* Seagull by Bad Company from Bad Company album 1974
The number of Little Gulls present at Hornsea Mere is slowly building. They are usually highest early in the morning (when there's only Jon around to see them 😂) and they stay a short while before flying back to sea.
33 Saturday; 55 Sunday; 110 today
I took several photos of them feeding on Saturday in an attempt to get some detail on what they were actually feeding on. The reference books I have are pretty generic in their diet description - Little Gulls are essentially insect feeders, consuming aquatic insects taken on the wing from the water's surface or just below it. Small fish are taken only occasionally. They have been recorded taking terrestial insects and worms and even following agricultural ploughs.
My photos seem to back this up but it's very difficult to ascertain just what they are eating from these images:
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| Little Gull feeding at Hornsea Mere |
Some of the Little Gulls that remain through the morning rest on the boat jetties, giving good photo opportunities.
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| Little Gulls and a Black-headed Gull, showing size difference |
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| Room for a Little Gull? No, bugger off! |
Also while I was on KP a Dunlin appeared so a few frames were snapped.
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| Dunlin |
Along the south side a Great White Egret visited first field edge. I've taken better photos of GWE and these are record shots before and after it took off and landed on Swan Island.
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| Great White Egret off first field |
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| GWE off to Swan Island |
Warblers have young ones out and about now with several Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat family groups seen.
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| Reed Warbler |
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| Juv Whitethroat |
Over in Decoy a Marsh Harrier was harrying a Buzzard - it was just too near the nest site I guess.
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| Male Marsh Harrier giving a Buzzard a hard time |
Also along the south side I saw my first Migrant Hawker of the season, this one was very pale so it must just have emerged and not got its full colouration yet.
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| immature Migrant Hawker |
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