It took a surprisingly long time to find the opportunity to take a good picture of the Herring Gull! Although far less numerous than the Black Headed Gulls, they can be seen most days but usually just cruise on by using the updraught from the cliff. When there is no lift from the cliff, they fly by low over the water and are even harder to capture on camera.
However, on a calm day, with no cliff soaring available, I found the pair on the right resting on a neighbour's roof.
Photograph- February 2003
The above picture (April 2003) illustrates the difference in size between the Herring Gull and the Black headed Gull in the foreground.
The picture at the bottom right is a juvenile - black beak, black legs and brown flecked plumage. Unfortunately, whilst I think it is a Herring Gull, this description fits many other juvenile gulls, so who knows?!
The picture below shows just a few of a large group of Gulls massed on a local roof. All four seem to be immature birds, the two in the foreground perhaps a year older than the others?
Photograph above - June 2003
Photographs (flying) - January 2003.
This bird decided to drop in and forage on our rather sodden lawn. In spite of living by the sea, it is unusual to see the gulls alight in the garden.
As you can tell by the plumage though, this one is a juvenile so I assume curiousity overcame an less-than-fully-developed sense of fear.
