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You really don’t have to go far to see wildlife here in Hull. On a short trip along the river front this week-end between Humber Quay and Alexander Dock I saw a fair few feathered-friends. The Woodpigeons are certainly busy breeding. Still feeding the two youngsters from an earlier nest they’re already incubating another pair of eggs, with the parents shuttling back and forth to feed the earlier two – a sort of ‘meals-on-wings’ service! If they’re anything like domestic or feral pigeons it’s usually the male that continues to feed the older youngsters. They seem to breed just about all year long and there’s always plenty to eat for them in the city. One of the nests is in a tree and one in a shelter – posh pigeons, these, a town house and a country house! Perhaps I ought to call them the ‘Prescott Pair’? I spotted a fair number of House Martins and Sparrows (not so common these days) in the Victoria Dock area. The House Martins had a few recently fledged young ones amongst them flexing their wings – incredible to think they will be off to Africa soon! Looked like the parents were showing them the ropes. Further towards Alex dock a little family of Pied Wagtails were enjoying a bath in rain water puddles amongst the recently dredged gravel – their tails really never seem to stop wagging! I wonder why they wag? The youngsters are not black and white yet but a dull brown and it was hard to spot them on the mounds of gravel and pebbles! On the old wharf you can usually see a Cormorant or two – I have seen one fishing off a boat on the Marina (no, it didn’t have a licence!). A couple flew overhead and I managed a photo of one of them. How they manage to see anything in the muddy Humber I’ll never know but they have a voracious appetite for all things fishy and this has done little to endear them to anglers and fish breeders. The Japanese and Chinese were quick to recognise their potential and trained them to dive and catch fish for them – maybe we could follow suit? We could save a fortune on rods and bait! Curlews, Greenfinch, Linnets, Starlings (foraging for creepy crawlies amongst the drying seaweed), Mallards and Moorhens were also seen – all within walking distance of the city centre.