Azorean type Gull video

Azorean type Yellow-legged Gull from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Some video of the second Azorean type Yellow-legged Gull at Stewartby Tip, October 2011

Azorean in flight

Some more shots of the Beds Azorean Gull - I hope Martin Palmer doesn't mind me using them!  They show nicely the darker bar on the underwing, as well as P10 perhaps half grown, and P9 three-quarters grown.  They also show the bar on P5 - but perhaps a little too fuzzy to see if there is anything on P4.  You can also see the legs, but getting accurate colour is a bit tricky - but they don't look startlingly yellow!

Azorean teaser

Note P10 still growing and with a small mirror.  Impossible to see P9 here but that's still growing too

The Azorean type is at around 11 o'clock from the centre of the image.  It's mantle is far darker than any Yellow-legged or Herring Gull, and yet paler than the surrounding Lesser BB's

It's big.  And dark.

After finding what I thought then was a possible candidate for an Azorean Yellow-legged Gull in the Stewartby roost in August, I then bump in to this thing this evening.  In my opinion it looks really good.  When you compare this bird to the Didcot bird Ian Lewington found in October 2009, it looks extremely similar - I would even go so far to say this could be the same individual?

So what do I need to nail it?  Better views and lots more video!  I guess I'll be back at Stewartby again tomorrow...

Zorros Gull

Apparent Azorean Gull, Didcott, Oxfordshire, 10th October 2009. The shade of this gulls mantle was mid-way between a normal Yellow-leg and a British Lesser Black-back. A very interesting bird indeed.

Saturday gull twitch

Apparent Azorean Gull, Didcott, Oxon, 10th October 2009