Great White (some) Hope!

In response to a text from Pete (thanks) I nipped up to see an adult summer-plumaged Little Gull on the East Warwick it was a welcome sight even after seeing 60+ just to the North on the KGV yesterday. Also welcome was the sight of many Common Terns and Swifts now all arrived. A white Egret flying North, at about 12:45, was intriguing, seemed big in flight (a birder standing next to me got on it a bit after I did and asked if it might be a Swan, but the side on views that I had just before showed it clearly to be an Egret) and had an easier flight action than the rapid downward strokes of a Little Egret, it also flew a good bit higher than the Little Egrets usually do but sadly there was nothing with which to compare its size. It just flew steadily away up the East side of the complex. Without anything to compare the size I think any hope of claiming it is futile, I made a couple of calls to birders further up the valley but it could just as easily gone over towards the Roding or even just been a Little Egret.

A pair of Oystercatchers are still hanging on in there on the island on East Warwick with about a million Gulls, I wonder how long they will last? The only other thing of note was an adult Great Black-backed Gull on the Fish cage on No.5.

(On this date: 25 04 09 An early walk over to the Pitch and Putt and Hackney Marshes was rewarded when the Purple Heron flew over the Middlesex Filter Beds heading South-east, having been flushed from Walthamstow a few minutes earlier apparently. A few singing Lesser Whitethroats were the only other birds of note.)

PW