23 March 2025 - Hollingworth Lake

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Kittiwake, Sand Martin

Had a message on WhatsApp from Simon at 09:14 to say there was an adult Kittiwake present, so I dashed round to the Wine Press where Simon and Andrew were watching the bird on the water distantly with some Common Gulls. My lens struggled somewhat at that distance, but I took some record shots.

It seemed to disappear by 09:40 but I went back at around 10:10 and noticed that the Kittiwake, or another, was present mid-water with some Lesser Black-backs. I also saw a single Sand Martin pass through, my first of the year.

By 11:30 it was flying around among the sailing boats, but from what I can understand, didn't stick around much longer. Some discussion arose after the photos were shared, that the bird I had later could have been a different bird to the earlier one, based on markings around the bill, but I guess we'll never know for sure.

First Kittiwake, 1/500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 2000

Second Kittiwake , 1/500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 160

Second Kittiwake , 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 200

Second Kittiwake, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 200 (view full size image)