Seton, 11 Feb

First chance to look at the Seton harbour gulls for a while found a good number around the boats, 20+ GBB and Lucy still present amongst her larger friends, now a 5th winter (earlier pics):

1500+ small gulls on the Seton shore including just a single unringed adult Med Gull, notable that hood was largely complete, though with lots of white flecking, but thus more advanced than all but a handful of BHG present.

The wintering Mute Swan remains on the shore, now quite stained reddish-brown from the burn water; I have heard she is being fed by a local resident, though I guess the light seaweed is her staple diet.

Unrelated to any of the above, but one of the Shags ringed on Forth Islands last summer (red-TIT) recovered recently at Snook Point, Holy Island - ringed as a chick on 12 June on Fidra, BTO demog blog link - not amongst those seen at Seton though.

Finally, to join the list of recent wacky observations, report of a Quail on a road in urban Edinburgh over New Year; can of worms, wintering Quail, with 19th century reports apparently not uncommon (Birds of England), and a handful of Scottish records, though I am assured that some genuine influx Quails which arrived in July have stayed into November locally (Gifford area) and there was the March bird, into April, at Reston in Borders 2008. Also two reported nationally in last couple of days, Portland and at East Hyde in Herts.