Weymouth: mostly Meds (29 October-05 November)

Megan and I took Cookie to Weymouth for a week in a cosy central cottage we'd enjoyed staying in twice before (October/November 2020 and May 2021). While there we visited Dorchester on the bus, drove to Moonfleet and Hardy's Monument and walked to Lodmoor, Nothe Fort, Sandsfoot Castle and down the Rodwell Trail to Ferrybridge. Radipole Lake was only 10 minutes away and I visited most days although the strong winds meant the car park was more productive than the reedbed! We'd hoped to visit Portland but the weather wasn't ideal and we decided to give it a miss. Highlights were lots of Mediterranean Gulls, Great Egret, Kingfisher and 2 Cetti's Warblers. Nineteen of the Mediterranean Gulls seen were colour-ringed as were single Black-headed and Herring Gulls. All have been submitted and this blog will be updated when more histories are received.

Monday 31 October

French colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull RJ8L at Radipole Lake car park

Herring Gull 441 at Radipole Lake car park. As a chick it was ringed in June 2012 on  a Portland Harbour breakwater and has been reported from Radipole in November 2018 and May 2019

Tuesday 01 November

Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls at Radipole Lake car park

French colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull R3PT? at Radipole Lake car park

French colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull R9HE at Radipole Lake car park 

French colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull R2VK at Radipole Lake car park

British colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull 2C28 at Radipole Lake car park. Not heard back on this one yet but assume it was ringed in Langstone Harbour (2C08 was, in June 2017, and I saw it on the Adur in March 2020)

German colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull ALSH at Radipole Lake car park. It was ringed as chick at Rehbach Gravel Pit, Leipzig, GERMANY on 13 June 2020 and seen there in July 2020, at Le Conquet, Ria, Finistére, FRANCE in February 2021, Lasné marsh, Saint Armel, Morbihan in April 2021, Strouanne, Cap Blanc Nez, Pas-de Calais in September 2021, Lodmoor, Dorset in October 2021 and Polder de Sebastopol, Barbâtre, Vendée, FRANCE in May 2022

German colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull ASTP at Radipole Lake car park. It was ringed as chick at Rehbach Gravel Pit, Leipzig, GERMANY on 13 June

German colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull ASZN at Radipole Lake car park. It was ringed as chick at Rehbach Gravel Pit, Leipzig, GERMANY on 13 June and seen there in July

Polish colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull PUR2 at Radipole Lake car park. It was ringed as a chick on Zalew Mietkowski, Dolnośląskie, SW POLAND in May 2017 and seen in Cotes-d'Armour, FRANCE in November and December 2017, Finistere, FRANCE in November-December 2019 and December 2020-January 2021, Sophiapolder, Zeeland, NETHERLANDS in April 2022. The following map shows the general locations and number of sightings at each

the gulls were fairly tolerant of passers by provided they didn't stop or head straight towards them

Wednesday 02 November

Great Egret at Lodmoor

French colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull R4RT at Radipole Lake car park in very poor light

Thursday 03 November

Black-headed Gull 2C23 at Radipole Lake car park. It was ringed as an adult at Little Snoring, Norfolk in June 2022

British Mediterannean Gull 2L48 at Radipole Lake car park

2L48 with a walk past from 3AX2 at Radipole Lake car park

 Dutch or Belgian colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull 3AX2 at Radipole Lake car park

. 3AX2 passing the baton to R2UK

French colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull R2UK at Radipole Lake car park

R2UK, R2VK had been seen two days earlier

Dutch or Belgian colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull 3TTT at Radipole Lake car park

Dutch or Belgian colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull 36A2 at Radipole Lake car park. Details awaited 

Dutch or Belgian colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull 36LH at Radipole Lake car park. Details awaited 

Dutch colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull 3796 at Radipole Lake car park

3796 was ringed as chick at Ventjagersplaten (Haringvliet), NETHERLANDS in June 2019 and seen at Koksijde; West-Vlaanderen; Flanders; BELGIUMin July 2019 at Dawlish Warren in July 2020 and at Radipole in November 2020 (by me, 2 years to the day before this sighting!)

a wandering German colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull A3CE at Radipole Lake car park. It was ringed as chick at Rehbach Gravel Pit, Leipzig, GERMANY in June 2022 and seen there in early July, at Dawlish Warren on 11 August, Blackpill, Swansea Bay on 15 August and  St Helens Millpool, Isle of Wight on 21 August.

slightly oiled German colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull AKCJ at Radipole Lake car park. It was ringed as an adult at Pionierinsel Lühe, Stade, GERMANY (W of Hamburg) on in May 2021 and seen at Saint Anne la Palud, Plonévez, Finistére, FRANCE in December 2021 and at Domaine du Marquenterre, Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, Somme in March/April 2022.

Friday 04 November

Redwing at Hardy's Monument on 04 November

Despite seeing at least 70 Mediterranean Gulls resting in Radipole Lake car park towards dusk none had colour-rings which was very disappointing. Being a much nicer day there was more disturbance and also birds appeared to be flying over the town to Weymouth bay without stopping.