Early start on Monday, I arrived on Slapton beach before sunrise. As the sun came up the Laughing Gull came into view and as the morning progressed I managed to get a number of photos. I walked along the beach from the Memorial car park to the shops. About 3/4 of the way to the shops a struggling Black-headed gull caught my attention. The gull was waterline of an in coming tide fighting to keep its head above water. A close-up through my camera revealed why it was struggling, it had a fishing hook attached to its beak with a short length of line and a heavy gripper weight (a weight with wires designed to grip the seabed) anchored to the floor. I freed and released the bird and took the offending discarded fishing gear away for safe disposal.
