Mediterranean gulls are numerous at Radipole all winter but always disappear in March - just as they are getting their smart breeding plumage.
We don't normally see them again until autumn when they are back in their winter plumage, so I was very pleased to see this perfect adult gull at Radipole this morning.
With it is an adult black-headed gull and underneath is a young herring gull, seeming to cause the other two much consternation.
The large fish that can often be seen thrashing about in Radipole Lake are carp, but recently there have been a few very large mullet feeding well up the River Way near the North Hide.
The small pectoral fin identifies these as thin-lipped grey mullet, as distinct from the thick-lipped grey mullet that are so common in Weymouth Harbour.
(If I can get some decent shots of these I'll add them to this post)
From the same bridge on the River Wey last week I filmed these much smaller fish.
I really don't know what they are but I suspect they are the young of a larger species.
Here is the thick-lipped grey mullet photo, as promised (filmed on July 9th in Weymouth Harbour).