On this day (June 4th)... 2012 Gannet!!

One of the most unexpected birds of recent years was this wind blown Gannet, found the previous day and still there #OnThisDay  June 4th 2012

It had to be a repeat visit with no rain and hopefully the Gannet was destined to stay overnight? It did!
The light was better and here's a representative sequence (it was mostly sat distantly on the water during the 5 hour session!)

Heading my way.....

The upperwing has to be the most appealing view!

Not always easy to remain locked on the Gannet with trees in the background but they show off the bird much better than white sky!

Only a couple of fish were caught during the session - too distant to record!

Chelmarsh - Gannet!!!

Wow, was this a welcome sight! I've been back from the States a week now and apart from some awesome Dragonfly excitement, the birding has been rubbish to say the least! So, when Yvonne nearly didn't make a routine visit to Chelmarsh this evening, it was good news for anyone quick off the mark that she did! She picked up the Gannet from the causeway, it was sitting on the water at the Dam end and  I was there before you could say  yooooooooooooooooooubeauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuty  :-)

A subadult bird coming into it's 4th Summer, it was reminiscent of the Arctic Skua for entertainment value with an occasional flight / plunge despite the relentless drizzle and gloom! We even saw it catch a sizeable fish! Is it the same one that Ian Grant picked up at Aqualate last Thursday??......

These are probably the best I'm going to be able to come up with.......

A full frame underwing shot.....

And the distant upperwing pattern.....

There's bird life yet then in Salop!! Stay tune with the blog (and look back) if you are interested in the remaining week's New England content as and when I get time to sort. Oh and the story of the Red-veined Darters gracing the County Odonata list (with evidence) at last!