Four Gulls

2nd April 2014 - Topsham

More in hope than expectation I spent a few hours at The Rec on Wednesday in case the Kumlien's Gull performed an encore. It would have been nice to get some photos in better light but of course it was a no show. However, I was entertained by a number of interesting gulls, four adults which initially showed signs of being michahellis Yellow-legged Gulls.

Yellow-legged Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

1st bird (above): this may be the most straightforward of the lot; it has a distinctly darker mantle than Herring Gull and fairly bright yellow legs, however it's does raise a few questions. It has a good amount of black on P8 and 9 but it does blend into the grey more than I'd like. It has a large white tip to P10 - complete on the right wing, broken by a tiny black mark on the left - and a good sized mirror on P9; this pattern is more usual on males but this appears to be a female based on size and structure. It's hard to make out but the orbital ring and gape don't seem to be the expected deep red.

On balance, I think this is probably just about acceptable as a Yellow-legged Gull.

Hybrid ? Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

Hybrid ? Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

2nd bird (above): this bird is similar to the first in some ways but there are rather more problems with it. It shows two big mirrors on P9 &10, the amount of black on P8 & 9 is good but again it's not sharply demarcated from the grey base. There are long black tongues on the outer webs and quite obvious white spots behind the black on P6 & 7 and there is only a thin broken band on P5, these are all odd for michahellis. As with the 1st bird, the orbital ring and gape are not red, on this one the legs are also an unusual colour, yellowish but with pink showing from some angles.

I can't be sure that this is a hybrid but there is too much wrong with it to be a certain michahellis.

Hybrid ? Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

Hybrid ? Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

3rd bird (above): as with the others I picked this out by it's darker mantle and on the water it looked pretty good for a female michahellis. When it flew it was clear that it wasn't. The outer primaries look fine, a lot of black down to P8 and sharp borders against the grey but there is only a thin broken band on P5. It might be possible to overlook the latter but the legs and feet are a dull pink.

This shows such obvious mixed characters that it's surely a hybrid?

Yellow-legged Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

Yellow-legged Gull ad - 2/4/2014 Topsham

4th bird (above): again a dark-mantled bird with yellow legs, the primary pattern looks fine until we get to the thin black band on P5 - not impossible on michahellis but unusual, or rather it's supposed to be, I seem to get more than my fair share.

This is probably just a (slightly odd) Yellow-legged but I guess I've become suspicious since I see so many birds with that odd P5 pattern, often with other more clearly mixed characters.

A final thought: why do so many of the 'Yellow-legs' at Topsham Rec look to be small, almost dainty birds, usually quite unimpressive next to Herring Gulls?