Colour-ringed Med Gull

6th November 2014 - Topsham

Most visits to the Rec of late have produced at least one Mediterranean Gull, occasionally up to four. Such numbers are pitiful compared to some Dorset sites less than 50 miles along the coast, or even North Devon - haven't yet figured out why they're so scarce on the Exe. I get the impression there's been a regular turn over of birds this autumn, sometimes one bird will hang around for a few weeks but, while numbers rarely get above 2 or 3, I think the total numbers involved could be a lot higher. Whatever, they're always a pleasure to see and doubly so when they sport a readable colour ring. No scope today so I had to do my best from photos.

Mediterranean Gull 2cy H9A4 6/11/2014 Topsham

Mediterranean Gull 2cy H9A4 6/11/2014 Topsham

It's a second winter (2cy) of course - just like an adult but with some black in primaries, much more obvious when flying.

Mediterranean Gull 2cy H9A4 6/11/2014 Topsham

Mediterranean Gull 2cy H9A4 6/11/2014 Topsham

The big question is; where did it come from? Recent (since 2008) Med Gull colour rings should indicate the country of origin by their colour and initial letter; so a red ring beginning H should in theory come from Hungary but await confirmation (now confirmed - see below).

This wasn't my only colour ring of the day, I took a couple of shots of Lesser Black-backed Gulls - interesting difference in grey tone between the adult and the 3cy - and only later noticed the yellow ring on the Black-headed Gull strolling past. The first one I'd ever noticed and I had no scope with me. The photo is far too poor to give any clue as to the code and I'm not even sure if I can work out the country.

Black-headed Gull (with Lesser Black-backed Gulls) - 6/11/2014 Topsham

Update 9/11/2014 - just received this information from the good people at the Hungarian Bird Ringing Centre: H9A4 was ringed as a pullus on 15th June 2013 at Bugyi near Budapest, Hungary. This is apparently its first subsequent sighting.

Otter at Topsham Rec

3rd November 2014 - Topsham

One of the things I like about birding is you never know what you're going to see. Yesterday I was at The Rec early to catch the morning low tide. A commotion of gulls over the river had me expecting a passing raptor - a Peregrine perhaps. The cause of their anxiety turned out to be an otter, leisurely heading up stream after a night's fishing.

All the usual excuses for the poor photos - bad light, high contrast etc. But only my second otter at the Rec - I tend not to visit at the right time, i.e. at night.

Otter 3/11/2014 - Topsham

Otter 3/11/2014 - Topsham

Otter 3/11/2014 - Topsham

Scandinavian Herring Gull, mystery gull, and a Pallid Harrier in Somerset

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.

Herring Gull argentatus 2/11/2014 - Topsham

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.

Herring Gull argentatus 2/11/2014 - Topsham

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?

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.

Larus sp. 6/10/2014 - Exmouth

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.

Pallid Harrier 1/11/2014 - Steart, Somerset

Yellow-legged Gull - likely as not?

23rd October 2014 - Topsham

I'm fairly sure this is the bird that I first saw in September, I wasn't entirely convinced by it then and I still have suspicions. The only thing that's not quite right is the thin and slightly broken black band on P5 (not visible on this shot unfortunately). Given the variability in all large gull species, it's surely possible for pure michahellis to show such a pattern. It's just odd that it's so frequent in Topsham birds.

Yellow-legged Gull ad. (prob.) - 23/10/2014 Topsham

Water Pipit

22nd October 2014 - Topsham

After a very uneventful October, finally a bird worth a post. Most winters see a Water Pipit overwintering at The Rec, this year's turned up today. I've no idea whether it's the same bird as last year, from the pattern of the median coverts I suspect it's not a 1st winter but that's all I can say. A nice bird and behaving in the usual way, always keeping it's distance and spending a lot of time on the shingle in mid river. Maybe high tide might give better views, but then there's be no gulls to look at...

Water Pipit - 22/10/2014 Topsham Rec

Water Pipit - 22/10/2014 Topsham Rec

Water Pipit - 22/10/2014 Topsham Rec

Water Pipit - 22/10/2014 Topsham Rec

Midlands (Gull) Road Trip

1st-2nd October 2014 - Northamptonshire

This week, having decorators in painting the house, I saw little chance of getting any work done. I therefore decided a short birding trip was in order and so, accompanied by my good friend - and this blog's official gull consultant - Martin Elliott, I headed for the gravel pits and landfills of Northants.

Stanwick Lakes near Wellingborough regularly holds 100's of Yellow-legged Gulls - and usually a few Caspian Gulls - in late summer and early autumn. The attraction is the nearby landfill, birds feed on the tip in the morning and drop in to the lakes during the afternoon to bathe and loaf. It seems the tip had lost some of its attraction to the gulls recently as numbers were very much down on recent weeks. Still, 20-30 michahellis and at least a couple of cachinnans wasn't bad.

Yellow-legged Gull 2/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

Yellow-legged Gull 2/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

Yellow-legged Gull 2/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

Yellow-legged Gull 2/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

No 1st years were close enough to photograph but I did get shots of one or two 3rd years.
 

Yellow-legged Gull 3cy 2/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

Yellow-legged Gull 3cy 2/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

Yellow-legged 3cy Gull 2/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

Sadly, no Caspians came this close, but here's a long distance attempt of a classic adult cachinnans - now I need to find another of these at Topsham Rec.

Caspian Gull 1/10/2014 - Stanwick, Northants.

Martin runs regular Gull Identification Workshops at Stanwick (also at Hayle, Cornwall), see here or here for more details, also Mark Avery has a very nice review of one of his first sessions.

Yellow-legged Gull - real or fake?

26th September 2014 - Topsham

A decent low tide afternoon gull gathering at Topsham Rec produced no surprises, just this interesting individual. It's been around a few days but these are the first photos I've managed to get.

Yellow-legged or Hybrid Gull? - 26/9/2014 Topsham

Yellow-legged or Hybrid Gull? - 26/9/2014 Topsham

Yellow-legged or Hybrid Gull? - 26/9/2014 Topsham

The mantle is a darker grey than Herring Gull and the legs are definitely yellow rather than pink, so why isn't it a Yellow-legged Gull? Well, there are a few things not quite right with this bird as a michahellis. The grey isn't that much darker than the adjacent Herring Gulls and the yellow legs are rather pale and washed out, a genuine michahellis should be darker still and the legs should be a richer yellow - the colour often fades a little in the non-breeding season typically not as much as this. The orbital ring is difficult to make out in the photos but through the scope was definitely not the obvious coral red shown by michahellis. On the open wing there is a broken black band on P5, on a Yellow-legged this should be broader and complete. There's also a suspiciously obvious white crescent between the grey and black on P6 and P7. On a more subjective level, the overall shape of the bird didn't give the feel of michahellis, the head is fairly rounded, even small, and the bill 'hook' has a gentle curve, although this might be because it's a female.

I admit I'm suspicious these days, here's why - an undoubted hybrid from last week. Darker grey certainly, but pink legs.

Hybrid Gull - 17/9/2014 Topsham

And no reason to doubt the credentials of this bird, a michahellis from Sardinia earlier in the month.

Yellow-legged Gull - 7/9/2014 Alghero, Sardinia