I am very much a beginner at bird watching and there are some gulls that hang around near Lambeth Bridge in Central London that I have no idea how to identify.
I think that there are two distinct species (well there are three but I'm fairly confident that one type is Black-headed). Unfortunately I don't own a camera capable of taking pictures of birds 20 - 30 m away so I can only give descriptions. I've tried to be as detailed as possible but I've no doubt missed something vitally important.
Both birds were seen standing on a sand bar. I haven't seen them in flight.
Gull 1: About the same size or slightly bigger than a crow. Body (except back) was completely white. The back was a uniform dark grey colour. The wings were the same colour as the back with apparently a white bar about two-thirds of the way down and then black or very dark grey tips. There appeared to be, about a third of the way down the wings, white spots or flashes on the edge closest to the back. The beak was yellow with a red spot on the lower bill near the tip. The legs were yellow, as were, I think, the eyes (I've only got a pair of toy binoculars). This bird appeared to be on its own.
Gull 2: About the same size as Gull 1. Again the body was white, although there were two small dirty patches in the centre of the chest. The back was a lighter grey than Gull 1 and the wings were the same colour as the back. Like G1 it appeared to have white stripes on its wings with black wing tips. Its beak was yellow with a red spot on the lower bill but its legs were pale rather than yellow. The eyes were definately yellow (it was closer than G1) and there appeared to be at least one other of the same description with it.
All suggestions about what these might be and tips for IDing them in the future gratefully accepted by a complete novice.
Cheers
Charles
I think that there are two distinct species (well there are three but I'm fairly confident that one type is Black-headed). Unfortunately I don't own a camera capable of taking pictures of birds 20 - 30 m away so I can only give descriptions. I've tried to be as detailed as possible but I've no doubt missed something vitally important.
Both birds were seen standing on a sand bar. I haven't seen them in flight.
Gull 1: About the same size or slightly bigger than a crow. Body (except back) was completely white. The back was a uniform dark grey colour. The wings were the same colour as the back with apparently a white bar about two-thirds of the way down and then black or very dark grey tips. There appeared to be, about a third of the way down the wings, white spots or flashes on the edge closest to the back. The beak was yellow with a red spot on the lower bill near the tip. The legs were yellow, as were, I think, the eyes (I've only got a pair of toy binoculars). This bird appeared to be on its own.
Gull 2: About the same size as Gull 1. Again the body was white, although there were two small dirty patches in the centre of the chest. The back was a lighter grey than Gull 1 and the wings were the same colour as the back. Like G1 it appeared to have white stripes on its wings with black wing tips. Its beak was yellow with a red spot on the lower bill but its legs were pale rather than yellow. The eyes were definately yellow (it was closer than G1) and there appeared to be at least one other of the same description with it.
All suggestions about what these might be and tips for IDing them in the future gratefully accepted by a complete novice.
Cheers
Charles