Urban birding at Hull: Walk to The Deep in the snow

With a fresh layer of snow on the ground, and a forecast of sunny spells, I decided to walk to The Deep, what is becoming a monthly walk for the last few months. Although I was surprised by a couple of short snow flurries, it wasn't as windy as yesterday, and there were long sunny spells, making it a very pleasant walk.

Singing Starling.

 I find snow wonderfully disorientating, I like how it changes the feel of the cityscape. As I walked along the back streets off Princes Avenue, Spring Bank and Freetown Way, I was surprised turning a corner and having to get my bearings. Birds look amazing in the snow too, especially gulls, the white reflection on on their undersides making them look bright white. Locals throw bread onto the verges in front of their houses, and the gulls descend in a white, noisy flurry to pick them.

Little Mason Street.

At Little Mason Street, I notice a crow looking at me from a wall. I happen to have a few peanuts with me and I place them on the ground. The crow almost immediately comes down to get them as I stand back. It walks with its beak full and hides one of them in the snow, making a little hole, covering it back, patting the snow down, coming back to check. Then it goes for more. I'm not sure how this peanut hiding is going to work out!

The crow carrying peanuts.

Now, coming back for more.

I reach North Bridge and I take the path by the river Hull. It is almost low tide. A Redshank feeds on the mud, closely observed by a Black-headed gull. I count 9 Redshanks on the stretch from North Bridge to The Deep.

Redshank and Black-headed Gull.

The old moorings of the Arctic Corsair.

This Redshank was dipping its head in the water to feed, right at the tideline.

The glistening feathers of a Carrion Crow by Myton Bridge.

The exposed mudflats by the mouth of the River Hull.

A cormorant was gliding fast with the flow of the river. As it arrived at the Humber, it started to fish, and then I noticed there were two of them, one of them looked young. They dived one after the other several times by the Humber flood defences. 

Then the sun came out and one of the cormorants headed for the spit and started sunbathing and spreading its wings...

...soon followed by the other, who landed and walked to stand closer to the first one.

There were many gulls on the spit at the mouth of the river, by The Deep. Two compact flocks of about 50 Black-headed Gulls were loafing. There were also several Herring Gulls, mostly immature, and Common Gulls. I noticed some of the Black-headed gulls had black heads. Then noticed one with a very black head: an adult Mediterranean Gull! Notice its white wing tips.

Slumbering Mediterranean Gull amongst Black-headed gulls.

The Mediterranean Gull woke up only briefly.

One of the Black-headed gulls with dark head.

River Hull and tidal barrier.

The Humber with The Deep.

Icicles on the Hull History Centre.