In the hot and humid conditions near home this morning, there must have been a massive swarming of flying ants. At about 11 am I counted seven to eight hundred Black-headed Gulls excitedly hunting ants, probably below 100 metres above the ground. Via binoculars, I could see several Common Gulls and at least one Herring Gull also feeding, or attempting to do so, along with several Jackdaws. The activity lasted only about 15 minutes. A single Common Swift, possibly the last of summer, was hunting above the mob, but no hirundines, although there was a small passage of juvenile Barn Swallows yesterday.
This year, I've noted only a few ant swarms being predated, and then only by perhaps 30 birds at a time.
MJB