Presumed Hybrid Herring x Caspian Gull

July 5, 2014, 12:43 pm

An interesting adult gull was present at Shawell A5 Lagoons today. On the water its grey upper parts appeared slightly darker than the nearby adult Herring Gull, but its head shape and size seemed wrong for a Yellow-legged Gull.

Eventually it walked out of the water revealing yellow legs and it had a metal ring, but not a colour ring. A colour ring would have helped sort out a few questions.

In the photos below you can see that it is small headed. Its body is quite slender and it stands in a similar way to a Caspian Gull. Amongst the features that are at odds with it being a Caspian Gull are its shortish legs, its bill being too colourful and its eyes are very pale with no obvious dark pigments. The longest primary feather (P10), which is just visible, looks to be very close to what should be exhibited by a pure Caspian Gull although in my opinion it had just a little bit too much black.

Despite it having yellow legs, I believe this is most likely a Caspian x Herring Gull. Quite a few known Caspian x Herring Gull hybrids have yellow legs.

Hybrid Gull

Birds are already on the move with small numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls arriving from the south and Black-headed Gull numbers are building up having been almost absent for a couple of months. A Common Sandpiper was also at the lagoons today.

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What Does Adventure Mean to Me?

July 11, 2014, 10:58 am

≫ Next: Birds are on the Move Again

≪ Previous: Presumed Hybrid Herring x Caspian Gull

I was sent an email by Berghaus recently, asking for adventurers to write a short piece on their Blog about ‘what adventure means to you’, so here goes...

For me adventure is being challenged by situations created by the natural world. Of course embarking on an adventure does not guarantee you will have one and you should never try too hard. Adventure can be experienced even in the most familiar of locations when the conditions alter and become more challenging. Personally I think adventure kicks off when we take ourselves out of our personal comfort zone and explore somewhere new.

A wise man I met on a wet day in the Cairngorm Mountains told me that adventure is retrospective fun. Ice blasted in your face, freezing temperatures and deep snow may not be pleasant, but you'll never forget it, so maybe he was right.

Adventure really gets going when nature asks questions of our ability, or when something completely unexpected happens. For those lucky enough to have been gifted with a spirit of adventure, there is still a wild world out there waiting to be explored...

Berghaus

What Does Adventure Mean to You?

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Birds are on the Move Again

July 19, 2014, 1:10 pm

≫ Next: Another Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

≪ Previous: What Does Adventure Mean to Me?

The seasons seem to fly by these days - it only seems five minutes since we welcomed the return of the summer migrants and now they've done their business (hopefully) and are once more preparing to fly south. Gangs of Swifts are charging up and down my street screaming as they go, which is a fantastic site on a warm and sunny evening. There is a small colony near my house that nest in one of the old buildings and each year they return to nest there. Sadly the number returning has being falling in recent years. Hopefully the fact that we have had a reasonable summer will have helped them raise a few new members of the gang. In a short time they will disappear again as if by magic.

Juvenile gulls are starting to appear at Shawell A5 Lagoons. Young Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls are the commonest. At least one juvenile Yellow-legged Gull has moved north already. Yellow-legged Gulls are usually commonest at the end of July in Leicestershire, so it is not surprising a few juveniles have moved north with the older gulls.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

They are not the best images of the juvenile, as they are just screen grabs from a short video, but the features all show up: whitish head with dark mask around the eyes, chunky all black bill, dark tertials with thin pale edges, the top greater coverts stand out as they are darker and not so heavily patterned as the lower ones and finally it's much bulkier than the juvenile Lesser black-backed Gulls that were also present.

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Another Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

July 24, 2014, 1:59 pm

≫ Next: Gulling - It's all in the Name

≪ Previous: Birds are on the Move Again

A visit to Shawell A5 Lagoons tonight produced another juvenile Yellow-legged Gull. This one was different to the one I wrote about in my last post - there are differences in the pattern on the greater coverts. Again the same features are present: whitish head contrasting with its back and wings, a dark mask around the eyes, heavy all black bill and dark white edged tertials. Many of the Lesser Black-backed Gull juveniles are still begging food from the adults and are obviously browner headed and have smaller bills.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

I noticed a dead animal on the A5 near where I watch the gulls and on inspection it appears to be a Polecat. I'm no expert on separating Ferrets from Polecats, so I welcome any opinions.

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Gulling - It's all in the Name

July 26, 2014, 11:49 am

≫ Next: Juvenile Caspian Gull at Cotesbach LF

≪ Previous: Another Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

lately one of the most well read postings on my Blog is 'Back to Gulling'. This didn't make too much sense to me, as the video attached to that post was not getting a proportional amount of viewings. Well I decided to Google search the word Gulling and was I in for a surprise. Apparently 'Gulling' is an activity that men who watch 'Doggers' do. In order to protect the innocent I won't describe what Dogging and Gulling is here, but I bet they weren't looking for pictures of Seagulls when they Googled Gulling!

I will have to check out the look on people's faces when I tell them I'm off Gulling at the weekend.

Anyway I had a great Gulling session today at Shawell. Every now and then I could see at least a thousand gulls in flight over the landfill site, but not all of them came to the lagoons. However, a good number of Yellow-legged Gulls came in - mostly adults. My best count so far this month is 23 adults in one flock at the landfill site. Three different juvenile YLG's also put in an appearance today, which was pleasing. Also the first juvenile Herring Gulls are beginning to appear.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (compare it with the juv. LBB Gull at the back)

Juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull for Comparison

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Juvenile Caspian Gull at Cotesbach LF

August 2, 2014, 2:35 pm

≫ Next: Colour Ring Update

≪ Previous: Gulling - It's all in the Name

Earlier in the week I noticed a juvenile gull laying down by one of the pools at the Cotesbach landfill site. It was juvenile Yellow-legged Gull like, but something nagged at me. I didn't see it standing up because the gulls were spooked and they flew off very fast.

This morning I picked out what is almost certainly the same bird stood in one of the shallow pools. The light was poor, so I videoed it knowing that I could get some screen grabs. I identified it as a juvenile Caspian Gull at the time and I am still of the same opinion after studying the images of it and comparing it with photographs of known juveniles Caspian Gulls.

Juvenile Caspian Gull

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull for Comparison (note the notched greater covert pattern)

It is longer winged and longer legged than the juvenile YLG's I've seen recently; its body is more elongated and slender; its head is smaller and slightly darker compared to juvenile YLG; its bill is not as massive and lacks the really obvious gonys angle of the juvenile YLG's pictured in recent postings; its greater coverts are brown centred with fine pale edges, which is good for this species and its tertials are not so finely edged white as in most juvenile YLG & LBBG.

Many juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls were present and most of them were much darker headed although a few frosty looking northern birds were present today. The leg length and the much longer body and wings easily seperated it from the juvenile LBB Gulls. A few juvenile Herring Gulls were present too and they were obviously different: larger headed, shorter legged and more greyer in tone.

Juvenile Caspian Gulls are quite rare in England, however, this almost certainly has more to do with the difficulty in identifying them and the poor coverage of this age in field guides. The features are subtle, but can be seen if looked for.

Juvenile caspian Gull

The long spindly legs help to rule out Yellow-legged Gull. The long length of the exposed tibia is very obvious in the pictures.

Juvenile Caspian Gull

The video below shows it in comparison to a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull. Sadly the quality of the video is poor, as it was filmed through waving grass stems just before it started raining. Check out its long legs and the amount of tibia exposed plus its body shape and the angle its body is to its legs for most of the time.

Hint: It's the middle gull...

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Colour Ring Update

August 4, 2014, 1:46 pm

≫ Next: Another Juvenile Caspian Gull

≪ Previous: Juvenile Caspian Gull at Cotesbach LF

My obsession with gulls continues unabated and my efforts during the summer have been worthwhile.

One of the things that has amazed me is just how many gulls are to be found in the centre of England during the summer months. It is also great to witness the gulls migrating through Shawell. Whether its the northward movement of Yellow-legged Gulls into the area during July, or the arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (intermedius) from Norway it's all interesting stuff. Knowing that many of the LBB Gulls will be going south to Iberia or beyond into Africa is also exciting (for me and a few like minded enthusiasts at least).

Getting good enough views of these wary beasts is quite a challenge, especially as the buggers panic every time a Buzzard flies past, or a helicopter, or they see their own shadow. Nonetheless I have managed to read quite a few colour-rings lately. The most satisfying was finally nailing a Dutch ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull. I first saw this gull last year, but I mis-read one of the letters and although there was only one gull with a similar code the ringer Kees Camphuysen felt it was best left un-proven. I read MAPD but the only one near was MARD. Well last Wednesday I saw what was most likely the same gull and this time I got a clear reading and it read MARD. This was the first proven sighting away from the breeding colony.

Lesser Black-backed Gull MARD from a Dutch Breeding Colony

Lesser Black-backed Gull MARD

MARD is a male and until this year he was paired with a British ringed female, but this year he gave her the boot for a younger version.

At the weekend I read the ring on a Norwegian born Lesser Black-backed Gull (JJ5M) that has been recorded in Western Sahara. This is a distance of 3782 km, which it travelled during its first year.

LBB Gull (LR.AR)

The gull above was ringed in Belgium and it is probably on its way to Morocco where it has wintered during the previous two winters.

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Another Juvenile Caspian Gull

August 7, 2014, 2:03 pm

≫ Next: Just Like Midland Red Buses

≪ Previous: Colour Ring Update

Another visit to the Shawell area on Tuesday night and another juvenile Caspian Gull. It was the first gull I looked at and I immediately realised it was a good one. At first it wasn't as structurally obvious as the juvenile I found last weekend, but its plumage was really good. Whist I was looking at it I realised it was colour-ringed.

Last year I set myself the target of finding a juvenile Caspian Gull and also a ringed Caspian Gull - well with this one I have struck gold. This is a great reward for the hours I spend searching through thousands of gulls.

Juvenile Caspian Gull (XDFV)

As soon as I saw the ring I knew I had to read it!

Luckily the colour-ring was easily readable. With help from Ronald Klien, I quickly traced the ringing origin to Eastern Germany. I was overjoyed that I had found a juvenile Caspian Gull and one that would help piece together where the Caspian Gulls visiting Britain originate from. I now know that it was ringed in a mixed breeding colony where Caspian Gulls dominate, but hybrids are fairly common. Both Ronald and I feel this is a good Caspian Gull, probably a female. I will have to wait a little while for the ringer to submit his report to the Hiddensee Ringing organisation before I receive all the ringing details.

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Just Like Midland Red Buses

August 9, 2014, 12:39 pm

≫ Next: More on Caspian Gull PADZ

≪ Previous: Another Juvenile Caspian Gull

We have a saying around ere that 'you wait ages for a Midland Red bus and then two arrive'.

Well colour-ringed Caspian Gulls are no different.

A large group of gulls arrived at Shawell A5 Lagoons this afternoon and amongst them was an adult Caspian Gull. It took a while to reach that conclusion, as it wasn't showing enough of its primary pattern at first and its eyes were slightly paler than normal. Eventually I managed to record a wing flap, which showed everything was in order in the primaries and I decided that its eyes are within the acceptable range.

I continued to watch it preening and splashing about and then it flapped its wings so hard it shot up in the air and revealed it had a yellow colour-ring. I switched to Jedi mode and using some powerful mind tricks I was able to persuade it to swim to the shore and climb out onto the beach. Once it stood still I was able to read the letters, which were PADZ.

Adult Caspian Gull (PADZ)

This gull already has history in the UK, as it was seen in December 2013 at Candles Landfill site, Telford. It was ringed as a chick in a Caspian Gull colony just west of Krakow, Poland in May 2009. This colony is outside the accepted hybrid zone for Caspian and Herring Gulls.

I can't stop tripping over juvenile Caspian Gulls at the minute. Before the big influx of gulls arrived I found another juvenile on the water and reasonably close to my spot in the hedge. The light was far too bright (always moaning about the light), but I did my best to get a few record shots through my scope. This one was a really impressive individual with a classic profile. It was already moulting some of its scapulars, which tells me it is not one of the other two I saw earlier this week and it was a larger, probably a male.

Juvenile Caspian Gull

By the way I think its Arriva Buses now.

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More on Caspian Gull PADZ

August 11, 2014, 11:50 am

≫ Next: And Another Juvenile Caspian Gull

≪ Previous: Just Like Midland Red Buses

Steve Lister has kindly reminded me that he saw PADZ at Albion landfill site in December 2013 and February 2014 (see chart below). He had commented on his first sighting that it was a typical Caspian Gull apart from its legs, which were shorter than normal. I saw it out of the water standing next to a Lesser Black-backed Gull, which had obviously shorter legs. I considered PADZ's legs to be moderately long rather than short or long.

Adult Caspian Gull (PADZ)

Primary Pattern of PADZ

Using the trait scoring chart that was in BB (also here), I scored it as follows.

P10 overall pattern: white to black ratio, score 0, less black than white
P10: white tip, score 0, clear white
P10: tongue, score 0, whitish or pale grey tongue
P5: extent of black, score 1, black on both webs connected, forming band, black on outer web deeper than inner
P4: extent of black, score 2, no black
Iris peppering, score 1, moderately dark
Eye ring colour, score 1, not seen so scored it average
Bill shape, score 1, slim, slight gonydeal angle (within ratio 2.4-2.79)
Leg length, score 1, moderately long

Total: 7

This falls within the range of a pure Caspian Gull. Most of the traits shown by this individual are the most common shown by the pure Caspian Gulls sampled. The eye colour might warrant another point as it was difficult to asses, but examining the zoomed up photographs I can see the eyes are obviously darker than typical adult Herring Gulls.

Below is a copy of the sightings of PADZ so far, which was provided by the Polish Bird Ringing Centre.

Sightings of Caspian Gull PADZ

Map of Sightings for PADZ

The map clearly shows the westward movement that this gull makes during autumn and winter. It is surprising that there are no sightings from the London area - keep a look out boys.

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And Another Juvenile Caspian Gull

August 15, 2014, 11:50 am

≫ Next: Hookpod - Saving the Albatross From Extinction

≪ Previous: More on Caspian Gull PADZ

During the summer months, when I can, I like to have an early evening visit to Shawell on at least one day. This Wednesday evening I chose to look into the quarry next to the landfill site and see what was about. A small group of gulls, mainly juveniles, were loafing around by one of the three small pools. A couple of juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were with them. I tried to Digiscope them, but it was quite difficult as the sun was shining straight on to my LCD screen. In the end I did manage to get a few records shots. The one in the first photograph shows the features quite nicely: large and robust, a large pale squarish head with an eye mask, a short but deep black bill, large brown scapular feathers and dark brown tertials with fine pale edges.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

The second individual was noticeably larger and its greater coverts were distinctly notched and some pale buff markings were visible on the tertials. Although most juvenile YLG's have just a fine pale edge to the tertials, some have notched tertials a bit like juvenile Herring Gulls. The brown of a juvenile YLG is much redder in tone compared to the frosty grey of most juvenile Herring Gulls. Also even though it is not that obvious in the photo below, its head was much whiter than the juvenile Herring Gulls present. The young Herring Gulls are mostly still begging for food from adults and as such are obviously much younger and fresher looking.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

The Same Juvenile YLG as Above

The photo above shows the opposite side of the larger juvenile YLG. In this image its head looks paler and you can see that it has already moulted some feathers and so it is on its way to first-winter plumage.

After grilling the juv. YLG's, I noticed a young gull with a pale head and its saddle was also very pale looking, because of the broad pale edges to the feathers.

Structurally it was very different to the juv. YLG's, more elegant and longer legged. Unfortunately it stood facing me and wasn't very photogenic in that pose. A flap of the wings revealed its very white looking underwings and I managed to see it very obvious black tail band, which contrasted with the very white upper tail coverts. So, long thin legs, long wings, white underwings and the tail pattern all seemed to point towards it being a young Caspian Gull. It flew on to the water where I was able to get some images, which clearly show the jizz of a Caspian Gull. Some of its feathers are quite faded, but it still appears to be a full juvenile. The bill shape is good, long and parallel with a shallow gonys angle.

Juvenile Caspian Gull

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Hookpod - Saving the Albatross From Extinction

August 17, 2014, 6:39 am

≫ Next: Hookpod

≪ Previous: And Another Juvenile Caspian Gull

Whilst at the Birdfair yesterday I noticed a stand talking about saving albatrosses. I have made donations in the past to help this cause and so I was interested in what they were doing. They are trying to bring a new product out, which will help greatly in preventing albatrosses getting themselves hooked whilst following longline fishing vessels. As you will probably know, the albatross takes the bait that is supposed to attract Tuna and ends up hooked on a massive hook before the bait sinks. Almost all of the World's albatross species are threatened, so they need our help.

The Hookpod, as well as preventing the albatross being hooked will also stop millions of chemical lightsticks being thrown into sea. The Hookpod has a built in LED light. The lightsticks are used to attract bait fish and once used end up discarded in the sea. The Hookpod only opens up once the hook and bait reach 15 metres, which keeps the hook from catching albatrosses.

Clearly this is a very worthwhile project, but it does need money to get off the ground. It's not up to me to tell anyone how to spend their money, but if you can make a small donation then hopefully it will make a real difference to albatrosses. I have given my donation.

Go read all about it on the Hookpod Website, which can be found HERE

Footnote:

Whilst checking out a few bits and pieces on the internet tonight, I came across something about the Hookpod and I was surprised to see an image of me on their stand at the Birdfair. I'm sure you all agree that they captured my best side.

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Hookpod

August 21, 2014, 11:16 am

≫ Next: Caspian Gulls

≪ Previous: Hookpod - Saving the Albatross From Extinction

Just a quick note to say that the Hookpod Team have been successful, with the help of those who donated, in reaching their target of £100,000. Hopefully they will do well with the trials and hopefully albatross bycatch will become a very rare event.

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Caspian Gulls

August 21, 2014, 12:01 pm

≫ Next: Caspian Gull Sightings at Shawell so far During 2014

≪ Previous: Hookpod

I had a good time gull watching (not gulling) at Shawell yesterday evening. I read a total of 16 colour rings and saw three Caspian Gulls and quite a few Yellow-legged Gulls.

The 1CY was slightly odd structurally, but its bill ratio and primary projection seem OK. In the photo below the primary projection looks short and measures short, but in other photos it measures OK and falls within the norm for 1CY. It is still too young to use the trait scoring system, but the traits that can be used are OK. It can make your head hurt trying to work out if a particular Caspian Gull is pure. Any opinions on this gull are welcomed, as I'm always keen to learn. You can either comment directly to the blog or email me. Comments on Blogger don't always seem to work, but I've found if you click on Preview after writing the comment it helps.

This 1CY is likely to be the same as the one seen on both the 9th and 13th August - see comments below.

Presumed 1CY Caspian Gull

Same as Above

Just prior to seeing the 1CY Casp, I spotted an adult, which landed reasonably close and stayed long enough for me to get a few images. Its plumage is spot on: you can see the underside of the longest primary on the far wing and the pattern is text book good. The bill is also good, although its eyes are a little pale, but not as pale as Herring or Yellow-legged Gulls. Its legs are long and thin and the right colour.

Close Up

The final one is a 2CY.

2CY Caspian Gull (at the back)

In addition to the three pictured here, I saw a very distant 2CY, which looked OK for Caspian Gull plumage wise, but structurally it was obviously not pure and had plenty of Herring Gull genes.

Below is one of the more interesting YLG's.

Beast of a 2CY Yellow-legged Gull

Colour-ringed LBB Gull (J7MM), ringed as a chick during July 2010 in Norway

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Caspian Gull Sightings at Shawell so far During 2014

August 22, 2014, 2:38 pm

≫ Next: Not Even Loved by its Mother

≪ Previous: Caspian Gulls

CDB's Caspian Gull Sightings at Shawell so far During 2014

· Second-winter, January 11th

· Adult, January 18th

· Second-winter, January 18th

· Fourth-winter, February 1st

· First-winter, March 5th

· Second-winter, March 5th (also seen on 15th, 26th, 29th March)

· Fourth-winter, March 8th

· Second-winter, March 22nd

· Second-winter, March 29th

· First-winter/summer, April 5th

· Juvenile, August 2nd

· Juvenile, August 5th (colour-ringed XDFV)

· Juvenile, August 9th (also 13th and 20th)

· Adult, August 9th (colour-ringed PADZ)

· Second-summer/winter, August 19th

· Adult, August 20th

All considered to be different gulls

Hybrids:

· Adult, February 7th

· Adult, March 5th

· Adult, April 9th (very like Herring Gull, but very long thin yellow legs)

· Adult, July 5th (metal ring on right leg)

· Second-summer/winter, August 20th (very large headed bird)

All presumed to be Caspian x Herring.

I will update this list for my benefit and anyone else's interest as the year goes on.

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Not Even Loved by its Mother

August 23, 2014, 1:40 pm

≫ Next: Juvenile Caspian Gull Re-visited

≪ Previous: Caspian Gull Sightings at Shawell so far During 2014

Today I started with a trip to Brascote Pits.

This site may be past its prime, because the best pool has dried out and a lot of areas are being choked by willows and scrub. However, I was pleased to see four Greenshanks and quite a few young warblers including a Lesser Whitethroat.

The skies were clear first thing and despite a cold wind the sun was very bright. The lay of the land at Shawell makes gulling difficult when it is sunny, so that's why I tore myself away from the gulls for a few hours. The cloud started to build up about 10 o'clock, so I set off to Cotesbach landfill site. It was bitterly cold there and a pair of gloves wouldn't have gone a miss whilst I endured some squally showers.

Initially the gulls were quite close and I soon picked up an adult Caspian Gull. Unfortunately one of the dumper truck drivers felt the need to drive through the flock, which pushed them further away from my viewing point.

Adult Caspian Gull

I thought, whilst watching it, that the adult Caspian Gull was most likely to be the one that I saw last Wednesday, but on close inspection it clearly isn't. Measuring the bill ratios of the two (using photographs) it is obvious that there is a significant difference. The one seen on Wednesday has a bill ratio of about 2.5 and today's gull has a ratio of about 2.8. Its eyes are also slightly darker and it appears less elegant than the one seen last Wednesday.

Now elegant isn't a word I'd use to describe this next gull. I first saw this one last Wednesday, but it was too distant to photograph. I had it down then as a hybrid Caspian x Herring and after seeing it closer I am of the same opinion. It shows many similarities with Caspian Gull as far as its plumage is concerned, but structurally it is very odd. Its saddle is quite typical for second-winter Caspian Gull, as is its whitish head and underparts and its dark greater covert bar. The head is a little too streaked, but the streaks on the neck are quite typical. However, its head is too big, its bill too short, its primary projection is also too short, as are its legs and its far too dumpy looking.

Presumed Hybrid Caspian Gull

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Juvenile Caspian Gull Re-visited

August 24, 2014, 7:50 am

≫ Next: Shawell Again

≪ Previous: Not Even Loved by its Mother

I have been going through my images of a juvenile Caspian Gull that I saw on three separate dates this month. I have changed my mind a couple of times as to whether it was the same bird, due to apparent differences in the photos on separate days. However, after Tom Lowe suggested it was the same bird, I had another look at the images and now I am happy to say I agree with him.

August 9th

The images above were all taken on August 9th and even though they were all taken over a short period of time the effects of the light alter the colour of the gull.

Below is the same individual on August 13th and then the 20th:

August 13th

August 20th

Constructive comments are always welcomed.

Thanks for taking a look and Best Wishes,

Bag.

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Shawell Again

August 28, 2014, 1:24 pm

≫ Next: It's Amazing the Difference a Few Days Make

≪ Previous: Juvenile Caspian Gull Re-visited

I spent the early part of the evening at Shawell again this Wednesday. Once again it was quite productive with a respectable total of nine colour rings being read including three from Norway.

J148E Second-calender Year Lesser Black-backed Gull (intermedius)

No Caspian Gulls this week, so far, but at least 13 different Yellow-legged Gulls. At least half a dozen were juvenile or first-winter types. The one in the photos below was quite a brute and offered me plenty of wing flap opportunities to photograph. This isn't easy digiscoping, but I did manage to get a few open wing images.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

Typical Underwing Pattern of 1CY Yellow-legged Gull and also Tail Pattern

Quite a Size Difference

Take a look at the gull in the image below and tell me what it is please. It stood out amongst a gathering of juvenile Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls. It had moulted many of its mantle and scapular feathers, which none of the other juveniles, apart from some of the young Yellow-legged Gulls, had. Also it had a fine bill and long spindly legs. Its advanced state of moult was similar to some of the Yellow-legged Gulls but its jizz (recognisable characters) does not seem to match. Structurally it looks a little like a Caspian Gull, but its plumage doesn't seem right? It appeared slightly more elongated than the other nearby young gulls.

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It's Amazing the Difference a Few Days Make

September 3, 2014, 1:46 pm

≫ Next: First WeBS Count

≪ Previous: Shawell Again

Last month I was tripping over Caspian Gulls, but whatever attracted them to Shawell is not working at the moment. Watching a site regularly is fascinating as you can actually witness the passage of gulls through the site. Herring Gull numbers had built up today compared to last month and there appears to be more LBB Gulls. However, most of the Yellow-legged Gulls had disappeared today. I saw at least ten different first calendar-year YLG's on Saturday, but just one this evening. 19 different YLG's of various ages were present on Saturday, but just three were there tonight amongst around 2000 LBBG's.

1CY Yellow-legged Gull

The 1CY Yellow-legged Gulls I saw on Saturday varied in their state of advancement towards first-winter plumage. Some were still very juvenile like, but most were similar to the one in the photo below.

I saw a few colour-ringed LBBG's tonight including Dutch ringed NP, which I have now seen on nine different occasions since 2012. NP seems to hang around Leicestershire until late in the year and then spends the cold months in Spain - can't fault him. I also saw single colour-ringed gulls from Germany and Norway.

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First WeBS Count

September 6, 2014, 12:38 pm

≫ Next: Norfolk Trip

≪ Previous: It's Amazing the Difference a Few Days Make

I have agreed to count Shawell A5 Lagoons for the WeBS (wetland bird survey), so although the official day is tomorrow, I did my first count today. Fewer gulls visit the site on a Sunday when the tip is shut, which is why I elected to do Saturday.

There is only a small area of water compared to many sites, so no massive duck numbers, but I was very pleased when Chris Wiltshier spotted a Black-tailed Godwit. We also had single Dunlin, Common Sandpiper and Snipe. Five little Grebes were also present.

The online survey form thinks that eight Yellow-legged Gulls is a big number - not sure what it would think about the numbers present in mid-summer?

A few more Great Black-backed and Common Gulls were present today and a couple of the big boys posed for the camera.

Great Black-backed Gulls

No rare or scarce gulls today, but I did scratch my head trying to work out what the gull below is. I presume it is just a non-typical 2 CY LBB Gull, but it doesn't look like any of the others I saw of a similar age today. You have to accept that most of the unusual ones are part of the normal variation and move on. I would, however, be interested to know what anyone else thinks.

Lesser Black-backed Gull?

2CY LBB Gull?

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