Gulls - a nightmare in Ramsgate

Ramsgate is a strange place - elegant Regency and Victorian architecture mixes with trashy arcades and loud chavs. The harbour is similarly full of contrasts, with the working yards and boats providing a foreground to sleek yachts and wide seascapes.

It's a good place for watching gulls, with a range of plumages to baffle the non-expert (like me).

Great Black-Backed Gull

Sundry juveniles - I'll guess at Herring Gulls

The pontoons in the harbour hold a selection of birds, especially in winter, when comorants and shags are frequent.

I'd say this is a second-winter Common Gull....but I'd be wrong of course, as it's just another Herring Gull. This is despite the fact that none of the books show herring gulls with black beak tips. Ah, so much to learn........

...and a juvenile Lesser Black-Backed Gull?

The adult gull is a Lesser Black-Back, as the yellow legs are clear - with a metal ring, incidentally.

Just off Kingsdown beach I saw this boat presumably collecting lobster pots.....hang on, isn't that the same one as in the Ramsgate harbour photo above?