With a huge improvement in light levels, due entirely to a very rare appearance by the sun (remember it?) I headed back down to the harbour for another session with the new lens. I'm hoping to encounter a few Rock Pipits which exhibit plumage traits which are associated with the "Scandinavian" race. I failed dismally, this morning, with just one fleeting, flight view, during my entire visit. The immature male Eider was still present in the outer marina and two Kingfishers were seen as I wandered around the site. Turnstones were numerous and encountered at many points as I did the normal circuit of the harbour. I spent a bit of time getting some more images of birds around the same puddles, as yesterday, outside the Lifeboat Station.
It was down to the gulls to provide any real opportunities to test my, very limited, camera skills with birds in flight. The technology available to me is far superior to anything I've used previously and is certainly far more talented than the long-haired clown holding it. The gulls in the harbour are constantly being disturbed by the crews of the Border Force, off-shore wind farm, Thames Pilot and the local fishing fleet vessels plus the usual pedestrian visitors. Absolutely nothing willful is involved, just everyday activity around this very busy location. Over the years I've been privileged to have seen some really unusual gulls at this site but, today, despite some prolonged scanning, I failed to spot anything other than Black-headed, Herring and Great Black-backs.
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| Adult Great Black-backed Gull |
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| 1st cy Herring Gull |
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| 1st cy Great Black-backed Gull |
On my way back towards the van, I spent a while attempting to capture some images of the local Fulmars. All I can say is that it's a work in progress, as I really struggled to get the camera to remain focussed on these fast moving subjects. Only a mile away from the front door, I am confident that this challenge will have a positive outcome once I've had some Youtube tutorage?
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| By far and away the best image I captured, of a Fulmar, this morning. Plenty of scope for improvement, that's for sure. |
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