Topsham Gulls

29th April 2014 - Topsham

No Pratincole photos here, I was out of county over the weekend and had a deadline to meet this week. As compensation - honestly - there's always the gulls at The Rec. Here's a view I had yesterday afternoon; click it for a bigger picture.

Gulls, Topsham Rec - 29/4/2014

As usual it's mostly Herring Gulls, with a couple of Lesser Black-backs - adult at right and a 3rd calendar year/2nd cycle immature at extreme left. There are also two adults which are clearly neither species: the isolated sleeping bird to the left and the partially hidden bird at back and centre. Both are about dark enough for Yellow-legged Gull but, as usual, the rest doesn't add up. Here's some more views of the left hand bird.

Hybrid Gull - Topsham 29/4/2014

Hybrid Gull - Topsham 29/4/2014

Hybrid Gull - Topsham 29/4/2014

The legs and feet are a kind of salmon pink, looking a little orange at times, the primaries show rather obvious white tongue-tips on P5-7 and, typically for such birds, the band on P5 is very thin. I can't be sure but this may be the same bird as one I photographed on the 2nd April.

At first I thought the other bird looked rather better as a michahellis, then I saw the legs and the spread wing.

Hybrid Gull - Topsham 29/4/2014

Hybrid Gull - Topsham 29/4/2014

Hybrid Gull - Topsham 29/4/2014

Hybrid Gull - Topsham 29/4/2014

There's a large mirror on P9 this time, it's got the same obvious white tongue-tips and P5 is nowhere near complete, there are just a couple of tiny paired triangles. This primary pattern closely matches a bird photographed on 2nd April so presumably the same.

I'm starting to see a pattern here, these 'mixed' birds are looking rather similar - the same mid-grey mantle tone, the same salmon-pink or pinkish yellow legs and feet and the same kind of primary pattern with white tongue-tips and thin or broken P5 band. If they are a stereotyped hybrid form, maybe I should give them a name, 'Topsham Gull' anybody?