counting coots

Yes, gulls again.  Look I'd love to be able to tell you all about how mentally bonkers my Wrynecks were or how late the Stone Curlews are - but I can't.  But you know that.  Anyway here is some, er, ornithology.

The Mallards in part of the river spend their mornings (especially at lowish tide levels) sifting through the waters edge to the exclusion of all else.  The Gulls normally just do gull things.  However, yesterday morning there was a Black Headed Gull standing downstream of the Mallards picking off anything that they disturbed.  In a kind of Cattle Egret/Cattle situation.  Occasionally the Mallards took offence to this and tried to bite the gull.  I know that if someone was trying to muscle in on my breakfast, this would be my response that would be observed.

I've never seen this before -  the gulls are usually quite adept at finding enough food for themselves but it might be interesting to see if anymore of them learn this behaviour.  Unless of course they all do it and my observations of gulls has been less than first class.  No chance of that though, eh?