The Beast of May

When my phone rings before breakfast and 'Mike Morse' is displayed on the screen, I am sure my pulse rate responds instantly. That was definitely the case this morning, and even more so when I learned the reason for his call.

A few minutes later I was at West Bexington beach car park, watching a superb Glaucous Gull. Not what I might have expected in mid-May, and particularly incongruous when you consider that Portland Bill was graced with a Bee-eater this morning! But I'm always up for a good gull! It isn't often I devote a whole post to one bird, with multiple samey pics, but this one deserves it...

It was on the sea when I arrived, and the first photos I got were taken as it lifted off to fly towards...

...the beach. Yes!

I've noticed that photos of birds on the beach can sometimes be enhanced mightily by what the sea is doing. I love that one above. And as a dark background to a pale bird, the sea makes the next one pop rather nicely too...

Just look at that lump! Scraggy, but so impressive!

Sorry about that, I just couldn't help myself. It seemed a shame not to overdo it a bit, pics-wise. When the Nikon P900 is given plenty of light and several bites of the cherry, it can produce pretty smart photos. Admittedly I am easily pleased, and well know that it is like a 110 cartridge film camera (anyone old enough to remember those horrors?) to a DSLR's 35mm, but it'll do me. With a -0.7 exposure compensation (pale bird/sunshine) and some post-processing tweakage, what's not to like?

I am supremely grateful for the prompt calls I get from Mike and Alan when they find something a bit unusual. Because they cover West Bex and Cogden just about every day it is far more likely they will be phoning me rather than the other way around, but I do wish I could reciprocate a bit more often. Sometime in the next week or so would be good!