Fish Eating Birds

Gull (Black-headed)

admin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:49:40 +0000

The Black-headed Gull is a small gull that can be found throughout England near the sea. In winter it can be seen more inland on ploughed fields, farmlands, parks and even on rubbish tips looking for food. Although it has the name ‘Black-headed’, its head is actually a dark chocolate brown colour in the summer and in winter its head is mainly white with only a dark spot behind each eye.

The Black-headed Gull is a pale grey-white bird, apart from the chocolate brown coloured head. However, in its first summer it has brown markings on its wings. It has slim pointed wings which have whiter stripes on the edges of the upper wings. Its beak and legs are a reddish colour and its eyes are black with a white crescent ring around them. It has a wingspan of around one hundred centimetres.

Black-headed Gulls can be seen in small flocks making loud noises. They seem to be quite quarrelsome when flying in groups. They often beat their wings very quickly and are very agile in flight. They can even catch insects in mid-air. Sometimes Black-headed Gulls do a rain dance by moving their feet up and down to attract earthworms.

Gull (Common)

admin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:50:16 +0000

The Common Gull is a gull that is actually not that common at all in England. It is mainly seen in the North near to the sea coast and sometimes inland on farmlands, lakes, playing fields and reservoirs. In winter it is possible to see these gulls in towns and housing estates and also on rubbish dumps looking for food.

The Common Gull is a white bird that has a blue-grey back with black markings on the tips of its wings. However, a Common Gull in its first summer has a grey back with brown mottling and a black tail. In winter it has grey markings on its head. The Common Gull has a wingspan of around one hundred centimetres and the upper wings are a pale grey-white colour. Its thin beak and legs are a greenish yellow colour and it has two dark round eyes.

Common Gulls can be seen flying together in small groups making lots of loud noises and sometimes their calls sound like laughter. They can often be seen feeding together on ploughed fields where they do a rain dance by moving their feet up and down to attract earthworms. They also eat flies, moths, beetles, small mammals, fish and eggs. Common Gulls are very agile fliers that can catch flying insects in mid-air.

Heron (Grey)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:04:03 +0000

The Grey Heron is a member of the Heron family and is the tallest bird in England. It can be seen throughout England near lakes, slow-flowing rivers and estuaries. It can also be seen in damp fields near to water. It can easily be recognised by its long legs and neck which it often holds in a ‘S’ position when hunting for food. This heron can often be seen standing very still in water waiting to catch fish.

The Grey Heron is predominantly a grey bird with a white head, chest and belly. It has a crest of long, black wispy feathers and black feathers running down its long white throat. It has a long, pointed, yellow beak which can change to a deep orange colour.

The Grey Heron is a wading bird that makes long deliberate strides when wading in water. Sometimes it will stand up to its breast in water when looking for food. The Grey Heron mainly eats fish and sometimes it steals goldfish from garden ponds. When a Grey Heron flies, it curves it wings into a ‘M’ shape and trails its long legs behind its body.

Kingfisher

admin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:51:19 +0000

The Kingfisher is a bright electric-blue and orange bird that has a long pointed dagger-like beak. It can be found throughout England near still or slow-flowing waters such as rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and canals, but it is very rarely seen because it is extremely shy.

The Kingfisher is a small bird with quite a large head. its head is mainly electric-blue with orange cheeks. It has a white throat and white markings on each side of its neck. The upperparts are electric-blue and the underparts are orange. It has broad wings and a very short tail. The male Kingfisher has a black beak, whereas the female has a beak that is black on top and a reddish colour underneath. The Kingfisher's legs are a bright red colour.

Kingfishers can fly very quickly and can beat their wings so fast that they almost look like a blur to the eye. They often fly straight and over low water, but if they cross land they fly higher. Kingfishers prefer to perch when hunting for food so they try and find perches that overhang water and then patiently wait for any prey to flow or pass by. They mainly feed on fish and sometimes on aquatic insects.