Friday, 21st November, 2014
03.00 hours, I picked Mick up at Dartford, Kent
departed from Stansted with Ryan-air to arrive Riga Airport, Latvia,
into car hire, 25 kilometre drive, we arrive at Getlini Landfill site at midday.
Getlini Landfill is the largest landfill in Latvia, a mini mountain of refuse,
c 500 feet high, it's vast, from the top, you look down to the tops of trees way down below you ! !
Mick has done all the homework and got us access to this site to check out
''Caspian Gulls''
Drivers Licence required for ID check and sign the visitors book and we pass security and are allowed to drive to the top of this ''mountain'', a muddy road, must be a mile long, climbing to the top, where all the Gull action is ! !
It is 0 Degrees C, it snowed last night !
It is dull light, the wind, sleet / snow, although not strong, means sit in the car and view from one side with windows open only ! ! !
There are 1000's of Herring Gull everywhere, all around you, every direction you look,
1000's and 1000's of Herring Gull ! ! ! !
It's crazy feeding frenzy of activity, constant movement of 1000's of Herring Gull, it's mental ! ! !
Day 2 and 3, no wind, no snow, Mick is out of the car, daylight (09.30 hours) to last light (16.00 hours), he is on a mission to see ''every Caspian'' out there ! ! ! !
see Micks blog for more detail info
http://birdingthedayaway.blogspot.co.uk/
my ID skills in this close magnitude of Gulls is ZERO ! ! ! !
HERRING GULL, 8,000+, (could be 10,000), and we are parked up in the middle of them ! !
Black-headed Gull, 1, (Day 1)
Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3/4 seen each day
Yellow-legged Gull, 1, (Day 1) (scarce bird in Latvia) Image 1. ? ?
Herring Gull, omissus-type, (yellow-legged)
Caspian Gull
Jackdaw, c 1000, off both Nordic and European
Crow, 100's
Tree Sparrow, 40 +
House Sparrow, lots of
Raven, many, (fly by and on lower ground)
Herring Gull, omissus-type, (yellow-legged)
Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1st winter
Caspian Gull, 1st winter (1)
Caspian Gull, 1st winter (2)
Caspian Gull, adult winter
Only 4 ring nos seen, 3 photographed
Herring Gull, 1st winter, 3L4X
Herring Gull, 1st winter, 7L1T
Herring Gull, 1st winter, S433
Jackdaw, Nordic race
Mick out there on his mission ! !
action from the car
out in the field
Day 3, Sunday, 16.00 daylight finished,
We head off to Riga Airport
Depart Latvia, arrive Stansted, drop Mick off home at 01.00 hours.
A simply ''STUNNING'' weekend ! ! ! !
I think you're both completely potty. But whatever floats your boat (stinking shiteheaps apparently)
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