G'day Jen,
I agree and would also like to encourage people to keep an eye out for
possible Brown-headed Gull in north west Australia. I hope you can revisit
the area and have another go at sifting through the Gulls there.
But would also like to emphasize that juvenile and first year Silver Gull
from that region have a wing very similar but only subtly different to
Brown-headed also lacking a mirror patch in the primaries. It's the head
people need to focus attention to with distant birds, look for ear spots etc
and redness of bill colour. And always try to get photos to go with written
notes.
Cheers Jeff.
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of jenny spry
Sent: Tuesday, 5 July 2011 12:02 PM
To: birding-aus
Subject: Gulls in n-w Australia
Hi all,
As an aside to the current Silver Gull discussion I would like to suggest
that for those living in, or traveling to, the north-west of Australia it is
worth checking all flocks of gulls for vagrants.
In November 2009 I was on Cape Leveaque, north of Broome, and came across a
bird that looked different to the surrounding Silver Gulls. The main
difference I noted at the time was that it appeared to be an adult, or near
adult, bird but there were no noticeable white patches or "windows" in the
outer primaries. Because of my distance from the bird and lack of photos
taken the consensus was "Silver Gull, they are different up here". I still
have my reservations about this outcome but I am accepting it, for now.
My suggestion though is, if you are traveling in the n-w this season it may
be worth checking all flocks of gulls, and not writing them off as "just
Silver Gulls". I think there is a possibility of juvenile and or
non-breeding northern hemisphere gulls mixed in with them. How I wish I
could get back up there and check for myself (smile).
cheers
Jenny
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