PALLAS'S GULL, 1st winter, Taranto, Italy, 8/2/2015

PALLAS'S GULL, 1st winter, Taranto, Italy, 8/2/2015

We arrived at Taranto Harbour at 14.30 hours, parked up, all the fishing boats are tied up, no fishing on Sundays.

We wandered the length of the Fishing Harbour seeing Yellow-legged Gull,
viewing the vast expanse of the harbour noting ''not many Gull''.

Out to the left of our harbour view was a Mussel Farm staked out !

A bit of Gull activity in this area.

We are in the car, cross a bridge, half a mile and we turn into a run down industrial area, about 10 wild dogs, chasing the car, but we find an pontoon where we can get closer view the Mussel Farm !

The light is just OK to enable flight shots !
A couple of Yellow-legs fly by !

I tell Mick to sling a bit of bread in,
(i will photograph Yellow-legged Gull ''all day long'').

Bread dispatched ! ! !

2 seconds !  Mick is going ballistic ! !
First Gull coming in from our left is the PALLAS'S GULL, 1st winter ! !
Brilliant, stunning views, 1 minute, couple of quick fly-bys, then the Pallas's Gull sat down on a buoy some 150 metres distant.

15.09 hours, we are set up, we only have a few slices of bread, so we know we have very limited opportunity to attract the Pallas's in close to photograph !

and this light is dodgy, changing by the minute !

It's a ''PALLAS'S GULL'', only the second I have seen !

15.09 hours, Mick slings out a slice of bread !

It's off the buoy, coming round ! !

15.10 hours, less than a minute fly-bye, the Pallas's then returning to perch up back onto the same buoy ! ! !

Could you have wrote the script for that ! ! !

and a Yellow-legged Gull

15.36 hours, it's over

the PALLAS'S GULL is loosing interest,
I don't recall it actually feeding !    It was just showing interest ! ! !

The light was turning awful, the Pallas's more distant !


The most easy drive back to Bari Airport, Ryan-air to Stansted, dropped Mick off at Dartford at 00.15 hours.

GREY-HEADED GULL, Bisceglie, Italy, 8th February, 2015

After seeing the superb images and trip reports of Mick's, J.J and RB visit to see

GREY-HEADED GULL, Bisceglie, Italy

I was very keen to see this Gull and when I mentioned this to Mick, he was very keen to go again, and booked the flights, and organised everything ! ! ! !

I picked Mick up at Dartford, Saturday at 13.15 hours, Stansted,  usual large breakfast, Ryan-air to Bari, in hire car, c 20 miles north out of Bari, in hotel, meal and in bed by 22.00 hours. 

......................................

Sunday 8th February, 09.00 hours, we are out on the harbour wall, there is also access here to the sand and rocky shoreline to the outer side of the harbour wall.

The GREY-HEADED GULL appeared within minutes ! ! ! In with the feeding Black-headed Gulls.

12.00 hours, the light goes, dark grey cloud and the start of light rain.

We have had the best of the day,

the plan ''for the afternoon'' 

Mick was aware that a Pallas's Gull, 2nd winter had been reported seen in Taranto Harbour in mid January, with little other information than that it had been seen most days since !

(Mick would dearly wish to find it, and photograph it)

Set Sat-nav ! ! 

and we are on a leisure drive c.85 miles, mostly motorway, toll, 6.60 Euros, a stop for coffee.

c. 14.30 hours, with better light, we rocked up on the Harbour side in Taranto  ! ! ! !

See next blog for more.................