************************************* Dance, with us wherever you may be. We are the stars of the dance are we, Swirling and curling, soaring and free, Lifting your spirits, so dance with me… ************************************** …Or me.
Blacked-headed gulls… …are winter visitors to all parts of the UK, including Lambeth Reach on the Thames. I have watched them floating as they tread water scavenging bugs and plant material brought in with the tides, gathering food on the foreshore, and darting elegantly over the water catching insects.
Discover more about black-headed gulls here: The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds RSPB and All About Birds
Herring gull carrying what should provide a hearty meal
There are said to be 125 different species of fish in the tidal River Thames from Teddington Lock to the Thames Estuary, and some of them end up as meals for birds and seals that live there too. Here below are a few action pictures taken during walks along Lambeth Reach.
Gull flies off with its fish
Eel Meals Eels found in the River Thames (Anguilla anguilla) are known as European eels. “They possibly have the longest migration of any fish species in the world.” A report on ‘Eels in the River Thames’ by the Institution of Environmental Studies goes on to explain that “the European eel begins its life in the Sargasso Sea, over 6,000 kilometres from the Thames Estuary.” Their eggs hatch into transparent, 5-8 millimetre long eel larvae called leptocephali, which float on the Gulf Stream for roughly one or two years before arriving on the shores of western Europe. As there has been a dramatic decline in their numbers during recent years, they are now a protected species.
However, being a protected species, doesn’t save them from predation. Larger fish, and as you will see here, seabirds and seals will catch and eat them if they can.
Caught, and now the struggle beginsOn the way downAfter much effort the eel is almost swallowed and can be seen going down the cormorant’s neck
Seeing cormorants grappling with eels is quite common if you spend any time by the river but rarer is catching a seal making a meal of one.
Seal making a meal of an eel
Shell snacks Judging by shells left on the foreshore, exposed by falling tides, birds feed on a variety of shellfish, including cockles, mussels and native oysters.
Black headed gull alighting on Victoria Tower Gardens’ embankment wall with something in its beakYoung gull flying past with a shellfishYoung herring gull with a shell in its beak. Next step: crack it open
Spend any time by the river at low tide and you might well see both crows and gulls dropping shells onto a hard surface in order to crack them open. Some fly and drop their shells from a height and some attempt a sharp crack onto the ground. It doesn’t always work and juveniles having seen adults dropping shells, sometimes mistakenly drop their shells back into the water. But they learn…
Herring gull attempting to break its shellCrow with a shell that needs openingCrow, having dropped and opened its shellfish, is pestered by someone wanting a shareCrow with a crab
The scavengers As always, there are beaks ready to profit from what the river has to offer in the way of dead animals. Lesser black-backed gulls seem to be first in the pecking order.
Lesser black-backed gull with a barely recognisable carcass of a squirrel or ratBlack-backed gull approaching a fish carcass. Quite a large fish with its tail fin spread out across the stonesBlack-backed gull pecking at the fish carcass, which is attracting attention from a crow and a juvenile gullBlack-backed gull pulling at the wing of a dead crow
It is possible that the crow got into trouble in the water and drowned before being before being attacked, though I have seen a description of such an event here: Seagulls vs a crow.
Black-backed gull continuing to struggle with the body of dead crow
Miscellaneous meals Yet there is other food too. Crows, ducks, geese, gulls, pigeons, and swans find alternatives in the water or on the foreshore.
Herring gull eating some of the algae growing on a Palace of Westminster markerBlack-headed gulls on wash waves, waiting for nourishment floating upstream with the flood tide
Black-headed gulls appear to wait in certain spots on Lambeth Reach, treading water, catching tidbits coming in with the tide for as long as they can. If they’re carried too far upstream, they fly back to where they were, where supplies were plentiful, and the process is repeated. They can also be seen flying over the water, catching insects, particularly on warmer days.
Egyptian goose family foraging on the foreshoreCanada goose family nibbling on the foreshorePigeons find lots to eat on the tideline
Pigeons will eat almost anything and here, close to Lambeth Bridge, they find food on the foreshore, specially brought up on the flood tides.
Swans finding food
Among their mainly vegetarian diet, swans will eat green algae, which is what they’re doing here, bending their long necks into the river bed at around low tide.
Three swans on a visit to Lambeth Reach
The above gallery is just a snapshot of bird feeding activity I’ve observed along Lambeth Reach, and to know more, you can explore the sites listed below.
