What Gull is It

[Myer Bornstein]

Here is an other Gull. It is larger than the ringbills and has pinkish to Orange legs Craigsville Beach Centerville MA. We went to find and did see and photograph the ICeland Gull Nikon D300s
2009:12:30 16:42:58
Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm
750mm (in 35mm film)
1/250 sec, f/6.3
Mode: Program
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 400
AF mode: AF-C
White balance: AUTO

[Myer Bornstein]

Axel
I also posted the picture to the Mass Bird List and Jeremiah Trumble who is an ornithologist at Harvard reply was an Adult 4th year Herring Gull. My son and I had it as a Hybird Herring/Glaucious Gull;)

[Chris Sloan]

I agree it's a Herring Gull but I think it's 3rd cycle based on the bill.

[Dan Brown]

Hi Myer. The eye and leg color are good for ad. Herring Gull as are the mantle and primaries. The bill size is good for Herring. The bill color is a problem? I'm thinking the bill indicates an adult in it's first winter, as it matches 3rd cycle! My 2 cents! Happy New Year!

[Myer Bornstein]

Well we now agree it is a herring gull but what year is it? This shows the difficulty with IDing Gulls but it is fun and they are neat to photograph. especially if you have some food for them

I wish everyone a Happy New Year and excellent photo opportunities:)

[Wayne Richardson]

Well we now agree it is a herring gull but what year is it?

Well I'm with Jeremiah Trumble on the age (4th year) but would consider it a sub-adult due to bill colour. I don't see any hybrid features either.

3rd year American Herring Gulls (as do their European counterparts) show varying amounts of immature brown wing coverts/tertials & the primaries would be darker due to much smaller white spots. In addition, there would be dark barring on the tail, although you cannot see whether it is un-barred on this particular bird.

It is also worth bearing in mind that there is considerable individual variation during the time it takes a gull to reach adulthood, be it over 2, 3 or 4 years. The authors of 'Gulls of Europe, Asia & N America' stress that, even in the 1st adult year, many birds will still show some sign(s) of immaturity.

Cheers: Wayne

PS: A Happy New Year to one & all. :)

[PeterClearrate]

What a good articles In fact, these holidays will show particular signs. As we saw yesterday, EURUSD had incredible fluctuations. If some of you guys have some tips about how to invest on these days, thanks for sharing with us, especially about USD, recently called the strongest currency. Jess;