Gulls in the gloom

It is pretty depressing weather here in London at the moment. Every day is matted in cloud. And the winds seem to be swirling around too, with easterlies last week, back to westerlies this week and next week we're meant to get some northerlies. So with no overall weather pattern, it hasn't really given anything to chance to move in any direction! And hence why it feels like a rather poor winter. But, predictably, there are always gulls to look at - though even these guys seem to have deserted all the usual sites and headed to the delights of Crayford and its recycling centre. So that is where I headed today, as well as spending an hour or so there yesterday.

juvenile Iceland Gull Crayford, London 14th January 2018

The result being a reappearance of the juvenile Iceland Gull that I had last Saturday. This time, it did a flyabout around Jolly Farmers mid morning before then being seen at the recycling centre at Viridor itself (Andy L then had it later on the FedEx building).

There was also two nice looking 1st-winter Caspian Gulls, both unringed and both fairly distant. Bring back those views at Thames Barrier Park please!

1st-winter Caspian Gulls Crayford, London 14th January 2018

Two Yellow-legged Gulls were around too, with an adult on the warehouse roofs, and a 1st-winter pecking about at the recycling centre.

1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull Crayford, London 14th January 2018

A total of twenty rings were read over the two days - all Herring and Black-headed Gulls and, with the exception of a Sussex ringed Herring, all were North Thames Gull Group birds.