I saw a bird this morning on a field. It was with a flock of Black Headed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls. I see the same Black Headed Gulls and 1-2 Herring Gulls every morning, but there was an identical gull to a Herring Gull, except with a black beak tip. I assumed it to be a rare Ring Billed Gull, but checked and thought is was more likely an American Herring Gull (non-breeding). I didn't get a picture. Of course, every birder would hope it to be the Ring Billed, but I won't completely disappointed if it turns out to be a North American subspecies I've never seen before.
However, I was going over some of my photos and found this which is fairly reminiscent of my sighting. My bird has a prominent structure, identical to the features of a Herring Gull in every way but the beak.
Here is the old photo. There is a black ring on beak.
I am no expert but sounds like a 2nd Winter Herring Gull ;-)
You can see the difference 1st / 2nd winter to Adult below
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/herring-gull/
(Pardon the Scottish Accent)
Hi The photo is definitely neither of the species originally mentioned- bill is wrong size for both S
For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides, binoculars, scopes, tripods, etc - put 'Birding Tips' into the search box
Actually I'd rather it was an American HG- never seen one in Britain, couldn't be bothered to drive from norfolk to Cornwall
- seen loads of Ring Billeds including one on local patch :) S
Cin J