After a very blowy and not very bird-rich visit to Conwy birds reserve, Monty and I went on to the various coastal viewpoints at Llandulas and Pensarn.
There were some good views of gulls at Pensarn itself, which has the most amazing beach, miles of golden sands below the stony foreshore.
This is a black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, close to the car on the stony higher part of the shore. It's worth expanding this photo, as it's a really smart bird close to, with a very delicate grey on its upperparts, a pure white on its underparts, black on the wings with small white spots, and a red base to the beak and orange-red legs. Notice also the white ring immediately around part of the eye. In winter the brownish head cap is lost to be replaced by these dark vertical stripes on the head, very variable from bird to bird.
The word ridibundus means laughing, in relation to its harsh call. A sociable bird very commonly found inland, migratory or resident in the UK, that takes two years to get to maturity, and may then be very long-lived - for example one bird is said to have lived for 63 years!
There were some good views of gulls at Pensarn itself, which has the most amazing beach, miles of golden sands below the stony foreshore.
This is a black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, close to the car on the stony higher part of the shore. It's worth expanding this photo, as it's a really smart bird close to, with a very delicate grey on its upperparts, a pure white on its underparts, black on the wings with small white spots, and a red base to the beak and orange-red legs. Notice also the white ring immediately around part of the eye. In winter the brownish head cap is lost to be replaced by these dark vertical stripes on the head, very variable from bird to bird.
The word ridibundus means laughing, in relation to its harsh call. A sociable bird very commonly found inland, migratory or resident in the UK, that takes two years to get to maturity, and may then be very long-lived - for example one bird is said to have lived for 63 years!
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