Saturday, August 15, 2009

Gull Bill

At least 2 intermedius on the Bill Common and this bird which was even darker. Even using the words Baltic Gull is met with derision these days so I wont mention that. Joking aside though is it really dainty enough? and although it has a long primary extension it isnt ridiculously long. It wouldnt be a classic fuscus but by definition not all are! This bird is probably a dark intermedius although it is very dark and the eye does look small!.....




The one in the middle is a standard graellsii which it makes look pretty pale. Mantle colour same as Geeb on left




...... Looking at its wings there doesnt seem to be a lot of moulting going on. Lots of ragged primaries here but there is something a bit odd . From the photo there is a white blob half way along the primaries on the left wing, it looks like a short primary indicating a half grown feather but it doesnt look like a newer darker feather. There is also a white blob on an apparently shorter primary on the other wing but again it looks the same colour as the others. The other thing of course is that it would have to be an odd bird that started its moult half way along its primaries, Im not even sure this can happen. Anyway I cant see any new feathers. The wing also looks pretty concolourous.
The fact that this bird appears not yet to have started its wing moult it puts it somewhere quite a way north but exactly where abouts up there it does not, unfortunately. The bummer is that as far as I am aware, moult can only be used to rule out birds from the Baltic at this time of the year and not the other way around. Was that a ring on its leg?!