Sunday, January 31, 2016
Sparrowhark and Carrion Crow
Friday, January 29, 2016
Iceland Gull
1st winter dark variant.
James has asked me to add that this is the same bird that he photographed 8th January (posted 10th January) but labelled as Kumlein's Gull. He now believes the latest identification is more likely to be correct although definitive confirmation is still awaited. ED
Monday, January 25, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Yellow-legged Gull and Caspian Gull
'With the legs invisible this species pair on the water can
be a bit challenging - particularly at range in fading light (typical
conditions when checking a gravel pit or reservoir roost!). I've noticed that
Caspian tends to appear longer-bodied on the water and this is obvious here.
The head and bill profile are obviously different - Caspian's sloping forehead
and long bill making it look like it's been pulled by its bill! It is
darker-eyed than the YLG and this holds true for the majority of birds. The eye-ring
is another good feature - obvious and red on the YLG but less obvious on the
casp - due in part because its head is turned slightly but also because it is
orange. Another obvious feature visible here is 'P10' - the underside of
the longest primary is mainly white in Caspian (broad black bar separates off
the white tip) but mainly black in YLG, with a white mirror near the tip. The
mantle shade is almost identical here but averages slightly paler on Caspian
(both overlap broadly with Scandanavian herring gull). The narrow,
incomplete dark band on the bill of the Caspian is another clue but isn't
diagnostic. It is present to a degree on most adults in winter but only on
subadult yellow-legged, adults of which also tend to have more brightly
coloured (and shorter, stubbier-looking) bills. Beware herring gulls in
late winter when they have clean white heads due to losing their streaks -
dark-eyed Scandanavian birds are rare but a potential pitfall. The primary
pattern is similar to that of Caspian and they are best separated on
overall structure.' JH
Written at my request as this image seemed a suitable opportunity to explain the differences - thanks James. ED
Caspian Gull
Top photo Adult, bottom photo Juvenile.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Short-eared Owl
Yellow-legged Gull
