Franklins Gull, Lowestoft 1977 - another blast from the past.

Franklins Gull was first recorded in the UK as late as 1970 so when one turned up in my (then) home county of Suffolk in the Autumn of 1977 it was a major occurrence and constituted only the 4th UK record. Since then there have been a total of 87 records.

In the autumn of  1977 I was a 16 year old just starting out in the 6th from to study 'A' levels. Birds were my passion  - whether it was ringing at Wicken Fen, working my local patch or twitching with the late Tony Butcher and my old mentor Nick Reed who was senior lab technician at our school in Sudbury Suffolk.  Of course I couldn't drive so had to rely on Nick and his wife, Gwen,  to pick me up from my parents place just outside Long Melford and take me wherever the rarities were.

My parents lived in a bungalow in a hamlet called Bridge Street. It was ideal for me as my bedrooom well away from my brothers and sisters. To avoid waking the family and our labrador, Bonzo, I used to climb out the bedroom window when I heard Nick tapping on it. 

I remember this day well as we arrived at Lowestoft on a freezing cold November day to find the Franklins Gull missing. Luckily it was found roosting on the roof of a nearby industrial building and we all had good views through Tony's 'scope. 

Amazingly I got three more ticks that day for my modest UK list. I actually ticked Franklins Gull before Glaucous Gull but luckily a juvenile did the decent thing and passed close by the seawall where we stood watching Purple Sandpiper - another tick. The final tick of the day was a real surprise. A shout went up of Little Auk and everyone started scanning the sea until the guy who'd found it pointed it out tagging along with a group of Starlings flying past! 

Since then I've seen a few Franklins Gulls, including birds in Cornwall, Keynsham and Yorks,  but I'm still waiting to see one in Cheshire.

Franklins Gull, near Hayle 2005

Franklins Gull, Keynsham 2008

Franklons Gull, St Aidans RSPB 2021