Citrine Wagtail

1cy Citrine Wagtail

Citrine Wagtail at Gladhouse this afternoon @birdinglothian.bsky.social

Great Egret standing in water swallowing a small fish

Great Egret wading in water with mud and vegetation in background

Great Egret standing on reservoir bank

Great Egret in flight over background trees

Bumped into this nicely showing Great Egret this morning at Gladhouse. Increasing in Lothian but still scarce inland #Birdinglothian

Thanks for the update Hayden.

Group of 4 Little Gulls flying over the sea. A juvenile the top right hand bird.

Group of 6 juvenile Arctic Terns flying over the over the sea past a group of Eiders.

An eclectic morning at Gullane Point. Wall Browns fluttering around my feet as I watched a Minke Whale feeding below a cloud of diving Gannets. A Sooty Shearwater joined in and a total of 79 Manx Shearwater were seen. Little Tern also and always good to see Little Gulls (5nr) #birdinglothian

Albino Sandwich Tern flying over sea with breaking waves behind

Albino Sandwich Tern flying over dark sea

Interesting to pick up this albino Sandwich Tern sw past Gullane Point this morning. Assume same as 27 July (see previous post) but also same seen off Ayrshire 31 July. Has it returned after yesterday’s storm? @dorseth.bsky.social @lothianrecorder.bsky.social #birdinglothian

Albino Sandwich Tern flying over a grey sea

Albino Sandwich Tern showing dusky underwing which is probably due to photo artefact

Thought this was a leucistic bird due to dusky underwing from BOC shots but probable photo artefact and more likely to be an albino Sandwich Tern sw past Gullane Point this morning. (3 albinos ringed at Forvie NNR to date). Thanks to @lothianrecorder.bsky.social for info

A common butterfly but I have never seen so many Green-veined White (or butterflies in general) together. 1000 along 1Km of hill road in Midlothian yesterday @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Three juvenile Goldeneye in front of Common Eider on a grey sea

Red Kite soaring against a grey sky background. Moulted feathers in the wings and tail

Three juvenile Goldeneye amongst the Eider flock in the mist and murk of Musselburgh last night. Yesterday morning, a moulting Red Kite in the Midlothian hills #birdingscotland

Two half-grown Curlew chicks in a sparsely vegetated field. One moving right and the other moving left

Two half-grown Curlew chicks with the top one spreading it’s partly grown wing

It was good to see my first Sanderling at Gladhouse last night (a single bird). I also enjoyed seeing a brood of three Curlew chicks nearby as I thought that the nest may have been destroyed by the farmer working his field. #birdinglothian

Thanks Geoff. Likewise but got lucky today - seen in the same area as your Turnstone

2nd calendar year female White Wagtail showing diagnostic grey rump

2cy female White Wagtail showing white flanks and grey nape and head

Although not looked for with the same vigour that other migrants are, White Wagtail are almost exclusively a coastal migrant to Lothian during Spring so it was good to see this 2cy female at Gladhouse today - my first inland Spring record #birdinglothian

Wood Sandpiper feeding in shallow water showing its spangled mantle & wing and distinctive supercilium

Whimbrel in flight

Two Little Egret in flight

Relatively rare and scarce birds again at Gladhouse with Geoff’s Wood Sandpiper still and new for today, Whimbrel, two Little Egret and two Shoveler #birdinglothian

Distant shot of male Ruff moulting into summer plumage (white ruff beginning to form). Redshank and Ringed Plover in front with Tufted Ducks behind.

Two Black-tailed Godwits at the side of a pool surrounded by grass

Flock of six Black-tailed Godwits with a sleeping Shelduck in front of them.

Evening trip in Midlothian resulted in 6 Black-tailed Godwit at Caspian Pond and a male Ruff at Gladhouse. The latter a particularly scarce (rare) spring visitor to the county and this bird probably a first Spring record for the site #birdinglothian

2 and 3 birds together yesterday until the displaying male in the latter group chased one bird off. (Glad you enjoyed your trip!)

Little-ringed Plover in a muddy field showing its diagnostic eye-ring.

Little-ringed Plover in a muddy field showing distinct black ear coverts.

Two Little-ringed Plover together in a muddy field.

Rain influenced birding today. 5 LRP, 12 inland Redshank, flocks of 250 Sand Martin, 75 Meadow Pipit and 200 Fieldfare, and 15 Wheatear bobbing about a field. #birdinglothian

Distant pic of immature drake White-winged Scoter (front bird) with female Eider on sea.

Distant pic of immature drake White-winged Scoter (right hand bird) with two male and one female Eider on sea.

Dull and calm this morning at Gullane Point but immature drake White-winged Scoter, immature White-billed Diver and 2 GN Divers were good to see. The Scoter is that well found by kgbirder.bsky.social at Yellowcraig last week #birdinglothian

Male Wheatear perched on timber fence.

Male White Wagtail perched amongst rocks.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose on sea with female Wigeon behind.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose in flight.

Quiet bird-wise at Whitesands & Barns Ness today but a few FoY for me. #birdinglothian

Very evocative Andrew, shades of J A Baker.

#birdingscotland