Sunday 21 November 2010

There is an occasional rarity to be found amongst the birdlife on the dock. Any unusual gulls are not always easy to spot in a crowd of the resident blackheaded and blackbacks. Yesterday there was an Iceland gull around the pontoons in the Albert Edward dock, attracting a large number of people with binoculars, telescopes and probably some cameras. Like many Docklands birds, it was nowhere to be seen when I took my camera out with me today, but I'm sure it will have been photographed by someone else and will appear on the web in due course.

I was lucky enough to see these birds on an Arctic trip last summer, a major identification aid is that they have no black markings on the wingtips, or anywhere else, being white underneath and very pale grey on the back. It is very similar in appearance to the Glaucous gull, though much smaller.

RSPB Bird Guide:

Iceland Gull

Glaucous Gull

The greedy resident gulls, coots and ducks appear to be enjoying the remains of birdwatchers' sandwiches.

The swans with their 3 cygnets are still around the dock, and appear to be thriving. It's beautiful to see them moving through the water in a stately line on a cold, bright morning.

Friday 15 October 2010

10:00 Cloud 12 o C. Wind NW 13mph. Humidity 85%. Pressure 1019mB. Visibility good. High tide today 17:43, 7.48m.

The dock is presenting a rather bleak aspect today in the flat, grey light. The terns and swallows have all departed. There is still plenty of life out there for anyone prepared to stop and look.

The ubiquitous black headed gulls make up the largest number, along with black backs, mallard, coot, cormorant and the swans plus their 3 cygnets.




In the Albert Edward dock

Black headed gull x 60
Black backed gull x 15
Coot x 20
Mallard x 10
Swan x 5
Cormorant x 2

Sunday 10 October 2010

Sunny 17 o C. Wind E 15mph. Humidity 66%. Pressure 1015mB. Visibility good. High tide today 13:31, 9.75m.

Dock gates closed.

Lovely autumn sunshine, quite a gusty wind.

A busy day on the dock, many visitors came to watch the BLS Railtour visit by the Deltic loco 55 022 Royal Scots Grey.

In the dock basin

Black headed gull x 75
Mallard duck x 3
Coot x 1

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.