Second Calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull

I started today by visiting both Cropston and Swithland reservoirs hoping for something to have been blown in on Storm Hannah, but I was disappointed. Brascote Pits was my next choice of location, but all was quiet there too.

I eventually arrived at Shawell just before lunch and you guessed it, it was quiet there too.

The only gull that took my eye was a second calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull that was skulking amongst a few hundred gulls on the bank between the two lagoons by the A5 road. The white squarish head with an obvious mask caught my eye, but other features are quite subtle. The mantle colour and pattern is very similar to many same aged Yellow-legged Gulls that I've seen in Portugal in spring. There are several replaced lesser coverts and a singe greater covert. This is quite retarded for most michahellis, but about right for lusitanius. However, I have seen similar looking birds in Bulgaria in January, so probably within variation of michahellis.

Second Calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull, Shawell

Second Calendar-year Yellow-legged Gull, Shawell

Winter's last Vestiges

An Iceland gull was enjoying the free buffet at Cotesbach landfill site today despite the sunshine and unusually warm temperatures for the Easter Bank Holiday

Four Wheatears had also stopped off before continuing north. Also two Yellow and a single White Wagtail were feeding around the fringes of the flooded sandpit.

Gulls were still present in big numbers but most are now immature birds.

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Shawell Sanpit, April 20th 2019

Video of Third-Winter Iceland Gull

The third-winter Iceland Gull was at Shawell again on Friday and Saturday. Below os a bit of video -enjoy!

Third-winter Iceland Gull

It was a little quiet this morning at Shawell, as most of the gulls were hiding out of view behind a large earth bank. Around 13:00 a few more gulls came to the sandpit off Gibbet Lane and whilst searching through them I noticed a small gull hiding behind a sleeping Great Black-backed Gull. Its head looked quite Iceland Gull like, but its primary feathers were hidden as it was stood facing me. I moved to a better position to view its primaries and as I expected they were white.

It looked quite mature apart from its coverts, which were a slightly paler grey. Its bill was quite yellow, with a marking on the lower mandible only and its eyes were very pale. All these features suggest it may best be aged as a third-winter.

Third-Winter Iceland Gull, Shawell, March 30th 2019

Third-Winter Iceland Gull

Juvenile Iceland Gulls

A couple of juvenile Iceland Gulls have visited Shawell this month. The first appeared on March 2nd and then went missing for 18 days. The last sighting of it was on the 21st when it showed distantly resting on the steep bank on the outside of the sandpit off Gibbet Lane.

On the 27th I spotted a different juvenile at the A5 Lagoons and it was at the landfill site on the 28th.

Juvenile at Shawell on March 2nd, 20th and 21st

Juvenile Iceland Gull, March 27th & 28th

Juvenile Iceland Gull, March 27th & 28th