Sitting on Thick Ice

 A couple of weeks ago I had a dental appointment in Macclesfield. Running a little early, and afforded the opportunity to drive somewhere in the car, I stopped off at a very frozen Redesmere on the way.

I'd say the mere was 85% frozen with thick ice. This meant that the gulls were close in and resting on the ice, while anything else was distant on the very small open patch of water. It's much easier to check out the gulls if they are not bobbing around on the water. 

The Black-headed Gulls here were plentiful, with this one particular bird in the centre already in full breeding hood. The legs were also noticeably darker.

There were a few Common Gulls on the ice too. You can see the yellowish legs on the one left of centre with two sat on the ice just to its right.

I do like the Common Gull. Unfortunately it is not actually that common. Of the two sat on the ice to the right of the bird stood (again just left of centre) one has not yet developed it's yellow bill and is more grey with a blackish tip. This will be a 2nd winter bird and will develop this more into adulthood.

Common Gull sat behind Black-headed Gull. Shows the difference in size between them. Common Gull is quite a bit larger, and has a streaky head.

A really good looking Lesser Black-backed Gull in the centre here. Again, shows how considerably larger it is in comparison to the Black-headed Gulls that surround it.

Everyone else making sure the Lesser Black-backed Gull has plenty of room. No ones friend.

Redesmere Lake

 I had a day off this week and it also just so happened to be a sunny but cold day. It was a sad day as it was the funeral of a good friend of mine. To take my mind off things I headed over to Redesmere in the morning to see if I could make use of the good sunlight. There was plenty around, both on the water and in the trees. Plenty of gulls, Tufted Duck, and Great Crested Grebe, with the odd Kingfisher and Redwing.

Great Crested Grebe in its winter plumage

This Treecreeper was busy picking away underneath the bark

The Tufted Ducks were looking particularly fine in the sun

There are only ever one or two Lesser Black-backed Gulls in amongst the Black headed Gulls. A good size comparison here with the Lesser on the right.

A very good looking Lesser Black-backed Gull

Common Gull

I rarely manage to get decent pictures for bird comparisons. I think that I'm always too busy focusing on one specific species and getting that nice unobstructed shot to think about how one looks in comparison to another. By chance, and by no means done on purpose, I managed to get a nice comparison picture of  a Common Gull and a Black-headed Gull. Both were stood nicely on the directional post outside Horrocks hide at Pennington Flash.

Common gull on the left, Black-headed gull on the right. Quite a difference.

Black-headed gull

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.

Gulling by Numbers

On a quiet day at Elton reservoir where there didn't seem to be an awful lot happening on the bird front, I took to playing a game. Match the gull to the number painted on the buoy. There are lots of these markers on the reservoir. I think they are for the sailing club to use, but not 100% sure about that. Anyway, Elton is a very good place for gulls, and I thought I'd see what we had out there, on what was a grey day.

In at number 9 is a nice looking Common Gull.

At 8 we have a Lesser black-backed Gull and juvenile.

At 6, a sleepy Black-headed Gull.

And finally at 3, another Black-headed Gull. It gave me something to do on my way round the reservoir. I'm sure there will be a rarity along very soon.

Leasowe - The Wirral

I took a trip out to the Wirral at the weekend. The morning weather was not nice but my weather app was telling me I would get a window of a couple of hours when it wouldn't be raining and a possibility of sunshine too. It was all I needed to get in the car and head west.
I could see the clouds breaking but it took a while for the light to really improve. By the time I got to Leasowe, and its very iconic lighthouse, the sun was peeping out and everything looked a lot better.
Unfortunately there wasn't too much action on the bird front and the tide was well out. Still, I had a nice little walk and its always nice to be at the coast and smelling that fresh air.

Leasowe Lighthouse

And with the blue sky that I was promised.

A Black-headed Gull atop a telegraph pole.

Black-headed Gull

Often much maligned, the Black-headed gull will rarely be at the top of anyone's list of favourite birds. When birds are common they hardly get a second look. And when they are noisy too (as they are at this time of year) they just become a pain.
I don't know why, but I started to watch some of the Black-headed gulls at Elton reservoir a few weeks ago, just watching their behaviour. They are very agile birds and skilled at dipping over the surface of the water to pick up food. Almost Tern like, but without the "phwoarr".
I grew to like them a little more just by paying them some attention and noticing them.

On the sea shore......

Salthouse Shingle Ridge in Norfolk was cold but bright. Shelducks were appearing quite frequently.
Very nice in flight, and here below you can see the lovely colours in all their glory.

The larger gull in the centre is a Common Gull, while the two to the left are Black headed gulls. Turnstones are foraging around beneath them.

A nice close up of a Turnstone

Let me out, please!

I've not been able to get out this weekend, and it's done my head in a bit. I only need a few hours at the weekend to satisfy my need to see some birds. So to cheer me up, I've gone back to some pictures taken on holiday in North Wales in the Summer. This bird is the Common Redshank and was along the shoreline one morning minding it's own business and looking for food.

Seen here with a Black-headed Gull for size comparison.

Autumn

Some really beautiful mornings recently have led to some great images of the sunshine through the trees. When the leaves have all fallen this should give some better opportunities to improve on these. Of course, it becomes easier to see the birds too when there are no leaves. Hopefully I can get some of our winter visitors too.

 

 

This is a Jay in the hazy sunshine.

A Common Gull on the frosty ground.

Black-headed Gull

Someone was watching me.