[Archie Archer]

Anyone out there in cyberspace have any more info or photos of the recently reported probable 1st winter BALTIC GULL that has been frequenting Daventry Rezza?

Kindest regards......

[username]

Not heard a dickybird about it......[blimey...adults are tuff enuff to ID with certainty...let alone first winters]...i would have thought...?
Interesting.....maybe...maybe not?!

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Seems to be a bit of info here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/northantsbirds/

[McMadd]

Garbage Arch...no ring, no SUB-spp tick...back to *rhymes with wa*ki*g for you fella!!

[Hippo]

I will be popping in to Daventry Res this morning while my daughter is at her music lessons. Apparently the probable Baltic Gull is best viewed from the old Carvell Hide site and after 0900

Problem for me is how I would know one? Google, here I come

Maybe some kind local birders will be about

[username]

Any pix of this 'interesting' bird about? Might be educational....[if your that way inclined]...

[Binocularface]

Originally Posted by username

Any pix of this 'interesting' bird about? Might be educational....[if your that way inclined]...

Yes, I'll second that. I would hope there are pics of this bird somewhere, would be interested to know what full suite of characters have been noted.

[username]

Originally Posted by Binocularface

Yes, I'll second that. I would hope there are pics of this bird somewhere, would be interested to know what full suite of characters have been noted.

I would guess that even with a 'full suite of characters' the bird will still only be 'probable'...at best...[unless 'new' information is available that i am unaware of]..?

Very 'murky' waters....i know my limitations... I have seen an adult individual that 'appeared' to be Baltic....but according to an excellent 'gull-man' i know....tis very hard to rule out dark intermedius....!

I'll leave this one to more informed avid gull enthusiasts....

[Binocularface]

Originally Posted by username

I would guess that even with a 'full suite of characters' the bird will still only be 'probable'...at best...[unless 'new' information is available that i am unaware of]..?

Very 'murky' waters....i know my limitations... I have seen an adult individual that 'appeared' to be Baltic....but according to an excellent 'gull-man' i know....tis very hard to rule out dark intermedius....!

I'll leave this one to more informed avid gull enthusiasts....

I agree username; I think unless it has a finnish ring it will remain a 'probable'. Though I would still be keen to see pics, as these birds can be very educational. I also saw an adult birds a few years ago that looked a very good contender for fuscus; however as you intimate ruling out a small, long-winged intermedius is less than straight forward.

[username]

Some of us take a lot of convincing 'Binocularface'....

ps...off to do a bit of 'gulling' now....[one or two nice caspians to look at locally]....hopefully, later on tonight, there will be some pix of this poss baltic online...we shall see...!

[snowcap]

Any photo`s of this bird appeared yet??

[username]

Originally Posted by snowcap

Any photo`s of this bird appeared yet??

Not seen any yet...tho i haven't looked that hard..!

ps..watched a nice second winter caspian this afternoon...no possible Baltics tho..

[Brian Stretch]

Probable Baltic Gull flew off west from Daventry Res at c4.30pm so is presumably roosting at Draycote on a regular basis. Now there's a challenge!

Brian
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[draycotebirding]

Originally Posted by Brian Stretch

Probable Baltic Gull flew off west from Daventry Res at c4.30pm so is presumably roosting at Draycote on a regular basis. Now there's a challenge!

Brian
____________________________
www.birdingtoday.co.uk
www.worcesterbirding.co.uk
www.uptonwarrenbirding.co.uk
www.westmidlandsbirding.co.uk

I like a challenge but can't make the pond this weekend for the roost, but if its been around since September I may bump into it sometime. Never know it might be easier than you think

John

[JANJ]

Unringed (?) - no possitive ID on this one since juv 1st winter LBBG are very difficult to impossible to identify as to race.

JanJ

[username]

Originally Posted by JANJ

Unringed (?) - no possitive ID on this one since juv 1st winter LBBG are very difficult to impossible to identify as to race.

JanJ

Sort of what i thought on this one.....[still be interesting to see any pix ...inconclusive tho they may be].....!

[Killdeer]

Here's a particularly crappy, digiscoped shot taken in very dull light and at quite long range at 4.30 today.

It really is a strange looking creature.

[username]

Thank you for posting the pic Killdeer....rather a pale bird eh..?

[Ormskirk]

Here is another pictures taken in poor light yesterday. Hopefully some better ones will be posted. It certainly looks a good candidate. It stands out from the graellsii and intermedius present very easily by its long thin shape. It looks good in flight too, with a very pale rump, wide blackish band and pale tip on the tail and very dark wings with blackish primaries.

[Killdeer]

I'm surprised really that so little interest is being shown to this bird.

As others have stated, it looks good for Baltic Gull not only on plumage details but also on structure. The attenuated rear end, for example, is quite a striking feature. I'd certainly advise any birders in the vicinty of the country park to go along and have look.

Oh...and don't forget to take your camera. Photos of this bird are significant by their absence.

[username]

Killdeer...i think the reason why so little interest in this bird is because it is impossible to rule out intermedius...this bird may well be a Baltic but like so many other individuals..[including Lewingtons recent one]...you can never be absolutely sure...unfortunately! Very difficult sub-species to ID indeed...with present knowledge....!

[Harry Hussey]

Hi all,
This may just be me, but does anyone else get the impression that this may be a 2nd-winter bird, and, as such, the whitish head would be normal for any taxon of Lesser Black-backed? There seems to be a large amount of white on the tertials, and the bill is a bit on the pale side for any taxon of LBB in its first year or so.
As to how one could exclude intermedius, I don't know: like others have said, this may well be fuscus, but may never be identifiable as such...
Regards,
Harry

[username]

You might have a point there harry...i suppose it could be an advanced first summer/second winter type bird. Impression from pix tho is that it looks a tad dark overall...not sure if tertiary tips that indicative of second winter as oppose to first?
Need better photo's really...but even then......ID will almost definitely be inconclusive...

[McMadd]

Sorry but I don't see any diff between the 2 birds in Ormskirk's pic apart from age...is it my eyes or my monitor? To be blunt...nothing is striking me here...

[Killdeer]

Originally Posted by McMadd

Sorry but I don't see any diff between the 2 birds in Ormskirk's pic apart from age...is it my eyes or my monitor? To be blunt...nothing is striking me here...

I think with the aid of good quality shots or just seeing the bird in the flesh so to speak, it would be obvious just how different this gull looked to the graellsii/intermedius juv/IstW birds we are used to seeing.

I agree on present knowledge it is unsafe to say with certainty that it is a fuscus but who knows, with time this subspecies could routinely be identifiable. Until recently Caspian Gulls were considered by most to be inseparable from Herring ( to many inc myself they still are pretty difficult )

I keep on saying that someone needs to post good quality pics