Seabirds in Sanctuary.

We had a change from our run of frosty days with cloud cover from dawn to dusk. There was rain forecast for the nearby Marlborough Sounds but none fell in the Blenheim area. When the dog and I visited the Taylor Dam this morning I was surprised to find dozens of unusual visitors happily floating on the lake. They are black-back gulls and they seemed to be very happily making themselves at home. We have had extremely stormy weather all along the east coast over the last week. There have been enormous ocean swells causing much damage to the coastline and bird habitat. Thus the gulls are taking shelter on our fresh water lake until Mother Nature settles down again.