Monday 4 October 2010

14:00 Sunny 17 o C. Wind S 9mph. Humidity 71%. Pressure 998mB. Visibility moderate. High tide today 21:17, 8.53m.

Dock gates closed.

A glorious day, feeling warmer in the sun and hardly a breath of wind.

In the dock basin
Black headed gull x 40
Mallard duck x 6
Cormorant x 6

At first sight there appeared to be no cormorants. They began to appear one by one as I stood watching. They must have found a shoal of fish as they carried on diving in the same area, staying under for a fair while each time.


There were 6 of them 2 seconds ago, honestly!

After around 20 minutes of watching one hopped up onto the boom, and the others followed gradually. They preened and spread their wings in the sun. Nobody is sure why they do it, there is a theory that it is linked to digestion. They look like they're hanging them out to dry.

Monday 9 November 2009

15:00 Sunny 6 o C. Wind SSE 3mph. Humidity 80%. Pressure 1019 mB. Visibility moderate. High tide today 15:59, 8.23m.

Lock gates closed

A cold, crisp bright day. There is ice in the lock, along with the bue-green algae.



20 black-headed gulls in the dock basin, 10 performing aerobatics around the moored boats.


2 Cormorants passing overhead.

Saturday 29 August 2009

16:00 Sunny intervals & showers, 15 o C. Wind W 20mph. Humidity 66%. Pressure 1017mB. Visibility very good. High tide today 19:16, 7.07m.

Albert Edward dock.

Much cooler today, and a brisk wind. The water in the dock is quite choppy. Fortunately any showers have been very short lived. Both mute swans are up in the Albert Edward dock today near the marina, attracting admiration (and probably titbits) from the weekend visitors.



Mute swan x 2
Coot x 8
Mallard x 30
Cormorant x 7 (4 in flight)
Black-headed gull x 30
Lesser black-backed gull x 20
Herring gull x 10
Common gull x 10
Common Tern x 1

There were also around 50 - 60 assorted gulls on the water at the top end of the dock, too far away for accurate identification.