Common Gull #96

After Kwchas mentioned that it was high tide this weekend, we decided to go to Hoylake this morning as the weather looked OK. It was more than OK with the sun shining all the time we were there, even if the wind was quite strong and cold. There were not too many birds around this time, apart from a few dunlin, one redshank, some crows and a lot of pigeons and starlings. However, my blip today is of a common gull that dropped in for a minute or two and I wasn't quite sure what it was. It was much smaller than a herring gull which was my first thought and it didn't have the smudges of a black headed gull, so I took a few shots of it so I could identify it later. When I got home I put it into the Merlin ID app, but it did not seem to recognise it, but I looked it up and am pretty sure it is a common gull, so I was pleased to be able to add this to my annual list. 
In extras is another shot that I liked, but I've already blipped these birds this year already - dunlin.
On our way home we took the long route and dropped in at Parkgate for a quick look. The hide tide was well over but we still managed to see plenty of birds but they were a bit too far away for decent photographs - male hen harrier, short eared owl(briefly), plenty of little egrets, herons and a few Great White Egrets. There were also plenty of geese, ducks and stonechats.