When the dark chocolate brown (not black) cap of the black-headed gull disappears and is replaced by a couple of dark, scuff-like makings I know that summer is past and the colder months lie ahead. Similarly, when those disappear and the hood makes its re-appearance in stages until the striking hood is complete, by the end of March, I am reminded that sun and warmth are on their way. This young example of the species caught my eye when it was lit by the low winter sun against a dark watery background on Newent Lake in Gloucestershire.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Nikon P900
