2nd November 2014 - Topsham
Carolyn and I took a trip to Steart in Somerset on Saturday to look over the new reserve and fortunately jammed into the long -staying Pallid Harrier; fine bird but photos rather poor so I won't dwell on that.
Meanwhile, back home I had the pleasure of finding this individual at the Rec.
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| Herring Gull argentatus 2/11/2014 - Topsham |
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| Herring Gull argentatus 2/11/2014 - Topsham |
The most obvious feature was the darker grey mantle compared with nearby
argenteus Herring Gulls. Yellow-legged Gull was never an option due to its pink legs and heavily marked head and neck (not to mention its structure). In fact the best fit is nominate
argentatus Herring Gull. Before too long the gulls all took flight and I got a good look at the primaries.
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| Herring Gull argentatus 2/11/2014 - Topsham |
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| Herring Gull argentatus 2/11/2014 - Topsham |
It's a 4th winter bird - a few dark spots on tail and dark marks on primary coverts - and so probably shows a little more black in the primaries than it will when fully adult (this may also explain why it's rather advanced in its moult - P10 fully grown or nearly so). Even so, it has a large mirror on P10 (the black band is broken so not far off a complete white tip), a decent mirror on P9 and very little black on P5. All consistent with both
argentatus and our local
argenteus but, given the darker mantle,
argentatus is the best fit; certainly no need to bring out the hybrid hypothesis.
Meanwhile, here's a puzzle from Exmouth a month ago - any suggestions?
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| Larus sp. 6/10/2014 - Exmouth |
Herring Gull in front of course, but what about the one behind? Here are a couple of flight shots.
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| Larus sp. 6/10/2014 - Exmouth |
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| Larus sp. 6/10/2014 - Exmouth |
I'm still not sure what to make of this bird - though I have suspicions - and any comments would be most welcome.
Before I forget, here's the best I could manage of the Pallid Harrier at Steart on Saturday. We'd spent a few hours wandering around the fantastic new reserve and I'd more or less given up on seeing this bird when it flew in from the west, across the marshes and disappeared over the Parrett.
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| Pallid Harrier 1/11/2014 - Steart, Somerset |
Odd bird Tim - a mix of perhaps Lbbg and herring? Tail looks Lbbg and inner primaries not herring - almost ylg like? I might go for lbbg/herring hybrid or odd herring perhaps. Not sure but doesn't feel right for lbbg. Was it as big as it looks in the photos? Love your scandanavian herring shots and nice otter shots too - a very lucky encounter!
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt, a nice mix of LBBG and HG was my conclusion - size (it was a big bird) and structure as HG but most of plumage a better fit for LBBG (apart from slightly paler inner PP). Never going to know for sure but this is the best example I've seen yet of a probable 1cy hybrid; they must occur as I've seen adults!
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