Black headed gull hunting

Despite the heat, I suggested that Helena and I go to the lake at Frampton Court so we could get some exercise and a peaceful place to be in other natural surroundings. I'd also heard on the local bird sightings website that an osprey had been seen flying close to the lake yesterday. The chance of seeing another one there was an huge incentive to get out.

When we arrived there was no wind, not even a breeze and the wide expanse of lake water was being rather overwhelmed by algae and weeds. This hadn't deterred the more than fifty swans I counted  either standing on the shores or floating gently and grazing the weeds on the bottom. The lake was a gravel pit a long time ago and is of an even depth, well suited to swans neck lengths.

Helena settled down on a blanket with her book after a short spell photographing the lilies on the lake. I spent a long while in the sun staring into the distance for sightings of interesting birds. In fact there was less bird activity than usual. A small group of geese were sitting on the grassland under the trees on the lake's edge occasionally disturbed by a walker. 

I did spot two common terns which I love to watch as they fly round and round the whole lake looking for fish beneath the surface. But they rarely came near enough to me tog et a reasonable shot. They are spectacularly acrobatic flyers.

This bird, which I think is a type of black headed gull did fly closer to me. It did drop to thew water and poke its head under, but it didn't have the same skill as the terns which would dive straight into the water and become submerged, before regaining the surface and flying nimbly up and away. I didn't see them catch much.

We couldn't stay too long as the heat was intense and very tall clouds were beginning to gather as forecast, harbingers of the thunder, lightening and rain which did arrive later in the day.