gulls (2 Viewers)

[Cristian Mihai]

December 20th.

 

[Cristian Mihai]

December 20th.

 

[lou salomon]

hi cristian,

do you have another pic of this adult (or 4cy) bird: http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=299709&d=1292951633 ??
it seems to have just a thin and broken subterminal to p10 and a large p9 mirror, all acceptable for an extreme mich but bill shape/colour and p10 being longer than p9 get me alerted. any position in which we can see a hint of the underside of wingtip?

 

[Cristian Mihai]

Hi Lou,

Sorry, I don't have another view for that gull.

 

[Ies Meulmeester]

hi cristian,

do you have another pic of this adult (or 4cy) bird: http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=299709&d=1292951633 ??
it seems to have just a thin and broken subterminal to p10 and a large p9 mirror, all acceptable for an extreme mich but bill shape/colour and p10 being longer than p9 get me alerted. any position in which we can see a hint of the underside of wingtip?

I don't see the problem Lou, for me p9 look rather small/normal. The dull yellow leg color and bill color with some black on the cutting edges fits a 4/5cy type better! Note this p10 underside patterns:

http://www.iesmeulmeester.nl/fotos.php?actie=foto&subcatsub=413
http://www.iesmeulmeester.nl/fotos.php?actie=foto&subcatsub=420

See attached image!

Regards, Ies

 

[snowcap]

caspian for me again. there are so many caspians with short legs. full p5 band is also good. of course nobody knows if it's not a hybrid (since some can look perfect like one of the parents, esp. caspians) but with decent tongues i'd go for cach. short bill absolutely no problem. http://www.elisanet.fi/hj.koskinen/Adcac_Ukrainerings_Preila20080909.html most of these are shortish billed.

Thanks Lou and Andy, I certainly think this bird has dipped a toe at least into the cachinnans gene pool!

cheers, Pete

 

[Cristian Mihai]

Herastrau Park, December 23rd. My vote is for 1cy Caspian. Right or wrong?

P.S. Merry Christmas!

 

[lou salomon]

probably right, but i'm unsure myself, cristian. bill looks ok for cach, so does fine head streaking with not too much concentration around eye. tertials are abraded, so are coverts which doesn't help much, inner GC pattern could fit both imo, same goes for scaps!
tendentially cachi but it's discussable.
edit: scaps fit cachinnans better. a solid central mark is ok but the subterminal mark (end of the "double-anchor") is narrow as is supposed to be in caspian, usually broad in michahellis.

m e r r y X - m a s to you all !! :kiss:

 

[Cristian Mihai]

December 29th - Larus fuscus fuscus in Bucharest (Dambovita river). Record pics by Chris Gibbins.

 

[Cristian Mihai]

December 30th - Larus argentatus in Bucharest (Herastrau Park). Record pics by Chris Gibbins.

 

[lou salomon]

excellent! this is what we awaited for years. a clear (better than..) record shot of a herring gull in romania. you see, it pays carrying a scope, cristian? looks like a baltic argentatus with that thin p5 subterminal mark.

congratulations to the find and a

happy hippy NEW YEAR to all larophiles!

 

[Cristian Mihai]

Hi Lou,

On December 13th a team of Hungarian birders/ornithologists found another argentatus on the Black Sea coast.
See: http://www.birding.hu/galeriak/wp_madarfajai.html

BTW, Chris Gibbins is on the Black Sea coast now...

 

[Cristian Mihai]

Three 1cy gulls from Herastrau - December 31st. I suppose that the second one (pics 2 and 3) is the same bird as in post 1667.

 

[lou salomon]

hi cristian,

1. a small female mich with late moult (many scaps missing)
2/3. indeed the same injured caspian (left wing slightly hanging).
4. such weirdos are hard but i'd guess it's a poor michahellis which probably won't survive the winter, jeez how abraded that plumage is, especially primary tips!

edit: i see that chris gibbins suggested cachinnans for it - and he may well be right! see these nice pics of it and other romanian birds here: http://chrisgibbins-gullsbirds.blogspot.com/2010/12/gulls-and-owls-bucharest.html

did you notice that white point on p8 in the flying pic of the argentatus? is that a mirror on p8???!!!

 

[Cristian Mihai]

Thank you for comments, Lou. I would say you're right about the P8...
Here are two pics taken in Bucharest, on January 1st.

 

[snowcap]

View attachment 301500

View attachment 301502Hi Folks, Happy New Year to everyone. First days Gulling of the year today produced a couple of interesting birds.The first bird obviously has Herring Gull type greater coverts and a predominantly pale bill.But it was giving the classic Casp-like "Albatross call and posture" at one stage and had very long legs and a hanging rear belly.Also is it a 3cy( just), but as it had a dark iris( I looked closely at this), so a 2cy?
The bird on the ice was at first thought to be an Argentatus Herring Gull, but could it be a dull legged YLG or hybrid? It had a thin band on P5,

cheers, Pete.

 

[lou salomon]

Thank you for comments, Lou. I would say you're right about the P8...
Here are two pics taken in Bucharest, on January 1st.

hi cristian,

two nice 3cy (second cycle):
1. looks like a cach with that large p10 tongue, pinkish base to bill and dark eye but bill shape is odd - quite high, short and blunt tipped from this angle.
2. classic 2nd (cycle) basic -> alternate mich, considering early developement of yellow on bill, which is an "alternate" = breeding time feature. herastrau or dambovita? just for the file name as i load them down for the collection as usual

 

[lou salomon]

View attachment 301500

View attachment 301502Hi Folks, Happy New Year to everyone. First days Gulling of the year today produced a couple of interesting birds.The first bird obviously has Herring Gull type greater coverts and a predominantly pale bill.But it was giving the classic Casp-like "Albatross call and posture" at one stage and had very long legs and a hanging rear belly.Also is it a 3cy( just), but as it had a dark iris( I looked closely at this), so a 2cy?
The bird on the ice was at first thought to be an Argentatus Herring Gull, but could it be a dull legged YLG or hybrid? It had a thin band on P5,

cheers, Pete.

happy new year, pete,

1. is a 3cy (2nd winter/cycle) herring gull. probably a pure one, with a malcoloured bill and a dark iris. those crisp GC ain't good for caspian as you said, neither is the tertial pattern with many undulations at their edge, usually almost black centered in typical cach at this age. lesser and median coverts also better for HG and usually scattered with new grey ones in caspian (especially medians).

2. hard to tell. looks very dark mantled. small apical spots (primary tips) and dark mark on bill suggest a subadult: 4cy or 5cy, if an argentatus herring gull rather a 5cy (4th cycle). smudge around eye reminds of michahellis but most YLG indeed have yellow legs at this age (few exceptions); there is a small p10 mirror, also good for mich together with the often cited angular big head (which i don't give too much emphasis at). so it's either a hybrid (argentatus x fuscus?), argentatus x michahellis? or a weird 4-5cy michahellis or a weird 5cy argentatus. nice choosing...i really wouldn't like to make a 100% ID...let's post it on gull-research-talk?

cheers

 

[Cristian Mihai]

Hi Lou,

Pics are taken on Colentina river in the area called Straulesti (on the way to Mogosoaia).
BTW, I visited this area for the first time this winter on December 30th (together with Chris Gibbins), but we didn't manage to take pics.

hi cristian,

two nice 3cy (second cycle):
1. looks like a cach with that large p10 tongue, pinkish base to bill and dark eye but bill shape is odd - quite high, short and blunt tipped from this angle.
2. classic 2nd (cycle) basic -> alternate mich, considering early developement of yellow on bill, which is an "alternate" = breeding time feature. herastrau or dambovita? just for the file name as i load them down for the collection as usual

 

[snowcap]

Thanks Lou for your excellent comments as ever.