Posted: 28/02/22

Sunset 27 January - Africa Gomez

I’m an urban birder in a flat city.  I watch the birds from the ground.  Standing on this wooden box hovering over the City of Hull has been a wonderful experience.  The Humber Bridge sits on the horizon, the City Hall, Hull Royal, The New Theatre, Brynmor Jones Library in the distance.  I watch the gulls gliding effortlessly around me on the breeze.

I’m lucky the sky is a blue canvas.  The traffic looks remote, not threatening, people walk on the ground, the Humber glistens, the sun bright, just a few clouds riding the Wolds.

There are some Mallards in the pond.

I turn East, the Humber looks purple.  Drypool Bridge.  I can just see the River Hull but not The Deep, Salt End, the plantation of Sunk Island, even the Grimsby Tower.

I’m above the Wilberforce Statue.

A Magpie hops then flies under my feet.

Gulls keep passing, some swirl over the Queen’s Garden pond, looking for food.

A Feral Pigeon flies above the box, a young Herring Gull at eye level.

Woodpigeons fly to the trees to roost.

The sun now hides behind a cloud.

A Sparrowhawk soars, rising above.

The sky to the East looks like a watercolour of soft pinks and blues.  The Humber turns darker, sea blue.

The Humber Bridge is now bathed in golden light, under dark clouds.

A group of Black-headed Gulls commute towards the Humber.

Starlings, one, two, singles, more a whisper than a murmuration.

I couldn’t have asked for a more stunning sunset.  The sun disappears, backlighting the clouds, behind the Humber Bridge.  It is so peaceful.