On my way back from Cambridge yesterday I noticed a growing flock of gulls in the wheat field just north of Milton park'n ride. As expected they were mostly Lesser Black-backed with a strong contingent of beefy Great Black-backs, but there was a scattering of paler gulls among them which deserved some attention. After a few minutes scanning, trying to ignore the buffeting of passing cars as they sped past the layby, it became clear that most of the "Herring" Gull types were in fact Yellow-legged Gulls. One especially imposing individual looked like he had applied mascara to enhance his stark-staring demeanour.
Looking further among the larid pack a Caspian Gull drew my attention- dark-eyed and nape spotted, it looked a lot less dangerous than the big michahellis. It started to rain heavily so I made my way home. Nice weather for ducks, I thought, and I began to wonder what the Wigeon were doing up at Welney.
