I photographed this bird in Oct 2007 just west of the Straits of Gibraltar about half way between Spain and Morocco. I'd identified it at as possibly a juvenile pomarine skua but could it be an arctic?
Not much to go on I know especially the second pic (well the boat was rocking about)
I'd be grateful for a second opinion.
TJ
____________________________________________________________________
Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Hi TJ, I think you are on the correct lines of Skua.
as mentioned many times my PC isn't the best when it comes to enhancing distant photo's.
I would possibly identify it as a Juvenile Long-tailed Skua, due to the broad pale bars under the tail!
Regards Buzzard
Nature Is Amazing - Let Us Keep It That Way
That is a tough one. I would actually go for an immature arctic, based purely on the greater white barring in the flight photo. But you could be right and it is a Pomarine.
Sorry, not even with our new Collins Field guide would I like to call on that one lol
HI TeeJay
Having consulted one of my "Manufacturers Handbooks", does the following description come to mind?
Quote "Size of herring gull but heavier build. No white on body, tail short, wings broad but pointed. Tawny brown in bright sun. Large wing patches visible at great range being best feature" Unquote
From the top picture the colouring is correct, only you can comment on the size, but in the flight photo you can definitely see the wing patches of white.
If so you have a Great Skua : Stercorarius skua
Regards
lol see, that what I was thinking, but not knowing size - poms and artics have the white, Good one to get teeth into though.
SeymourClearly said: Quote "Size of herring gull but heavier build. No white on body, tail short, wings broad but pointed. Tawny brown in bright sun. Large wing patches visible at great range being best feature" Unquote From the top picture the colouring is correct, only you can comment on the size, but in the flight photo you can definitely see the wing patches of white. If so you have a Great Skua : Stercorarius skua
This was over 2 years ago, but my recollection was that it didn't seem that big. More the size of a black headed gull. Remember, also, that this was October and my book shows Great Skuas as winter visitors to the Med but an interesting thought. The poms, long tailed and arctic are shown as summer visitors.
Hi TeeJay, Great first photo! I think your own ID of juv Pomarine Skua is on the mark. The bars under tail in photo one and the pale legs in photo two are in my mind the guide points for ID. Hope this helps you, good thread anyway!
Also the white flashes in photo two rule out Long tailed S.
John :-)
For viewing or photography right place right time is everything. I'd rather be in the right place with poor kit than have the best kit and be in the wrong place.
Thanks John. very helpful.
I should also have said in the previous post that the poms, arctic and long tailed are migrants not summer visitors.
Surely Great Skuas would have bred during the summer months in the Shetlands and Outer Hebrides etc and at the end of the breeding season (by October would have thought) would leave for the mid-Atlantic and West African coasts. They have also been known to turn up around Turkey.
So the odd one floating around in the Western Med in October is not impossible..........
.
It is true, that Birds have the wonderful habit of turning up in the wrong place, in this case not that wrong really. The leg colour is evident in both pictures and is, I think, too light for Great Skua.