10 Jan 1989 - Mediterranean Gulls

The rain does eventually stop and we walk to the harbour where a hundred or more gulls are flying around fishermen throwing bait out. The gulls are mostly lesser black‑backs in a variety of plumages, and about 30 black‑headed gulls (five or six to one in favour of adults). We search the group care­fully and find a few Mediterranean gulls; they seem to finish feeding as a group and then sit on the water as a loose flock so allowing a head count: twelve first winter, one second winter, and five adult winter.

In comparison with the black‑headeds, the med gulls seem to search the water surface more thor­oughly, dipping down more frequently and verti­cally almost with petrel‑like action. They seemed to have a feeding run, flying into the slight breeze and dipping to the surface for 40 ‑ 50 metres then flying back to the start and repeating the manoeuvre.