Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary: Thetford Gull-fest! 13 January 2017

Once the snow had stopped and the roads cleared I ventured out to Thetford this afternoon. Around a waste disposal site on the Burrell Way industrial estate an impressive array of gulls was discovered yesterday so it was an opportunity not to be missed.

Within about 20 minutes I'd seen pretty much everything I wanted to see which was superb. The gulls were spending periods on the roof of the waste disposal site venturing inside to feed on skips of rubbish every once in a while.

The final counts were 1 Glaucous Gull (1w), 1 Iceland Gull (1w), 2 Caspian Gull (1w and 3w), 3 Yellow-legged Gulls (1w, 4w and ad), a curious Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull hybrid (ad) identified by Lee Gregory plus plenty of Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Greater black-backed Gulls and Black-headed Gulls plus a single Common Gull making it a 9 gull sp haul!

Thetford is the new Killybegs!