Franklin's Gull in Victoria

[Andy Burton <>]

Mike,

Some years ago on a visit to Lakes Entrance (Victoria) I found a Laughing Gull (BARC accepted). It was about the same size as the nearby Silver Gulls although with a greater wingspan it looked larger in flight. Franklin's Gull is, I believe, noticeably smaller. Were Silver Gulls nearby in order to make this comparison, when the bird was photographed?

Andy

> On Sunday 18
> January, a 'black-headed' gull was seen briefly in flight at
> Breamlea, some 20 km S of Geelong on the Otway coast in Victoria, (per
> Margaret Cameron).
> About
> lunchtime next day (yesterday), Jenny Zimmerman watched a similar bird
> squabbling with Silver Gulls on a beach at Anglesea, 22 km to the SW.
> It was indifferent to the holidaying throng. The bird was outstanding
> with a wholly black hood and prominent white eyelids. So it was either
> a Laughing or a Franklin's Gull. She alerted Geoff Price at BA HQ
> and the twitchers were on their way. Most searched today and as far as
> I know, all including me (yet again), dipped! So did the few who went
> immediately yesterday, except for Rob Ganly who at 17.10, stumbled
> across some boys tossing it chips! He obtained some excellent digital
> pictures at very close range. Unfortunately, they are not as revealing
> as we would like because the bird was mostly facing him and didn't
> fly!
> Jenny
> described the primaries as almost entirely black and Rob agreed. This
> suggested that it was a Laughing Gull. But Rob reckoned that the wing
> projection beyond the tail was short. This suggested that it was a
> Franklin's Gull. At this stage I've seen just one of the photos
> and I reckon it's a Franklin's for the following
> reasons.
> 1)     Visible even in the closed wing,
> is a white bar across the base of the primaries.
> 2)     The white eyelids are very
> broad.
> 3)     Although it is a slightly
> foreshortened view, bill structure seems to fit that species
> better.
>  So why
> are there no white mirrors? The photo shows that the primaries are
> extremely worn but there is a trace of the original white tip. This of
> course, also makes the wings appear shorter than they should, falsely
> emphasizing the less attenuated appearance of
> Franklin's.   
>  If
> anyone finds it, please advise me immediately. It would be a
> milestone, bringing up 450 species for me in Victoria!
> Incidentally, Bob Swindley found two Oriental Pratincoles at
> the WTP, Werribee, on Sunday.
>  
> Mike
> Carter
> 30 Canadian Bay Road
> Mt Eliza    VIC     3930
> Ph:  (03) 9787 7136
> Email: m("bigpond.com","pterodroma");">

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