29th April, a lovely evening, low tide, and we took a walk along the beach near Bulverhythe. We were there to see if any Great Black-backed or Black Headed Gulls were feeding along the shore line. Sure enough, we spotted several feeding with the Herring Gulls.
Great Black-backed Gulls
The Black-Backed is our largest resident gull, and the Black Headed our smallest – both beautiful looking birds. The Black-backed has a fearsome reputation, and deservedly so. A few nesting pairs can play havoc in a colony of smaller seabirds, taking eggs and young at will. But that aside they are magnificent to see, with an air of arrogance that demands respect from the smaller gulls. In mixed groups of gulls, they dominate.
The deep colour of their backs makes them easily recognisable, and in flight you will see their wings have a fine white leading and trailing edge. (A similar bird is the Lesser Black-backed Gull. It is significantly smaller, has yellow rather than pink legs, and a dark grey back.)
Black-headed Gulls
Unlike the Great Black-backed, the Black-headed Gull is less true to its name. It’s head in summer is a rich chocolate brown, and it loses this head colour during the winter. All that remains is a dark spot behind the eye, and it becomes a small and delicate looking grey-backed gull.
We spotted several near the outfall at Bulverhythe, keeping to the edge of the main group of Herring Gulls. They are often seen inland around freshwater lakes and are keen farmland foragers.
They are lovely birds, and a great asset to Hastings’ regular collection of gulls.
The Southern Bird Ringing Gull identified the individual, and sent us the following link to the record of its ringing and subsequent sightings: http://www.ntgg.org.uk/map/EY85033
Sanderling
But our big surprise yesterday was seeing a small flock of waders scurrying along the shoreline, and mixing it with the gulls. At first we thought Little Stint, and then no, from their behaviour, Sanderling.
We are used to seeing these birds in their winter plumage, when we have less problem distinguishing between the two, but these are in full breeding plumage. What are they doing here at this time? They should be with our Turnstones at their Arctic breeding grounds.
In fact it seems that the UK’s winter population of Sanderling have long since departed north, but during May, small groups arrive from the Sanderling population that overwinter in Africa. These stay here for a short time to refuel, before their onward journey to the Arctic.
By chance, when I wrote the short piece on the Hastings Turnstones https://woodcockwood.com/the-turnstones-of-hastings/, I finished the piece with a short video of Sanderling, in winter plumage, showing their characteristic feeding behaviour. In their winter plumage, they are an unmistakable white looking wader, and difficult to confuse with anything else:
Further Information on Sanderling:
Needless to say, the story of how and why different populations of Sanderling leave their Arctic breeding ground and head for such a wide range of spots for their non-breeding period is extremely complex. There is probably no better article to help understand this than Graham Appleton’s article: Travel Advice for Sanderling?