Bonaparte's Gull - Hadley 11/15

A wet, wild and balmy day with a strong southern wind. No planned birding as such, but I did have five minutes of excellence whilst out running errands with Matan. On Mill Valley Road in Hadley, I couldn't resist pulling over to go through a flock of about 500 Ring-billed Gulls feeding in wet pasture. Almost the first bird I put the bins on was a Bonaparte's Gull, a nice adult. As I got out of the car to grab a few digiscope shots, a huge flock of Canada Geese rose up from the fields far to the West of me, and amidst the closest flock was a Cackling Goose which eventually came right overhead. This almost certainly the same bird with rather 'ratty' tail feathers that I'd seen over Hadley Honey Pot last weekend. This time it flew off to the south. One of these days I'll get good views of this bird on the ground!

Bonaparte's Gull - Adult with Ring-billed Gulls, Mill Valley Road, Hadley.

Cackling Goose - Lower right with Canada Geese, Mill Valley Road, Hadley.