St Aiden's RSPB, Leeds, 19th May 2021

The RSPB does a pretty impressive job of creating and managing wetland reserves. St Aiden's, just outside Leeds, was once know as Swillington Ings, back in the heyday of Yorkshire coal mining. The Thatcher years of the 80's famously laid waste to that industry and decimated the dependent communities, leaving an industrial moonscape of former opencast mines in many areas. Nature, of course, has a remarkable way of recovering, and this particular area flooded in 1988 after the collapse of a riverbank. Coal production finally ceased in 2002 and the owners commenced work with the RSPB to create a sparkling new reserve that also provides open space for recreation. It's really impressive too.

I'd recently been talking to the RSPB's Gavin Thomas about habitat management on the patch, and about their work at Woolston Eyes near Warrington. He waxed lyrical about what had been achieved at St Aiden's, so I had intended to visit already.

The appearance of a breeding plumage FRANKLIN'S GULL amongst the huge numbers of breeding gulls proved sufficient motivation to make that visit. After a brief text convo, Phil and Malc decided to join me and we were on the road around 11am.

I've not seen a Franklin's gull since the 1996, when I had pretty poor views of a winter adult soaring over a tip in Gloucestershire. Before that I saw a few in Texas in 1992, but my most memorable one was way back in May 1987 - another spring adult - but this time on my (now) patch of Neumann's Flash. A proper patch mega! That bird had been on a Friday evening, and rather amazingly I saw it again on the Saturday morning at my then patch of Rostherne Mere. 

Back to today's bird, this one spent a bit of time in Yorkshire early in 2020 (then in winter plumage), then was seen in Norway (Jan 2021) and Belgium (April 2021) before returning to Yorkshire. The fact it has one leg makes it somewhat recognisable! 

Arriving late morning, the impressive reserve sprawled out in front of us from the elevated car park, with a brooding darkened sky above. As ever a gaggle of birders was a visible clue to the direction we needed to head. Five minutes walk later we  had pretty much reached the dozen or so birders as we realised the Franklin's Gull was pretty much the closest bird. It showed ridiculously well for the next 30 minutes before flying off in to the middle of the reserve and throng of gull nests.

Phil's flight shot.

A Common Tern sat on a nearby post, being regularly fed by her mate and so presumably about to lay. Swifts darted by at head height as a storm passed by, forked lightning and rumbling thunder but thankfully the rain missed us entirely before the storm cleared away. It was an impressive spectacle, thousands of gulls, nesting Lapwings and waterbirds all over. A Bittern boomed. Reed Warblers chugged.

We then took a relaxed stroll around the reserve, simply enjoying the proliferation of commoner birds. One of the reserves specialties is  Black-necked Grebe; the three breeding pairs here seem to have habituated to people and the views of this stunning species here are wonderful. 

Bearded Tits pinged unseen in the reeds, a Grasshopper Warbler reeled away and breeding Pochards and Shovelers seemed common too. Bird city. A Roe Deer was contented to stay in the open. 

We headed  back to the car, past the gigantic former mining machine (a 1,200 drag line excavator that was once the largest in the world), just as the heavens opened.  

A great day out and a reserve I'll visit again.