Solstice

Herring gull

At two o'clock in the morning I was weighing up the options for the shortest day. At nine o'clock I was watching the pouring rain and leaden sky and deciding that it would be no bad thing to spend the day drinking rather a lot of tea. The sun making a two minute cameo appearance at lunchtime didn't make a right lot of difference and it soon started raining again.

The wind and rain brought the gulls back to the school playing field, restoring a natural balance in the scheme of things I thought had been abandoned. By historical standards the twenty-six black-headed gulls was small beer, before the avian flu ran through the nesting colonies I'd have been expecting three figures in this weather. There were a dozen large gulls, the herring gulls outnumbering the lesser black-backs two to one, which is par for the course here in Winter. Most of the herring gulls were first-Winter birds with just a couple of adults and a third-Winter (I think) bird, there were a couple of first-Winter lesser black-backs with the adults. I'm pretty sure most of the large gulls are just passing by and taking advantage of the amenities, it's not often I see the same combination of birds two days running. I expect there's a reason why there's not many birds of intermediate ages coming through but I'd only be guessing. The black-headed gulls, like the rooks, jackdaws and woodpigeons, seems to be more or less settled for the Winter, there isn't the same sort of churn in the numbers.

It was quiet in the garden, a few sparrows set up camp in the rose bushes and made raids on the feeders whenever the rain abated. The highlight was when half a dozen starlings turned up, made a lot of noise and flew off again.

I nipped out to get the last of the Christmas food shop done and just missed the 25 which turned up early for once. I had a wander round a wet and windy Lostock Park while I waited for the next bus. Plenty of gulls passed overhead — more lesser black-backs than herring gulls and almost as many black-headed gulls — but didn't stop. There were a lot more blackbirds about than last time, despite the weather. All the small birds stayed undercover.

It'll be good to get back onto the roll-up to Summer.