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Peterborough Bird Club gallery 2004 Compiled by Katie Fuller. All images copyright to photographers. |
Star Pit has long been a Mecca for gull enthusiasts and has the lion's share of local rare gull records including the only record of Sabine's Gull. Records of the Caspian and Yellow-legged races of Herring Gull have increased greatly in recent years, due in part to increased observer awareness and a better knowledge of identification criteria. The first bird (left) is an adult Caspian Gull displaying a slightly darker mantle, a small, clean white head, very long neck and wings, excessively long and parallel-sided bill with little gonys, yellow/pink legs and a small, dark bullet-hole eye. |
Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls Larus argentatus cachinnans and michahellis at Dogsthorpe Star Pit NR, Peterborough. January 4 2004 |
The two pics above are of a near-adult Yellow-legged Gull, with a still darker mantle, clean, white, strong-looking head, sturdy blunt-tipped bill and long, dark-tipped wings. The relatively round-headed look and slightly light build indicate this is probably a female. Copyright Kevin Du Rose. |