Yesterday late morning Black Hole Marsh was very enticing with 14+ each of Ringed Plover and Dunlin, 29 Blackwits and smaller numbers of the other usual species. I did look over them once or twice, but the main reason I was here was for the Tower Hide. Twenty minutes earlier from Coronation Corner I could see a juv Yellow-legged Gull in with the flock of large gulls right in front of the hide.
For a good while I couldn't find it which was annoying, but a glance at a break away group of six juvenile large gulls further up river showed it was still here...
Pleasingly it soon had a bit of a fly around...
And then dropped in closer, albeit it briefly...
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| The left hand bird, just look at the size of that bill compared with the three on the right, and the overall head shape. |
This morning, after deciding to abort a ringing session before it had even started, an early morning look along the Estuary revealed another Yellow-legged Gull. And I have to say it was one of the smartest ones I've ever seen, a huge beast that was well into its moult to first-winter plumage. It was so obvious it stood out like a fully kitted out clown waving and shouting "free cream cakes here"...
Sadly the sun light hadn't made it on the Estuary before it flew off south west, so I couldn't better my pics in the dull light, but it was nice to get a flight shot...
It was interesting seeing these two birds within two days as it really highlights the variation in, not just Yellow-legged Gulls, but all juvenile/immature large gulls. This is one of the main reasons why I find gulling so enjoyable, it's a never ending learning curve...
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