Dawn Chorus 2 and Med Gull corpse!

Yesterday's dawn chorus went really well - 35 people turned up for 6.30am at Snuff Mills, on the river Frome and the birds sounded great. I arrived at 6am and the sounds were even more tremendous and also heard a few kingfishers. The walk was rewarding with plenty of wrens, robins, blackbirds and chiffchaffs singing away. The bonus bird was a dipper flying at canopy level upstream - they've been a bit scarce at this site in recent years so this was a good spot. Two crows were incubating eggs in nests, green woodpeckers laughed around us and jays accompanied us throughout.

Popped over to meet a friend in Bath for a cuppa before coming home via Chew Valley Lake (swallows over pool) and back home for a rest. Well, almost - I got a tip off that a Mediterranean Gull corpse was down by the Severn Estuary. I quickly nipped down, like a 10 year old all over again on an intrepid adventure to look for something exciting. I found the bird - well, the head and wings. It looked like it had been eaten by the local peregrines. A new species for my feather and skull collection. Amazing seeing the white wings, deep red beak and black head feathers (compare the black-headed gull's brown head feathers!). Finally, it was time for a snooze and a rest!

Tonight there is hazy sunshine across north-west Bristol and lots of lovely birdsong; robins and blackbirds singing away before day gives way to tonight! Time for dinner I reckon.