It's the time of year when there are not just a lot of birds in the air, but also young ones walking about on the ground. A comment on my post yesterday (about oystercatchers) also reminded me of these photos of a young sea gull that I snapped on my way back from town on Monday.
A number of sea gulls (Larus canus) always come up the river from the coast in spring to nest and bring up their young here over summer. For me their arrival is always a sign of spring... They can indeed be a bit *too* noisy sometimes - not least in their "parenting" season when they hover above their young ones walking about on the ground. And no doubt probably also sometimes a bit too bold when it comes to snatching scraps of food from outdoor restaurants, or picnics in the park... Now and then our local newspaper reports complaints about them. I think I'd actually miss them if they weren't here in summer, though. It's a bit like they bring a whiff of the seaside to our inland town, for us who don't get to travel to the coast ourselves all that often. :)
Adult gull swimming in the river (photo from 2021) |
Links to some previous posts of mine about sea gulls:
Baby News (16 June 2015)
They Grow Up so Fast (22 June 2015)