28 Nov 18

Swannery Car Park, Radipole

On the way back from Dorchester I popped into the Swannery Car park to have a look at the gulls. The car park here usually has a good number of gulls throughout the day and often settle here before heading of to Weymouth Bay. However I'm not sure where they will be going today as Storm Diana batters our shores with winds up to 70mph.

When I arrived at around 2:15pm there were a good number of gulls. Sadly no Common Gulls but plenty of Black-headed Gulls, with several Mediterranean Gulls in amongst them. To the side of them were 20+ Herring Gull, a few Great Black-backed Gulls and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, with one dark individual.

Here are few images from this afternoon:

An adult Winter Great Black-backed Gull

And a 1CY Great Black-backed Gull.**

An adult Winter Lesser Black-backed Gull

These are both Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The heavy black markings on the right-hand bird are quite striking. Possibly a 4CY or very nearly an adult Winter bird which has just moulted out the brownish cast to the wing coverts and tertials.

Herring Gulls

And another adult Winter Herring Gull.

Black-headed Gulls. Two adult Winter birds on the left and a 1st Winter on the right. (Or should that be 1CY) 😉

This is an adult Winter Black-headed Gull. Well it should be, but it has retained almost all of its Summer "black" head. It is starting to moult out so should look like the fellow top left before long!

Not a Black-headed Gull, but an adult Mediterranean Gull in Winter plumage.

Okay from left to right the head of an adult Winter Black-headed Gull, then a 2nd Winter Mediterranean Gull and on the right an adult Mediterranean Gull. There isn't a lot of difference between the 2 Meds, but note the different bill colouration of the 2nd Winter bird and also the black in the wing, which is absent in the adult bird. Some great examples of 2nd Winter Here and adult Here.

Note:

**Ever wondered what the difference is between a 1CY (Calendar Year), 1st Winter, Juvenile, 2CY, 1st Summer, 2nd Winter etc. etc.

Well, gulls like many other birds take quite a few years to reach adulthood and in the process have different plumages at different stages of their life.

I'm not going to explain it, as it would be very easy to tie myself up in knots. However on the Bird Forum Blog Here and Here there are some really good explanations as to what the differences are. Good luck!

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On this day..........

2017
Today's Sightings Here