There were three things that struck me about the ring-billed gull this morning. First, I was surprised to see it amongst black-headed gulls (now classified as Chroicocephalus in Collins edition 2 and Birds of Ceredigion) rather than say with herring gulls within the Larus genus. Second, it was mewing, seemingly trying to bond with other gulls but meeting apparent indifference. Thirdly, it was about the only bird not rising to bread - a practice I don't think should be condoned - by a photographer. All in all, I thought it was a sad sight.
From the creek hide, a fleeting kingfisher, teal, a little grebe, 3 flying snipe and two curlews brought me back to good humour. On the way down - this jumps about like the excellent Jane Eyre film the other night - 17 curlew and 14 oystercatchers in the field below the Happy Cafe layby before Aberaeron. Without my forgotten scope, the flock of mixed gulls were just too far away to say whether they included any Mediterranean gulls.