I found this adult Mediterranean Gull at Dogsthorpe rubbish tip this morning in amongst a group of Black-headed Gulls. A lovely bird that is practically in full summer plumage and it was present along with a 2nd winter Med Gull and a Yellow-legged Gull which looked like a 3rd winter bird to me, but I am no expert. There were no signs of any white wingers, but the majority of the larger gulls were seen to be present on the non-accessible side of the tip, so yesterdays Iceland Gull could have been there.
The above photos show the birds` position in the group and then I have cropped the pictures to show the Med Gull a bit closer. It is the bird that is continuously in the centre of frame.
A wonderful spot John.. and I have to admit it would have passed me by.
ReplyDeleteI am really trying to get to terms with gull ID and have purchase a few books to help. I live close to Moore Nature Reserve nr Warrington which sits between the Manchester Ship Canal and a waste tip... Gulls a plenty with all the rarities spotted. Just not by me.
2012 may be the year..
Thanks Andrew!
DeleteGull I.D. improves with practice. I am still a long way off, but with help from the likes of Josh and other very good gull watchers I am slowly improving. Getting out in the field pays dividends.
J
HI John..I think somebody layed and egg in the wrong nest thus being hatched by a Med. Gull it thinks he is one of them hahaha!!
ReplyDeleteGood job spotting him in with all those other gulls!!
Grace
PS..Gull's love rubbish!! : }
Hi Grace,
DeleteThank you. We get at least a couple of these types of gulls every year, although this year we have so far had at least 5 different individuals in the PBC area.
Gulls do indeed love rubbish, the things I have seen them eating beggars belief!
J
My god, you have taken the Med Gull, tucked away. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI wish you never had the word verification, it is a terrible thing.
Hi Bob,
DeleteThank you, it was/is a beautiful gull.
J
Is he the one with the bright red bill and black/white head? He does stand out from the rest.
ReplyDeleteHi Wanda,
DeleteYes, that`s the one! Also, the adults have pure white wing tips or primaries, which hopefully you can see in picture 2.
J
That's alot of gull! Nice series of photos!
ReplyDeleteHi Tammy,
DeleteThank you. Yes, a lot of gulls which leads to gull blindness!
J
Well done John, it might have been in a rubbish place ;-) but definitely a nice gull to find.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan,
DeleteThank you, yes a rubbish place, but the best place for gulls! ;)
J
I'm glad you said what it was John; I'd have missed that one for sure.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you wouldn`t have Keith, but Thank you.
DeleteJ
Hi John. It made me laugh out loud when I read "....but I'm no expert...". What does that make me?!
ReplyDeleteClick here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
Bazza, you are an expert in things that I have no knowledge in whatsoever! We are all different, at least you have an interest! From little acorns grow large oak trees, or something like that!
DeleteJ
Nice find John :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Alan!
DeleteJ
Good spot, John. It would have been easy to miss it by just concentrating on looking for the Iceland Gull. Rubbish Gull is a much better name than 'Seagull' anyway.
ReplyDeleteHi John,
DeleteThank you. It tended to stick out from the others a bit, mind you, I would still have loiked to see an Iceland, or is that being greedy!
J
A nice find John.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed to observe them at around dusk if I have been in Sainsbury's car park, they all launch from there and head across the city probably to Gunwade lake.
Hi Roy,
DeleteThank you. Yes, there are hundreds, if not thousands of gulls that leave this place to go off and roost. This bird was seen later that day at CEGB reservoir along with about 2,500 other gulls by yours truly!
J