It was interesting to see the gulls and the geese again. I snapped a few photos but only with the limited 55 mm. lens.
This Black-headed Gull below is already undergoing the partial moult into breeding plumage - quite early in the season compared to others.
Most of the Gulls below have not started their moult. There are two juveniles in the background, one in the air on the right, one on the ground to the left at the back towards the water:
The bird below is a first winter, clear from the sub-terminal bar on the tail, and the brown on the coverts. The outer tail feathers are completely white - it is not that have they been replaced already, its the middle tail feathers that are replaced first. The fact that in this bird the outer tail feathers are white is perhaps a matter of individual variability. This variation is noted in the Gull Research Organisation, on the page describing 1cy December plumage, http://www.ridibundus.gull-research.org/01cydecember.html. This looks to me like a complete white feather tip on either side - this would be an unusual variation as opposed to just the outer web being white. However the only other possibility I could think of would be wear - and this just doesn't look right for wear, I would expect it to be more even across the tail as a whole.
This Black-headed Gull below is already undergoing the partial moult into breeding plumage - quite early in the season compared to others.
Most of the Gulls below have not started their moult. There are two juveniles in the background, one in the air on the right, one on the ground to the left at the back towards the water:
The bird below is a first winter, clear from the sub-terminal bar on the tail, and the brown on the coverts. The outer tail feathers are completely white - it is not that have they been replaced already, its the middle tail feathers that are replaced first. The fact that in this bird the outer tail feathers are white is perhaps a matter of individual variability. This variation is noted in the Gull Research Organisation, on the page describing 1cy December plumage, http://www.ridibundus.gull-research.org/01cydecember.html. This looks to me like a complete white feather tip on either side - this would be an unusual variation as opposed to just the outer web being white. However the only other possibility I could think of would be wear - and this just doesn't look right for wear, I would expect it to be more even across the tail as a whole.
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