Not so rosy

Had a quick check for ringed gulls at Alnwickhill this morning. Instead saw this unfortunate Black-headed Gull on one of the walls. It is not uncommon, of course, for gulls to have damaged legs or missing feet - injury due to predation or accident possibly.

Note the evidence in the photograph above of the Canada Geese that have taken up residence at the water works for the last week or so. Pic below from last weekend.

Most unusual sight today was a rose-flushed Common Gull. Too distant to make out any colour difference with the SLR, but clearly nicely pink through the scope. First one seen since last winter's bird, and it looked oddly apricot in the photographs - see here and here. Maybe I'll get a shot of it tomorrow. This pink flush is common in some gulls, but apparently relatively rare in Common Gull.

Edit 31/1/12: Just found this picture of a rosy Common Gull on a Norwegian blog: http://oslobirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/finallymed-gull.html