Many Larus fuscus & heuglini this year!

LATE NOVEMBER 2011 - HERAKLEION HARBOUR.

Maybe more than 50 birds on the late November in Heraklion harbour are fuscus type birds. LBBG intermedius, BG fuscus and HG heuglini are more than any other year of the last 10. Mainly Heuglins and many young birds look also this type of fuscus.

And always some birds are difficult to identificate like this "heuglini or barabensis":

Armenian present also, left with YLG on the right:

Heuglin's are so great:
This bird made me a bit puzzling before decide to identificate as Caspian:
But this one remains unidentificated...:

Next pic shows a ringed young gull on left. Probable numbers I read are: xE-x7x428

(x=R, x=1, x=5), hope to another better look. The right one possibly Armenian:
YLG are always beautiful:
Possible HG, 1st winter:
Oily Mediteranean:
And more to show...

8 November 2011

Many new arrivals!

BHG - Med G.

YLG

2 CGs

Baltic?

????

Possible Baltic

???

Again here!! For another winter this BG. Still in moult the wing covers!

The YLG on the right has different colour in its legs !!

Late November Gulls

After many days with south winds and warm weather this morning, with a north breeze and partly cloudy skies, was perfect for gulling in Heraklion harbour. A good combination of Gull taxa present:






The star of the day was this Baltic Gull, (a male ringed as pullus in Finland in 1995) that came back again to winter here, for 3rd time:















The same bird with a presumed heuglini:














And again with a michahellis and 3 other adults of the fuscus complex, probably all three being intermedius, but what about the one on 1st winter plumage? :










Most probably a heuglini, pink legs, large size:












A nice looking michahellis:














And the most characteristic adult heuglini, a well known individual now!:















Two more of the fuscus complex, probably an intermedius on the back and a (female?) heuglini in front:












A Larus cacchinnans and a presumed intermedius:











Another "fuscus type" with 3 young birds, all probably from the same problematic taxon:
















Two different birds in 2nd winter plumage, probably one intermedius, one fuscus:


























What about this one? a western type LBBG or a Baltic? something else? any suggestion? :














Michahellis 1st winter:



















And michahellis on 2nd winter plumage:


















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I also give some picture of difficult cases, pictures taken on Nov 6.

A small-sized and short-billed Gull, a possible Larus armenicus:















An interesting young bird, probable michahellis, see bill:














A sub-adult Caspian?:















And another small-sized bird with a grey mantle lighter for being a heuglini or a graelssii, rosy legs, see it with a 1st winter michahellis:


















And alone: