Adult Mediterranean Gull at Ferry Meadows CP, Peterborough

Mediterranean Gull at Ferry Meadows CP

This first-winter, moulting into first-summer Mediterranean Gull has been hanging around the duck feeding platform at Ferry Meadows CP in Peterborough for the past couple of weeks. It doesn't really seem to do a lot, just bobs around on the water, but the other day I managed to get a few shots of it in flight, which show the distinctive wing pattern and also the the partially moulted and re-grown tail feathers marking out its' age.

This species of gull has three age groups ; juvenile, first-winter/summer, second-winter/summer and third-winter/adult. The bird above is aged by its' partial hood on the head, slightly paler upper wing, moulting of its' tail feathers (shown in photos below)and the scaly appearance of the median coverts. A bird that is slightly bigger than a Black-headed Gull with a heavier bill and darker legs.

Note the the difference in the tail feathers

Rubbish gull

Not literally, just the location in which it was found!

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.

Mediterranean Gull

Below are couple of ropey `record` shots of an adult Mediterranean Gull that was at Ferry Meadows Country Park on Thursday and Friday. It was present with Common Gulls and the more familiar Black-headed Gulls and was showing signs of moulting into its summer plumage.

The Mediterranean Gull is slightly larger and more robust than the Black-headed Gull, with a larger head and a thicker blood-red bill. In spring adults appear white with a black hood (the Black-headed Gull has a chocolate brown hood), as the back and wings are pale grey and wing-tips are white. Adults have a complete moult between June and September and then have a partial moult to acquire their black hood between February and April.

In Britain this gull often mixes with Black-headed Gulls and sometimes breeds with that species. There are over 60 pairs that breed in this country at over 27 locations, mostly in the south and is specially protected. In world terms this is a rare gull with a very restricted distribution, with 99% of the world population being found in the former USSR.

Digiscoped using Lumix FS15 and Kowa TSN-883 x30