23rd March 2014 - Exmouth
Sorry but it's gulls again, but at least it's a proper white-winger. It's nearing the end of March and until today I hadn't seen a white-winged gull all winter. So when it seemed that a Glaucous Gull might be frequenting Exmouth Harbour I took a chance and got lucky. After a couple of hours, a few Sandwich Terns and a Little Gull, the Glauc flew in, had a good scout around and settled on a roof top. Here are a few photos.
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| Glaucous Gull - Exmouth 23/3/2014 |
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| Glaucous Gull - Exmouth 23/3/2014 |
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| Glaucous Gull - Exmouth 23/3/2014 |
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| Glaucous Gull - Exmouth 23/3/2014 |
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| Glaucous Gull - Exmouth 23/3/2014 |
Looks like it's been in a fight, the primaries are broken at the tips on both wings and there is an injury to the bill. So what age is it, a juvenile/1st winter or a 2nd winter? Or should that be 2nd or 3rd calendar year? Or maybe 1st cycle or 2nd cycle would be more useful? I'm still undecided and may feel the need to have a rant about age terminology at some point.
To get back to the question at hand, the mantle and coverts are so faded as to be little use, at least on these views. The bill has a nice dark patch but it's not perhaps as clear cut as on a typical 1st winter and there is an obvious pale tip, suggesting a 2nd winter. I think the real clincher is the iris, it's hard to make out but on some shots it's obvious pale, or at least not dark, and so this must be a 2nd winter bird.
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| Glaucous Gull - Exmouth 23/3/2014 |
Thanks to Matt Knott for finding it and getting the news out.
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