As soon as I get off my bike I get the instruction to “count the Black-Headed Gulls.” I grab my binoculars and start working. Gulls come in a steady stream. Most pass in freight-train shaped flocks of a few hundred birds. Then there are the lone stragglers in between. Far away birds are difficult to see, they are mere blinking spots on the horizon. At times the Gulls start to swirl in thermals and while others pass in front, in between and behind them, keeping tally is a challenge. A few Little Gulls, Terns and Whimbrels go along in the flow.

I stand leaning at the cabin for seven hours straight. The sun is blazing, flowers perfume the air and the rolling waves muffle all other sounds. All this makes the whole experience hypnotizing. As there is nothing happening at sea I can concentrate fully on the Gulls. I count 24.000 Black-Headed Gulls on my 7 hours watch, just about one bird per second. The day-total of 38.072 individuals is an overwhelming new Estonian record and belongs to master-class worldwide. One in eight were juvenile.

Going to bed in the evening my feet feel the strain.

TiP Temporal distribution Naerukajakaid Naerukajakaid