On Saturday I briefly had these 4 Goosander on the Axe estuary before they flew upriver and out of sight. We've done particularly well for this species lately-sightings have increased both last year and this.Ian Mc had 7 a couple of weeks ago which makes my 4 less impressive than they would have been in the past but I was pleased to get some reward for checking the estuary as it can often be a case of 'nothing to report' at this time of year. We've had more Common, Mediterranean and Black-backed Gulls recently though so it was no surprise when SW found an adult YL Gull which I also caught up with. I also found one earlier in the Autumn but it wasn't as 'stonking' as this one.

It's funny how Yellow-leggeds look much darker in Devon than they do in Greece. The ones on Lesvos must have been bleached-out by the intense Mediterranean Sun in May. Even so,look how pale the Common gull appears in this photograph. I thought the YL could almost be a graellsii Lesser BB! Perhaps the East Mediterranean population is slightly paler than the Western/Northern ones we get? I'll see if I can find out.