Which juvenile gull? (Don't all answer at once!)

Question

After peering at pictures in my newly acquired book Gulls of the World I'm inclined to think that this beautifully marked young bird is a lesser black-back:

All input very gratefully received!

TeeJay · Accepted Answer

He's (or she's) a very handsome bird. I suspect you are right with your ID but Paul A is your man for gulls. How did you get so close - it must know you are a gull lover and thought "I'll pose for Clare".

tony · Answer

Great clarity and colour again Clare, in my limited knowledge I would agree with your ID, a LBBG.

Paul A · Answer

I can state 2 things for certain. 
 
 They&rsquo;re cracking photos. 
 They&rsquo;re photos of a Gull.!! :-) 
 
 I would also say that it&rsquo;s likely a 1 st year Lesser Black-backed. The first thing would be that it&rsquo;s a recent photo and the bird has an all-black bill which would make it one of this year&rsquo;s birds, and to my eye it has a more &lsquo;slight&rsquo; look and also a darker overall appearance than a Herring Gull which would generally have an overall brownish and perhaps &lsquo;chunkier&rsquo; look (although I&rsquo;m sure that in the huge variation of 1 st year birds you can also get relatively dark 1 st year Herring Gulls.) Other things (also taken from your new book) would be the relatively dark tertials (1) and the dark anchor shaped markings on the scapulars (2). 
 Please be advised that I&rsquo;m certainly no expert in this, I could well be a mile off, and I&rsquo;ll be delighted if someone would come along and explain why this isn&rsquo;t a 1 st year (1cy) Lesser Black-backed Gull. As you know, large young Gulls can be a real problem to ID with any certainty, especially in their 1st year.

PimperneBloke · Answer

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! :o)