Good to know the local Long-eared Owl is still around, with today being the first time i've seen it in a week.My birding in the past couple of weeks has been a struggle to turn anything up of interest. Gull wise, I have done the Fishmoor roost every night for the past thirteen days and have not even turned up a Glaucous or Iceland Gull. With the exception of an adult Med Gull on a couple of nights, this aberrant Herring (below) is the closest I have come to a 'white-winger', this bird being seen 1st-3rd Feb both at Whinney Hill & Fishmoor Res. The former site has been most frustrating with seemingly intensifying bird scaring in the form of workers leaning out of their cabs and firing starter pistols as soon as Gulls appear over the tipping area. This has been the pattern during my last five visits, with the majority of Gulls present retreating to unviewable areas of the Tip.
