Iceland Gull: For the past few weeks there has been a juvenile Iceland gull that has been regularly reported loafing about on the main lake at Moses Gate Country Park.
I now have a new job working for a ecological consultancy in Bolton and not too far from Moses Gate. I've been working from home as the guidance recommends since I started my new job at the start of January, but needed to go there today.
So after a long day of printing, planning and scanning in the office I headed home via Moss Gate .
Centred around three large lakes Moss Gate is just a mile or so from Bolton town centre, Moses Gate Country Park ia an uplifting taste of serenity and nature, away from the industrial Bolton town.
It's clear that Moss Gate is a popular place, with families and dog walkers enjoying their limited time outside. Not too busy, perhaps that's different on a weekend, I don't know. But everyone was behaving well and enjoying the outdoor freedom.
The gull wasn't hard to spot, there were some other Greater Manchester birders there to see it, again all well behaved and socially distanced. And the bird was sitting right in view on the main lake, in amongst the juvenile herring gulls.
The bird was pretty active when I arrived, following the families who came loaded with loaves of bread to feed the ducks, ready and willing to steal a slice or two.
Often it would jump into the feeding frenzies that would breakout as one herring gull was caught with some food. I even had it land on the grassy area where the black-headed gulls hang out, but only briefly before getting spooked by a dog walker.
Although herring gulls are slightly larger than Iceland gulls this bird in flight had a much larger appearance, perhaps its due to the stunning cream-white wings that stand out against the grey skies and grey black herring gulls?
The light was fading so I packed up and headed home, but if I'm working from the office again soon I might just come back for a second visit.
