Check Me Out!

I am a Black-headed Gull. Aren't I great? Check out the red legs and matching red bill!Those birds are such show-offs! They're not as big as the other gulls, but they sure aren't backward in coming forward.

I was along the Ayrshire coast today. Toward the end of the afternoon, the sea was like glass. There wasn't even a ripple and it was beautiful. I stopped along one stretch of the coast and got out. I was immediately greeted by some Black-headed gulls in their winter plumage. The bird that was the boldest was a fully mature adult. The gulls in their first winter aren't as white on the head as boy-o up there. In the summer they've got dashing black hoods (hence the name) and in the winter their black hoods are reduced to a mere eyebrow.

Black-headed gulls are classed as a medium sized gull and I think they're gorgeous, even in the winter. I'm glad they're Britain's most common inland gull.

There were loads of other birds on the water. There were some good old mallards, some lovely mergansers and quite a few eiders. There were a number of other species but I was actually working at the time and I couldn't stop to i.d. everybody. I swear I'm going to get a pair of binoculars just for the car. At least I had my camera with me.