No, there's not been a sudden, unexpected revival of the tv-series Friends, but Belgium's birders are currently being entertained by not one but two Ross's Gulls, a high-Arctic species which was not even on the Belgian list until 1 December, when the first bird was photographed by a single observer in Nieuwpoort. This bird was then relocated just over the border in France, where it attracted a steady stream of admirers, but then the unthinkable happened and a second individual was found roosting amongst the Black-headed Gulls within the harbour of Zeebrugge. The first bird has since returned to where it was originally discovered, meaning the really keen (and those willing to trespass to see the second bird) can actually see two different Ross's Gulls in Belgium on the same day! My first chance to see the original bird in Nieuwpoort was yesterday and I got to the pier to see it happily wheeling around and briefly landing on the water right in front of me. It did this non-stop for the next hour, repeatedly passing just above my head, and it even called once as it was right above me. It didn't stop for more than the briefest of moments on the water and was flying so fast it reminded me of a hummingbird. Trying to get any sort of picture was a challenge, therefore, but they at least prove I saw the bird.
Thankfully, the Guillemots in Ostend harbour were a bit more co-operative.
This was one of three birds present there and I also saw a Razorbill in Nieuwpoort so, while it was great to see both species on the same day, it is a little worrying that it may be due to food shortages out to sea pushing them further inshore to find food. There have plenty of dead and dying auks found all along the coast so far this winter so something is definitely not right.
BE #238 (ROSS'S GULL, Red-throated Diver, Eider)
BRU #116
