3cy Yellow-legged Gull, Seaforth. For some reason the camera has made this bird look a lot darker than normal - as it also has for the Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull in these shots!
Kittiwake, Seaforth
Juvenile Mediterranean Gull 1
Juvenile Med Gull 2
Adult Med Gull 1
Adult Med Gull 2
Peacock, HGF
Gatekeeper, HGF
Comma, HGF
Wren, HGFXXXXX
The sightings from the last week or so.
Xxx
Last Wednesday (4th) I visited HGF in the evening. Making a mockery of my predictions about Black-necked Grebes – two (adult plus juvenile) were present. A juvenile Kestrel was perched on the roof of Midhops barn again. The next day they had gone.
Xxxx
Thursday I managed a quick visit to Seaforth. There was a large flock of gulls and terns on the long bank so I concentrated on viewing from the hide there. I picked out four Meds – two adults and two juvewniles. An adult Kittiwake and a Sandwich Tern were also present. I also spotted a 3cy Yellow-legged Gull which I digiscoped. The photos of this bird looked odd when I viewed them at home and I began to doubt the ID. Fortunately I could rely on sensible analysis by Mr McKerchar.
Xxxx
Friday evening an adult Black-necked Grebe was present on HGF ( I make this between 9 and 13 birds that have passed through so far) and a large group of Swifts were passing through – there is clearly a lot of migration of this species going on at the moment. I am also seeing large groups of Woodpigeons on the move. After work I had paid a visit to Rixton. Four juvenile Little Ringed Plovers were present on Moat Lane pool 1 along with a Grey Wagtail. Around the mosses were good numbers of Linnets and House Martins but not much else to report.
Xxx
Later I took Bill for a walk to Newton Lake. The three Green Sandpipers were still present – also there I saw the escaped female Harris’ Hawk fly across the back of the pool carrying prey and dangling jesses. I haven’t seen this bird since late Feb – I later talked to a local who has seen the bird a few weeks before and had also spoken to other people who have seen the bird from time to time. A male Bullfinch was in the garden today and a Corn Bunting in Waterworks Lane.
Xxxx
Saturday morning I had a long, leisurely walk around HGF. It was a nice sunny morning and it felt really peaceful. Around the back of the west hedge the thistle beds were full of butterflies and I spent a while watching a couple of Wrens feeding young and a Jay flitting around. A juvenile Whitethroat and at least 30 Goldfinches were in the south hedge and at least 200 Swifts, 35 Swallows and 25 House Martins were feeding over the field opposite the kennels. A Buzzard and a Kestrel were also seen. Usual suspects on the water sans Black-necked Grebes.
Xxxx
At one point I noticed a Great Black-backed Gull come down and then flit back over the M6 to the east. I wandered round the path until I could scan the fields on the other side of the motorway. In addition to the GBBG were large numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, a single Common Gull and a 4cy Yellow-legged Gull. Cracking bird for the area – this one was technically in Croft. Male Bullfinch in the garden again and two Green Sandpipers and a Kingfisher at Newton Lake.
Xxx
Last Wednesday (4th) I visited HGF in the evening. Making a mockery of my predictions about Black-necked Grebes – two (adult plus juvenile) were present. A juvenile Kestrel was perched on the roof of Midhops barn again. The next day they had gone.
Xxxx
Thursday I managed a quick visit to Seaforth. There was a large flock of gulls and terns on the long bank so I concentrated on viewing from the hide there. I picked out four Meds – two adults and two juvewniles. An adult Kittiwake and a Sandwich Tern were also present. I also spotted a 3cy Yellow-legged Gull which I digiscoped. The photos of this bird looked odd when I viewed them at home and I began to doubt the ID. Fortunately I could rely on sensible analysis by Mr McKerchar.
Xxxx
Friday evening an adult Black-necked Grebe was present on HGF ( I make this between 9 and 13 birds that have passed through so far) and a large group of Swifts were passing through – there is clearly a lot of migration of this species going on at the moment. I am also seeing large groups of Woodpigeons on the move. After work I had paid a visit to Rixton. Four juvenile Little Ringed Plovers were present on Moat Lane pool 1 along with a Grey Wagtail. Around the mosses were good numbers of Linnets and House Martins but not much else to report.
Xxx
Later I took Bill for a walk to Newton Lake. The three Green Sandpipers were still present – also there I saw the escaped female Harris’ Hawk fly across the back of the pool carrying prey and dangling jesses. I haven’t seen this bird since late Feb – I later talked to a local who has seen the bird a few weeks before and had also spoken to other people who have seen the bird from time to time. A male Bullfinch was in the garden today and a Corn Bunting in Waterworks Lane.
Xxxx
Saturday morning I had a long, leisurely walk around HGF. It was a nice sunny morning and it felt really peaceful. Around the back of the west hedge the thistle beds were full of butterflies and I spent a while watching a couple of Wrens feeding young and a Jay flitting around. A juvenile Whitethroat and at least 30 Goldfinches were in the south hedge and at least 200 Swifts, 35 Swallows and 25 House Martins were feeding over the field opposite the kennels. A Buzzard and a Kestrel were also seen. Usual suspects on the water sans Black-necked Grebes.
Xxxx
At one point I noticed a Great Black-backed Gull come down and then flit back over the M6 to the east. I wandered round the path until I could scan the fields on the other side of the motorway. In addition to the GBBG were large numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, a single Common Gull and a 4cy Yellow-legged Gull. Cracking bird for the area – this one was technically in Croft. Male Bullfinch in the garden again and two Green Sandpipers and a Kingfisher at Newton Lake.
Hi Mike, nice pics especially of the long bank at Seaforth.I`m confused as to which bird you are calling a Yellow-legged Gull though.The bird which is hidden behind a thistle may well be an adult-type YLG but the bird with the debris in its bill is a Lesser Black-backed Gull as is the other 3cy bird.Mantle tones can vary with the light and in digital images but these two birds are far too dark for YLG and also structurally spot-on for LBB,
ReplyDeletecheers,Pete Kinsella.
Hi Pete
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback - always much appeciated. Apologies for the delay in responding - I have only picked up your comment today.
I found this an interesting bird (it is the one with the bread in its mouth I refer to) - primarily because in the field it looked like a YLG and I didn't have any particular doubts whereas when I got home and looked at these images the bird didn't look quite right. It took me a while to figure out what was bothering me - I questioned the structure and also the darkness of the mantle.
I also sought advice from a well known gull watcher whose opinion I (and many ohers) greatly respect. I mention this not to pit gull watchers against each other but simply to point out that I did think long and hard about this bird. The decsion to identify it as YLG was mine alone.
On the question of the bird being too dark - I have come to the conclusion that the camera is doing something weird to the tones. The ringed LBBG in the images to me looks dark enough for intermedius. Review of all the other images I took that day all show LBBG's to be this dark.
The bird behind the thistle is an argenteus Herring Gull - again looking much darker than it should. In this series of images the two comparison birds swap angles - the LBBG is always clearly darker.
In terms of structure - I would agree that it doesn't look like one of the huge chunky male YLG's that are seen, however why not a female? The head to me looks a little square shaped for a LBBG - best seen in the bottom image though angle does change this. Although the images portray the legs as strawish, in the field they appeared pale yellow.
In summary - because this bird is clearly a lot lighter grey than LBBG and is clearly darker than argenteus Herring Gull, the structure to me is consistent with YLG and primarily because in the field it appeared to be a YLG I thus identified it as such in this blog.
I don't think the camera has done it any favours.
Any thoughts or opinions are always welcome - I do accept I am very much a novice when it comes to gulls and other areas of birding for that matter.
Any private messages please to michael.baron31@googlemail.com
Kind rgds
Mike