Glaucous Gulls, just like buses wait all year then two come along at once.

Final birding trip of the year for me yesterday and I headed up to Teesside with Andy, we started at the Fish Quay on Hartlepool Headland and soon located the two 1st winter Glaucous Gulls that have been around there for a day or two, they showed well after initially disappearing for 10 mins or so, this species was my final year tick in what has been a record breaking year despite the poor Autumn for me and I ended up with 276 species for the year including 8 lifers. We then moved round to the Pilots Pier, there was no sign of the Slavonian Grebe today but plenty of Red Throated Divers then while scanning Andy managed to pick out the Black Throated Diver out in the Bay which then quite obligingly swam back and into the Harbour mouth giving really good views. Next we checked out Jacksons Landing but there was only a small party of Red Breasted Mergansers there, then Newburn Bridge, the Med Gull was on the beach but there was no sign of the Black Redstart, then it was on to Seaton Common where the small flock of Eurasion White Fronted Geese where still present accompanied by an immature of the Greenland race and a Pinkfoot. We finished off at Dormans Pool hoping some Twite might drop in, they didn’t and when the rain came we called it a day.

two Glaucous in the Fish Quay

Red Throated

and Black Throated Divers

Hartlepool Headland

A few Red Breasted Mergansers

Eurasion White Fronts

the Greenland bird on the left

the Greenland White Front