caroleanne
Active member
Can anyone recommend any id guides that will help me with gulls seen in the UK? I need quite an easy simple guide that isn't full of detailed information, preferably with good pictures?
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Gull identification in the UK (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter caroleanne
- Start date
Steve Lister
Senior Birder, ex County Recorder, Garden Moths.
The Collins fieldguide is sound except that the treatment of the Herring/Caspian/Yellow-legged Gulls is now not really adequate.
Steve
Steve
caroleanne
Active member
Whats it called? all the guides that seem to be on Amazon are covering America, and none in the UK.
paulwfromtheden
Well-known member
Tonight I'll send you a link to the best gull id website EVER. Not much use in the field of course, but there is so much you can learn on there, taught me loads...
I suggest taking along any of the Seaforth gull experts with you!8-P
Perry Grin
Well-known member
I remember reading somewhere (maybe on this forum) that the new edition of Collins - out soon I think - deals with some of the gull issues.
Perry
gareth_blockley
Smile people
caroleanne
Active member
Yes, Ive seen the Macmillan ones and also the ones on Amazon, but there over £40 and thats a bit expensive for me at the moment. What would be ideal is if someone knows of a layout a bit like the FSC field guides, with the good comparison pictures?
Bird Hard 2
Cynical Sceptic
Bird Hard 2
Cynical Sceptic
Pauco,
Excellent as it is, I'd hardly put Olsen and Larsson in the "easy simple guide that isn't full of detailed information" category!
paulwfromtheden
Well-known member
Yes, that's the link.....superb site
pauco
Старлин&
Nothing worth learning is easy! you get what you pay for. As the saying goes. "You reap what you sow"
caroleanne
Active member
Thanks for all of your suggestions. I went onto the website suggested and to be honest was a bit overwhelmed. I'm an ecologist bird surveyor who has to be able to id everything i see, literally. For example the different gull species seen in a large flock of 1000+ strong flying over a rubbish dump. Just an id guide with good clear pictures and a simple description. I'm not at the stage yet to id all the minor differences between the plumage years and had no idea there were colour charts to id the different shades of grey in a gulls wing!. but would like to know just the more commoner species and work upwards.
Caroleanne
The trouble is, gulls ARE difficult, and the plumage differences between ages are important, so what you're looking for doesn't really exist. But yes, the "Collins Bird Guide", by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterstrom and Peter J Grant, is the best place to start.
Dave
The trouble is, gulls ARE difficult, and the plumage differences between ages are important, so what you're looking for doesn't really exist. But yes, the "Collins Bird Guide", by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterstrom and Peter J Grant, is the best place to start.
Dave
dantheman
Bah humbug
The other good way of getting to grips with the unfamiliar is a bit of personal coaching ie go out with someone who knows their gulls. Sorting out the diff sizes and colours etc of the common ones wouldn't take too long at all, and the young ones would follow soon after . . .
Not volunteering mind as I'm not up your way!
Not volunteering mind as I'm not up your way!
Gentoo
Guest
I have a field guide to the birds of Europe by Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant and published by Princeton Field Guides.
I bought it at Borders.
Gentoo
Guest
I have to agree with that statement. Learning gulls requires the K.I.S.S. method at first then as you go and get better, graduate to more detailed work.
