Getting back from a shopping trip for my dad I bumped into this Winter's first big congregation of black-headed gulls on the school playing field, and it really was a big one. More than one hundred and fifty of them in a white mass covering the centre of the field. Most of them were loafing or sleeping, a few at the edges of the crowd were worm-dancing, as were nearly all of the eight herring gulls out there. There were a couple of common gulls, too, but no sign of the lesser black-back that was on the field earlier in the morning.
By midday they were all gone. I've no idea what triggers these daytime crowds, nor what triggers their dispersal. As Winter rolls on I'll start to see progressively bigger flocks of gulls having one last feed and preen before going to roost. It's not often they get to be as big as one hundred and fifty birds, though. It'll be interesting to see if/how often they do.
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