A ramblers ramblings

While I was driving into town this morning I saw two enormous birds flying over a stretch of wetland called the Loakers. At first I thought they were Herons, because they were so big, but then I realized that they had the sharp wing outline of gulls. They must have been lesser or greater black backed gulls, because they were huge. I would like to have had a closer look at them, but I was driving, so I couldn't.

While walking on the beach this morning with Janna, I was privy to a host of wildlife. I saw a very large crab in a shallow pool near some rocks. The only reason I saw him at all was because I noticed a large ripple in the pool and then I noticed the crab scuttling under the rocks. He was perfectly camouflaged to match in with the lichen covered rock. He is the second live crab I have seen, and the largest. There were lots of birds on the shore too, oyster catchers and gulls (but not my monster gulls unfortunately) and a heron flew up from some rocks as I approached, looping lazily across the strand in a very haphazard manner. Janna chased some of the oyster catchers, and with the dogged determination of her breed, I was afraid she would catch one, because they didn't fly very high. Luckily, they escaped. I also saw lots of tiny fish fry whizzing around the pools, and the imprint of webbed feet were all over the sand - is there anything cuter?

There is a talk on Blackrock's ecology this evening. I am looking forward to going to it and learning more about the beasties I see every morning on my walk.