Urban birding at Hull: Sculcoates Frosty week 47

 An icy and freezing walk around the patch, with a light wind from the north increasing the feeling of cold. It felt like the calm after the storm, with storm Arwen yesterday denuding many trees of leaves. Today at least it was very bright, with long sunny spells and dark clouds that didn't materialise into snow. I did the usual walk around the patch.

Blackbird on leaves,

I haven't said much about House Sparrows on the patch, but they have several colonies, especially around the housing estates. Today, a male posed on a bush and I took his portrait (top shot).

Young Starling singing.

Mallard pair on the drain.

The large oak at the north cemetery is now only clothed with ivy.

After the cemetery, I move to the river Hull. The tide is low and I count 4 Redshank feeding. Earlier three of them had flown over the south cemetery aiming for the drain, but they quickly returned.

Redshank.

Redshank after washing its tidbit on the water.

As usual, there are many gulls on the river and a large group on a roof. A darker one gets my attention, first I think is a lesser black-back gull, but it's got pink legs and it is very dark, another one also very dark flies over. They are quite distant and hard to get an idea of size, but I'm sure they are Great Black-backed Gulls, on a photo I see a young one too. This is the 65th bird species on the patch.

Great Black-backed Gull.

I walk to Fountain Road. I surprise a Little Grebe fishing in the middle of the drain. It quickly dives and moves to the vegetation. I hide behind the bridge, with the sun on my back, and it eventually moves again to the clear water, keeping an eye on my all the time.

Little Grebe.

A lone Pink-footed Goose flies north calling.