Hello all,
What's this gull? I was looking through some old photographs and noticed this pale gull... My instinct was herring, but looking at it more closely, it seems paler, and has no black wing tips, and seems way too big for a Mediterranean gull. Now, it's probably just a juvenile herring gull, but I thought I'd check... Teignmouth, in September... Sorry about the photos, it was a way away...
Gulls can be a bit tricky I would GUESS that this could be either a Glaucous or Iceland Gull? Both have the correct beak colour without the black tips, and are known to frequent UK coasts in winter as they come South...that said, it could always just be a standard herring gull
As said gulls are the bane of many birders life !! My first guess would be Herring Gull but certainly not 100% certain quite happy for gull expert to shoot me down
I do think in all likelihood its a herring gull, but the lack of black wingtips is making me wonder...juveniles are speckled, so i figured it must be an adult of some sort
Thanks for the ideas so far. Yes, most likely a herring gull, but something just didn't sit right when I looked at it. But then I'm no gull expert! :)
With the photo being a bit fuzzy, can't be sure that it isn't a herring gull. But it doesn't seem to have the black wingtips (as mentioned) and it would be an adult if it were a herring gull. I've not seen an adult herring gull with white wing tips - so I'm edging towards glaucous gull. A couple of photos from google seem to match quite well.
Iceland gulls are smaller and more 'gentle' looking. I'm judging against the oystercatchers for size, and this gull looks quite bulky.
But then again, September is earlier than they are meant to be around where you are!
Thanks. Ultimately, I think it will be a "no-one knows" kind of photo, by being just a bit too far away, and a bit out of focus. I want it to be a glaucous gull, as I've never seen one, but as you note, September is a bit early...