Hi folks, just a bit of fun. If you fancy a bash at it, see if you know who the youngster's are. One or two are heavily cropped so might be a bit fuzzy...sorry. Answers later.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Paul
My bird photos HERE
I'll have a go, Paul, but I don't expect to get many correct.
Adult gulls are hard enough but babies are a nightmare so my answers for 1 and 7 are wild guesses.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
I really loved looking at your photos Paul, that's an amazing collection, but i'm useless on big gulls & babies......forget it. I shall follow the efforts of the "braver souls than me".LOL
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
I think the first one is a GBB gull and the last is a kittiwake.....the seventh could either be a herring or LBB. I'm not even going to try for the others!!
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Hi folks. Here are the answers, as promised. I’ve added some info to the answers to help with the ID’s, although this is easy for me to do because I seen the adults as I was taking the photos. Without this, I would have been mostly stumped as to any of the ID’s.!!
Mystery Youngster’s
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull.
2 Eider Duck. Due to all the birds here being sea birds, I thought that Eiders should be here due to them being marine Ducks.
3 Arctic Tern. Note the short stumpy legs, as seen in the adult birds.
4 Razorbill. The distinctive beak shape is there and also a glimpse of the adult standing next to the youngster.
5 Shag.
6 Fulmar. The ‘nostrils’ on the beak are quite apparent, even on the youngster.
7 Lesser Black-backed Gull. OK, this was a trick question. I hoped that you would think that all the birds were different types…sorry. I’ve got to have a bit of fun too. :-)
8 Kittiwake. The adult bird is standing next to the youngster, with its distinct (for a ‘white’ Gull) blackish feet.
TJ: Outstanding.!! Very impressive, well done. Sorry about number 7 :-)
Hazel: I’m glad you liked the photos, I hope some of my explanations make sense.
Clare: Very well done too, you did better than I would have if I didn't already know the answers. I also hope that the explanations help.
Number 1's an LBB? I thought the legs looked pinkish.
We get very few of those birds here so I was pretty clueless!!
Good fun, Paul. You certainly fooled me with two of the same species. Actually, I'm surprised I got I got either of them right. LOL
Clare: The only way that I knew they were Lesser Black-backed Gulls was due to the parents keeping a close eye on them. I did see some Great Black-backed Gulls, but I didn't see any juveniles.
TJ: I'm glad you enjoyed, you do realise that you have now been promoted to a qualified Gull expert?
All of the photo's were taken on the Isle of May, in the Forth estuary earlier in the year. When I get time I'll post the rest of them up, they'll perhaps help to brighten up a dark winter's night.
Paul A said:TJ: I'm glad you enjoyed, you do realise that you have now been promoted to a qualified Gull expert?
In your dreams. LOL
Funnily enough I have seen GBB Gull youngsters last year in southern Ireland but I forgot to look at them for comparison with your pics. Here's a couple with mum or dad.
I'll look forward to future photos Paul. I never get anywhere near gulls nesting normally, although I did see some on holiday a year or so ago, on a roof at the seaside. I've certainly never seen cuddly, fluffy jobs!!