Yarrow Valley CP gull

[John Frankland]

Has anyone seen Dave Croasdale’s photos on the YVCP Facebook page of today’s gull which clearly has yellow legs ?

The grey on the wings on some photos looks dark like LBB but paler grey on others which would mean Yellow Legged Gull.

Any thoughts ?

[ianball]

Tricky one. The upper wing pattern fits both YL and LBB Gull. The variation in shading also makes it tricky. In the bright sunshine I would expect YL Gull to look light in all pictures. Points in favour for YL Gull are the bill - which appears suitably massive and very similar to the YL Gulls I was watching daily last week. The underwing has light grey Primary and Secondary feathers - these would be white in Herring Gull and should potentially be darker for LBB. The bird does appear to be showing signs of moult which is also good for YL Gull as they nest earlier that UK gulls and so moult begins about now. The flight picture of YL Gull on my Menorca blog shows some moult. The head shape and thick neck also support YL Gull. It would be ideal if there were shots with other gulls in the frame to truly gauge the grey on the back.
There’s a lot going for this and the pale underwing does go in favour of YL Gull.

Ian

[Leonard Poxon]

It is a tricky one. The white panels on the tips of the primaries look more Lesser Black Backed Gull, but the unevenness of the grey wing colouring in comparison to the black on the wing ends favours Yellow Legged Gull!