Yesterday evening (5pm), we saw a large gull being mobbed by Ravens emerge
over the trees at the Bungendore Rubbish Dump (a couple of km north of town
on Tarago Rd). We stopped and got out of the car, and got good but not
prolonged views as it slowly flew across the road a few hundred metres in
front of the car and disappeared into the distance.
The main features we are sure of:
- It was larger than the ravens
- It flew with lazy and deliberate wingflaps
- It had long slender wings (with no 'fingered primaries')
- It was a very clean coloured
- Upper: black wings, black body, white head, white rump, black on the tail
- Under: pale grey/white body and wings, dark primaries
Features we are not so sure of:
- There was a dark line under the wing from the primaries back towards the
body. We initially thought this was the leading edge, but on reflection it
may not have been?
- We couldn't make out the details of the beak, but Cathy saw some yellow.
We are fairly new to this game, but PACIFIC GULL seems to be a likely
contender.
Have there been any inland reports of these birds recently?
What do people on the list think?
Regards
Mat & Cathy
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