Med Gull seen and photoed

Since my last post I have now seen a Med Gull 😊

I had planned this morning to go to the playing fields where Stig Johan had previously seen the bird early on Friday morning and where I have twice failed to find it since. My plans were speeded up when I received a text from Stig telling me the bird was there again. I had decided to get some housework done as the weather was so dire: fog and crappy light and this got completed very quickly. The bird was still present when I got there with over 30 Common Gulls and a couple of Black-headed and Herring Gulls. As is typical of gulls they seem unconcerned by “normal” people walking past but as soon as a green clad, binocular toting person wants to get close then they get all flighty. I chucked some bread out and that was the last thing they wanted – maybe men matching my description have tried to molest them before and they have learnt never to accept bread from strangers?

I did manage some OK pictures at high ISO and then left them whilst I went to Maridalen and returned at noon when the light was a bit better but by then half the flock had moved on including the target bird. I am quite sure that this is the same bird as I had in Maridalen as they are quite close and up until recently many of the city’s gulls were popping into Maridalen to bathe. Med Gulls are one of my favourite gulls but it does have to be said that this particular individual is a pretty ugly and ungainly bird.

The fog was even thicker in Maridalen but the Long-tailed Duck showed quite well and I was able to age and sex it as a 1cy female. There was little else to see although the lake could have held thousands of birds hidden in the mist. A single Meadow Pipit is hanging on but apart from a few Yellowhammers and four Waxwings there were few passerines.

2cy Med Gull (svartheavsmåke)

with an adult Common Gull (fiskemåke) - note how much paler grey the Med is

2nd winter/summer birds have black  edges to the outer 3-4 primaries but these become white in adult birds

and with a 1st winter Black-headed Gull (hettemåke)

the Long-tailed Duck (havele). The greyish back ages it as a 1cy and the black bill as a female

with 3 Goosander (laksand)

Waxwings (sidensvans)

and some reflections