Bilston and Chasewater, UK.

Visiting an Old friend and meeting another again later.

Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

This morning was spent with another of my old birding mates, Frank Dickson who I started my twitching years off with back in 1979/80. We spent some time chatting and looking through some photographs of some of the rarities we had seen together over the many years and there were quite a few.

Later I decided to walk back from Franks house in Bilston to near New Invention, these walks always turn out to be longer that the car journey there seemed.

I got back to Barbs and almost straight away John rang to say he would pick me up in twenty minutes so that we could go and have another crack at the Caspian Gulls at Chasewater. We arrived to a windier but warmer Chasewater, the Gulls were already starting to arrive so we set the scopes up (thanks for lending me yours Sharon) and started to work through the flock. 

Herring Gull (Gaviota Argéntea Europea / Larus argentatus).

The results were much the same as the last visit with the Caspians not arriving or at least not till it was to dark to see, we did again get a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), small numbers of both Great Black-backed (Gavión Atlantico / Larus marinus) and Common Gulls (Gaviota Cana / ), along with hundreds of Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Herring (Gaviota Argéntea Europea / Larus argentatus) and Lesser Black-backs (Gaviota Somria / Larus fuscus). Other birds seen were 6x Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) and Mute Swan (Cisne Vulgar / Cygnus olor).

John and I then went back to his house were Sharon had done us some food, a nice way to end the day and the Wednesfield part of the trip as in the morning we were relocating to Albrighton for the last few days of the holiday.