Urban birding at Hull: Sculcoates week 29

A cloudy, mild day at Hull. The river is just past a very high tide. As I walk along the drain, a dozen Lesser Black-back gulls start alarm calling, flying over me. A recently fledged young whistles while the parents follow it nervously. The noise is quite loud and piercing, like a fire-alarm. I wonder if raptors find it annoying too and avoid gull colonies not only for the mobbing itself, but also for the chorus of alarm calls. For this reason, and also because it's cloudy and I'm probably not going to see many insects, I decide not to visit the cemetery, which is right next to a gull colony. As I zoom into a youngster on the paint factory (top shot) the adults appear to see me as danger and fly off to call over me!  

A young Lesser Black-backed gull on its colony.

I find three Swallows on the patch. A pair of Greylag flies over. There has been a few weeks with no flyovers, as the geese moulted and stayed in their breeding sites.

Woodpigeon with stick.

The rowan berries are maturing. This Woodpigeon flew to the rowan and picked a couple of berries, as if to test how ripe they are. It flew off afterwards, maybe not good enough yet.

Goldfinch family. I've started to see flocks, possibly as families merge and become more mobile in search of seeds.

Song thrushes are not singing, but I managed to see this one by the drain.

The river Hull running high.

Two recently fledged gulls (Herring or Lesser black back gulls).

As I'm about to leave, I hear a Swift scream and as I look up I see a chase of five, a nice end of the visit this week.