13-09-08 College Valley

Just a small portion of the gulls on this flooded field
Plenty Lesser Black Back
Again showing only a portion of the flood I think this track goes nearer

I had long ago arranged to go up the College Valley on Saturday, but the pager seemed to go off constantly with the message of a Honey Buzzard somewhere, it sounded like I was missing something special, still a couple of Wheatears and a flock of about 30 Meadow Pipits, the scale of the water flow through the valley must have been awesome , still a huge run off a week after the heavy rain with new streams cut through the earth and piles of stones dumped here and there as the water changed course, and the oddest thing two small fish ( no camera with me ) trying to get along the Bridleway path well away from the stream, 0n the way back from Mounthooly an Osprey lifted from the side of the stream down in the valley and went South.

I had heard of the large floods in the area of Millfield which used to be a huge lake many years ago, on the Wooler Doddington road a flooded field held well over a thousand gulls 2/3 where Juveniles but also there a couple of hundred Lesser Black Back Adults, I took a few pics but so far can only find a couple of LBB Juveniles the majority being Herring Gulls but not many Adult Herring Gulls it's well worth a look, the size of the larger water has reduced since last week they tell me, but the photo shows the extent that remains , and I think some will remain for sometime, I left late afternoon wanting to try and get back to perhaps see my Honey.