Gulls, Gulls, Gulls

Just occasionally I manage to get out to see something that isn't part of one survey or another. So, when on Friday I had a window of opportunity to leave work early, I thought I'd pop down the road to Shoreham harbour to have a look for the long-staying 2nd calendar-year Glaucous Gull. The light was particularly good so I grabbed my camera and off I went. The bird had been reported recently to have been frequenting the area around the fish shop at the far eastern end of Southwick canal; luckily a couple of other birders were also hanging out there, otherwise I think I would've felt a bit silly. Whilst waiting for the bird to put in an appearance an adult Kittiwake flew around and I managed some quite nice shots of the bird in flight. After about half an hour the Glauc appeared, flying around and getting pretty close, giving me the opportunity to get some close flight shots. Those translucent primaries are so obvious when the bird flies above you in good light. Once on the water, however, it somehow looked a whole lot less elegant.
After  a while  the Glauc Gull settled on the water and I decided to depart for Brighton marina. The west arm was shut, so I concentrated on taking photos of the mainly Herring Gulls dancing over the rough sea and gliding up past me at the base of the west arm. The light was fantastic and it was just a joy to watch their agility in the air. So, back home to upload the photos, a quick bit of editing and post a few images to accompany this script. Kittiwake (ad winter), Glaucous Gull (2nd cy) and Herring (2nd cy).