I checked the news services shortly after 9am this morning, and the only birds reported locally were two Black-winged Stilts at Rainham, which I had seen on a previous visit. So I decided it was a day to relax at home, that was until the phone rang. It's Brian.
Brian had a pre-arranged visit to see his granddaughter, and decided to try for the gull before the visit. That left Dad and I to decide whether to go or not. It would be a lifer for dad. However, I had seen the Dorset bird at Radipole Lake in 2018. But it would still be a year and a county tick for me.
Dad wasn't sure he wanted to drive, so we were still debating it when Brian phoned to say he had seen the bird. and offered to take us tomorrow if the bird was still present. When the news services reported the bird was still present, we decided to make the trip. The thirty-mile journey took forty-five minutes before we parked alongside the Thameside Nature Discovery car park. It was almost a mile walk from the car park to Golden Gates Lake. Upon arrival, we were told the bird was still present but had swam along the near bank and was currently out of view. We didn't have to wait long before it reappeared, and we managed to get some nice views. For the next 15-20 minutes, it hugged the bank, and we followed it along the footpath, catching brief glimpses of it through the trees. It then decided to take flight, but it only flew back a short distance, which allowed me to get excellent scope views.
We made our way back towards the car park, picking out a singing Nightingale for a bonus year tick on the way.
We were safely back home when the Ross's Gull was reported to have "flown off north-east and lost to view." That was the last time it was seen today.
Thankfully, we had made the right choice, not to wait until the following day.
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| Signage just outside the car park |
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| View of Golden Gates Lake |
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| Ross's Gull |
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