juv ylg at west rise. it's got to the time of year when head moult makes them stand out from herring gulls. while i was looking at it through the scope i noticed a lesser emperor bombing about in the middle of the lake - not helpful! a red kite went over the road between west rise and shinewater in the evening but i couldn't stop. that one day of rain has done enough to cover all the wading mud but yesterday there were 5 green sands, 1 greenshank, 1 dunlin and 2 snipe, and first returning wigeon and bearded tit.