The joys of winter ... Iceland Gull and showy Eiders at North Shields ...

Having failed to see the juvenile Iceland Gull earlier in the winter it was a particular treat so watch it in the mid-afternoon sunshine last week ...

... appearing with the milling Herring Gulls just offshore from the Fish Quay ... it then flew a little way upstream to give a nice fly-by view ...

... then as the Herring Gulls contested scraps in the harbour the Iceland Gull perched with the company of only one 1st winter Great Black-backed Gull on the Fish Quay roof ...

... striking a typically elegant pose ...

... and after the melee of Herring Gulls had dispersed a little consort of Eiders looked equally striking in the inky waters of the harbour ...