18/09: GULLS, GULLS, GULLS

We had to cut short our holiday as Mum-in-Law (aged 94) fell and broke her shoulder and her hip - both have been operated on and she's doing very well but will be immobile for weeks/months so we'll be hammering up and down the motorway to London several times per week.

Blogposts will be a bit sporadic but I should have some new art to show soon ... in the meantime I still have masses of photos from Fuerteventura to sort out so I make no apologies for posting a selection when time permits.

Fuerteventura gulls are so much better behaved than the 'thugs' we have in England .... I wonder if its because the fish are so plentiful that the gulls don't need to steal from humans - they are content to bob around in the water in large groups or when the weather is windy, just play in the air.    They get fed periodically by local fish restaurants who throw 'bits' into the water for them - even then, they don't fight or cause a nuisance.

Anyway, I think these are yellow legged gulls - adult and juvenile

The 'poorer' ones have to rest on the water - just bobbing around having a chat and occasionally diving for fish

whereas the richer ones have boats LOL

Waiter service has arrived:

and some expect silver service .... at various points around the town beaches there are wooden tables by the sea where fisherman clean their catches and the gulls wait patiently to be served

Here's the 'waiter' descaling the fish ... no gull customers yet as he hasn't got to the best bits

here they come ... but in a very orderly fashion and no fighting at all:

 

I think the next post may be about more sea/shore birds as I spent a lot of time watching them - I hadn't appreciated in earlier visits just how many varieties there are and most are so well camouflaged they are difficult to photograph.   

Much as I love my camera, an old Panasonic DMC FZ20, we've decided its time to buy one with a more powerful lens.  I can't be doing with all the chopping and changing of lenses and it will have to be fairly idiot-proof as I'm very much a point and shoot photographer.  It also has to be small/light enough to fit into Ryanair's size handluggage as we rarely travel with suitcases.  David is researching cameras at the moment but if anybody has any suggestions I'd be grateful for your input.