Gulls in the snow

Snow makes normal places look spectacular, and even Cotham landfill looked rather wonderful this morning; I'd taken some time off in lieu of working yesterday and wondered up the cyclepath from Cotham village, with the aim of looking for white-wingers. Shortly after I arrived, a juvenile Glaucous Gull showed itself briefly, before providing some better views. It was a rather dark bird - definitely different from the one at the start of December (the last time I managed a visit). The only other gull of note was a single Lesser Black-back among the Herrings and Great Black-backs. 

A snowy Cotham Landfill

Juvenile Glaucous Gull at Cotham Landfill

As I was watching the gulls, two guys with cameras walked past and told me they just seen eight 'owls' a short distance away. I went and had a look as these were doubtlessly LEOs, but  couldn't find them. All was not lost however, as an unmistakable ringing call alerted me to 11 Waxwings in trees next to the solar farm field just to the north of the landfill, with a covey of 7 Grey Partridge in the next field and a sumptuous male Bullfinch in the snowy scrub.

Some of the 11 Waxwings near Cotham Landfill

I returned for another look at the gulls, but by now the snow was falling quite thickly; I managed to pick the Glauc out again, and amused myself for a few minutes by watching some of the gulls snapping at passing snowflakes as they loafed on the side of the landfill, before deciding that I wasn't going to find a Kumlien's Gull today...

The cyclepath near Cotham Landfill