Just a minutus

A flock of Little Gulls has been feeding in clifftop fields at Cogden for a about a week now - in the same field, in fact, that an obliging Sabine's Gull put on a show last October. I made it down there yesterday morning, without hesitation or deviation, though given the number of photos taken you'll just have to forgive any repetition:

Little Gull

Plucking worms from the surface of the field

8 or 9 birds were present when I was there but the flock has been as large as 16 birds

2nd winter birds have paler underwings compared to adults

Like last year's Sabine's Gull, not easy to get the exposure right for pale birds against the darker fields

Against the sky was a bit easier though

The Little Gulls were flying right overhead

None landed as close as the Sabine's Gull unfortunately

But they were close enough to see the short red legs - clearly visible at times...

...at other times the legs just look like an orange smudge on the belly

Exquisite birds - and very photogenic