A colour-ringed Herring Gull nice and close at Weld Road as I passed on the way to a job today; I paused to check it out and was delighted to see that a combination of first glance and a trick of the eye meant the ring sequence (yellow on black/dark green) appeared to spell out a fine crudite, sadly over-used and much devalued in recent years (Ricky Tomlinson, come on down).
I must be honest, I'm pretty sure I've come across this Herring Gull before, but given the mood I'm in at the moment I couldn't be "R4RS-ed" to check through my records - don't suppose anyone else recognises the sequence?
Given the colour scheme, I'm assuming it's a bird ringed on the Ribble or thereabouts, but I could be wrong.
For once I managed to get a reasonable "digi-binned" shot, and I suppose that in itself is cause for celebration.
The nasty cold wind kinda stopped passage in its tracks along the coast, although I heard the odd feeble stutterings from Chiffies and Blackcaps in several sheltered corners, and a single Wheatear was on the Green Beach, where a Common Buzzard hovered in the stiffening breeze.
Good to see an adult Gannet cutting through the drizzle in the morning murk of a falling tide off Shore Road.
Most striking was a flock of 54 Turnstones I came across on the beach down at Ravenmeols near lunchtime.
Presumably migrating birds, they stayed tight at the base of the frontal dunes as they picked at flotsam and jetsam looking for food.
One bird was in full white-crowned summer plumage, but let's face it, digi-binning does have its limitations...
Can't remember when I saw a flock that big on the North Sefton coast before, but they were long gone when I passed the area again 45 minutes later.
Luckily, other folk have been sending me pix that are in focus this week, to brighten up an otherwise blurry blog entry.
Dave McAleavy got this shot of a female Pheasant monopolising his bird table - smart enough to dodge the guns, but it may mean a reinforcing job on the table...
And Alec Munro sent me this sequence of a pair of Mute Swans off Nels Hide indulging in some Marshside hardcore before the temperatures dropped towards the norm.
I met Alec on Sunday, when he'd left the blistering heat of Nairn to spend a bit of time with Tropical Thomason and co down here.
Great pix all - thanks for sending them to me.
Is it me, or has that "heart-shaped necks" thing become a Pavlovian reaction by all loved-up Mute Swans to a camera these days?
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Yes it should be a Ribble bird John, one of Dave Sowter's and the R normally standing for Ribble Estuary colony. I understand that a minority of birds were ringed at locations other than where the first letter should indicate though (W for Walney and T for Tarnbrook being the others).
Regards,
Stephen
Had me worried for a minute then John when I read the word 'crudite' in relation to the Herring Gull ring. If you add an 's' and an accent over the 'e' those are the starters my wife's been feeding me for years so it flashed up all sorts of images of what I might have been eating. I think it's usually spelled 'crudity' but then I always was a pedant.
Allan
You're quite right Allan - as my former life as a journalist fades into my crumbling memory, my touch-typing seems to be in terminal decline too.
It occurs to me that in an ideal world, colour ring sequences could be re-engineered to spell random profanities - not only would this prove hugely entertaining, it would make checking through gull roosts a whole lot more interesting!
I can feel an e-mail to the BTO coming on...
Here's some gen Dave Sowter sent me on this bird, after I saw it on 3/1/12 at Birkdale.
It was also seen on 19/12/09 at Moore nature reserve, Warrington.
"Hi Chris
Thanks for the sighting of the Herring Gull with the black davic and yellow code R4RS. This gull was ringed as a 15 day old fledgling, on the Ribble Marshes near Old Hollows Farm on 1.7.2006. This is only the second reported sighting, so it is good to know it is still alive, though the limited evidence suggested it is probably pretty local to area. I ringed several thousand gulls on the Ribble with similar coloured rings as well as the BTO metal ring on the other leg and I have also ringed gulls at the colony on Tarnbrook Fell, Bowland, S Walney nature reserve and in urban colonies in nearby Barrow-in-Furness many of which migrate through this area in the winter, Though the Lesser Black Backs are more likely to spend their winters in France, Spain and Portugal and even into north Africa as far south as Gambia in small numbers.
I would welcome any future sightings and thank you again for taking the trouble to report it, All best wishes for 2012, Dave Sowter".
There was a Barnacle Goose cleaning & preening in the pool with the Canadas & Greylags at Hesketh Rd Platform this afternoon.
Marshside-Crossens 1010-1410:
Spring passage hasn't really got going for me yet, despite my best efforts. Today's totals: 6 Wheatears, 2 Siskins, 2 Chiffchaffs, c25 Meadow Pipits.
Some compensation in superb pair of summer plumage Mediterranean Gulls displaying in front of the Sandgrounders Hide around 1300.
Hi John, My first House Martins of the year. Two flying around over Marshside Two this evening. Mike.
Hi John had a female Merlin and 50 + Golden Plover down Engine Lane this afternoon - photos on my flickr