Not a bird that I take photographs of a lot, but they are real characters the Black-headed gull. With many roosts in Greater Manchester it's not difficult to know where they'll be hanging out. Quite often they're squabbling over some food that's been left to litter the pavement or just generally squabbling.
When there aren't many other birds around you can pretty much guarantee a Black-headed gull will help focus your attentions.
(No black or chocolate brown heads here as they are in winter non-breeding plumage)
I think this is a first winter bird, judging by it's plumage. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Gulls are not my greatest strength,
This chap looks more of an adult with it's nice reddish legs and no juvenile feathers in the wings.
Gulls are ever present in city centres these days. My 18 month old granddaughter thinks they are called 'mine' after watching the 'Finding Nemo' film where the gulls gather around the pelicans asking for food.
ReplyDeleteHello, the Black-headed gull is pretty. Lovely images. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteHe's a pretty fellow!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/01/shells-on-shells.html
Those are beauties! We see gulls occasionally here in the winter, but not in the numbers you do. I always wonder if they might be lost, looking for Manchester.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots..Very common bird around here..
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bird!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh. I love on a major flyway for gulls and I have not been out. Not that I could identify any of them..so hard...Michelle
ReplyDeleteSuch gregarious birds. We have them everywhere as Adelaide is on the coast. They love cricket - especially test cricket, judging by their attendance at matches.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many varieties of gulls ... The California Gulls are the ones I see in Oregon and I have a real love-hate thing going on with them. They can be amusing to watch and fairly easy to get a picture of ... But oh my gosh they are so messy and there are so many.
ReplyDeleteYours is prettier anyway!
He's beautiful! I know what you mean about gulls not being one's strong suit. Of course, I am weak in a lot of birding areas! You got great photos.
ReplyDeleteI do love the argumentativeness of gulls. When we were at Minehead last year the boys chucked a few chips down for some gulls and loads came down to squabble over them. You can see how people can get attacked by them at times. Thanks for adding these great characters to #AnimalTales.
ReplyDeletethe gull is very pretty, we don't have a wide variety of birds in Dubai that frequent our garden but plenty of gulls at the beach. I was lucky enough to spot a Heron on the beach near the Burj Al Arab the other week but I was without my camera
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bird!!
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