Apologies, I have been neglecting my blog lately for one reason or another. Back in February I participated in the International Gull Meeting (IGM) that was held in Ruse, Bulgaria. Unfortunately I had picked up a very bad bug somewhere (work I think) and arrived back home feeling very unwell. I lost over a week feeling very poorly.
The IGM, organised by Strahil Peev, was very good and I really enjoyed the talks. I did a presentation on the Horsvaer, Baltic Gulls that went well I hope, but I have to be honest and say I was very nervous.
It is a really good opportunity to meet with new friends and old ones who share the same passion for gulls. It was my second meeting, so I am becoming a veteran although some there had been to every IGM ever held. I had a really good time talking with the Spanish guys and sharing my photos of gulls from Portugal with them.
We made two visits to the local dump. The first was a complete failure, as the gulls would not come in, but luckily we got some action on the second visit.
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| Ruse Tip |
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| Some of the Gulls |
Some of the Yellow-legged Gulls had a different primary pattern to the typical
L. m. michahellis we see further west. They are like birds described elsewhere as 'Eastern' Yellow-legged Gulls. Others were more typical of the ones I am used to seeing. The one below shows a pale tongue on the longest primary feather (P10). Generally there is more black on P10 of an adult Yellow-legged Gull.
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| Yellow-legged Gull, Ruse, Bulgaria |
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| Yellow-legged Gull, Ruse, Bulgaria |
The dominant species was Yellow-legged Gull, but some Caspian Gulls were present.
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| Caspian Gull, Ruse Bulgaria |
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| Caspian Gull, Ruse, Bulgaria |
We stayed in the Danube Plaza hotel, which of course was close to the River Danube. This great river was slightly disappointing as the best I could find was a few Coots and Mallards. I did see about 60 Hawfinches close to the river, so that was good.
