The Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) at Brockholes Quarry, Lancashire, UK.

 A county first - by John Wright.

  I arrived at Brockholes Quarry at 7.00am on Saturday 1st May 1999, and was disappointed to find the site was shrouded in thick mist. This is often a problem at this site because of its location next to the River Ribble. I had decided to move on when the mist began to clear and by 7.20am the far bank approximately 100 yards away was visible. With little of interest present I decided to quickly check the far end of the pool which is hidden behind a large island. As I stepped out of my car I could see that a small group of Black Headed Gulls were sitting on a small island which had been hidden from view, from my previous vantage point. I raised my binoculars to look and to my amazement a small dark backed gull with a hood was standing amongst the Black Headed Gulls.

  I knew straight away that it had to be a Franklins/Laughing Gull and immediately felt confident that it was an adult Laughing Gull in full summer plumage. The bird was larger than the Black Headed Gulls stood alongside with longer legs, a fuller chest and noticeably longer wings. This impression was to my eyes very reminiscent of Common Gull. I use this comparison with some trepidation as it appears in identification guides I subsequently read but I can honestly say that this was the immediate impression I got of this bird and what to my eye made it so distinctive. The memories I had of the Franklins Gull I had seen on the Reclamation Pond in Cleveland, were of a smaller and more petite bird lacking the long legs and wings exhibited by this individual.

  After the initial panic and shock I quickly noted what I thought were the most important features. After five minutes I felt that I had enough information to get the bird accepted and I was desperate to get the news out. All the gulls in the flock which was only about 20 birds in all were either standing up or bathing, and I was concerned that they may depart quickly. I decided with some reticence to find the nearest phone and put the news out. After spending countless hours checking gulls in the hope that one day I might find such a bird, tearing myself away so soon was incredibly difficult but I knew that if there was any chance that my friends would see the bird then I had to get to a phone.

  A nearby garage was my next port of call but the phone was out of order, next I tried a call box which was only taking emergency calls, then another garage which only had a card phone! By the time I had got to the next garage I was at my wits end but thankfully I found a phone that worked. I rang three friends and released the news on Birdnet.

  This process took an agonising fifteen minutes and as I returned to the quarry, Black Headed Gulls were beginning to drift away. I jumped out of my car to find the Laughing Gull about to fly and it flew off into the sun which had by now burned the mist away. This meant that flight views were rather limited but I did manage to see some detail before the bird became a silhouette. It flew steadily down river and despite extensive attempts to locate it within the vicinity, and on the Ribble marshes to my knowledge the bird was not seen again in Lancashire.

  This then became a moment of immense elation and intense frustration. Finding my second county first (after the Lesser Scaup on Dockacres gravel pit) but being the only observer to see this long awaited individual.

  John Wright.