First-winter: Paglesham Lagoon, Essex - date unknown
Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis
First-years
First-winter: Paglesham Lagoon, Essex - November 2004
First-winter: Paglesham Lagoon, Essex - November 2004
First-winter: Paglesham Lagoon, Essex - December 2004
First-winter: Paglesham Lagoon, Essex - January 2006
First-winter: undisclosed site, Essex - 12th December 2009
First-year: Undisclosed Site, Essex - February 2010
The tertials are dark brown and plain with only fine pale fringing. The wing coverts are dark centred with narrow pale fringes creating a rather solidly brown wing. The greater coverts having increasingly pale inner feathers with brown barring.
The ground colour is whitish with greyish mottling.
The scapulars are mid grey with bold anchor markings with transverse bars, a number of feathers are paler with darker internal markings
The head is squarish with the large dark eye slightly 'masked' by fine streaking.
First-year: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 27th February 2010
Very similar in many respects to the previous bird, above.
The tertials are especially dark brown and plain with only fine pale fringing. The wing coverts are dark centred with narrow pale fringes creating a rather solidly brown wing.
The ground colour is whitish with greyish mottling.
The scapulars are mid grey with bold anchor markings with transverse bars, a number of feathers are paler with darker internal markings
The head is squarish with the large dark eye slightly 'masked' by fine streaking.
The bill is heavy and blunt tipped with paler basal two thirds appearing.
First-year: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 27th February 2010
Compare with the typical michahellis above.
This bird is larger and far more rangy than the bird above, jizz wise it has a Caspian Gull quality however a number of characters along with plumage detail point towards Yellow-legged Gull.
The bill is large and hefty with prominent blunt and bulging tip.
The head shape matches Yellow-legged whilst there is fine streaking that also matches that species over Caspian Gull.
The neck is long, note the kink.
Wing coverts are gingery-brown with neat fringes but lacks the usually obvious double pale bars across the the wing. A number of lesser and median coverts have been replaced as have the inner most greater coverts; they appear as grey based with prominent blackish anchors or arrowheads.
The tertials are dark plain brown with neat pale fringing.
The scapulars are boldly patterned with prominent anchors and subterminal bars.
The second image is of the same bird facing the opposite direction.
Again note the hefty bill profile, the scattered replaced new wing coverts and the more visible dark plain tertials.
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First-summer: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 31st July 2010
Firstly note the structure; stocky blunt, bulbous tipped bill, largish head and thick build.
The head is whitish with heavier streaks around the eye and on lower hind and neck sides.
The mantle feathers have been replaced by plain grey whilst the scapulars are boldly patterned.
First-winter: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 29th January 2011
A typical first-winter bird
First-winter: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 26th March 2011
Only a couple of wing coverts are replaced thus this bird still looks uniform across the wing.
The typical michahellis structure is visible; rather large head with large eye and 'mask'; heavy blunt tipped bill with pronounced Gonyedal angle, rather long thin legs, heavy chest and slender rear end. The ground colour is whitish.
The scapulars are a mix with newer plainer grey feathers giving the upper part a generally more uniform appearance.
Not a large bird so presumably a female.
First-winter: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 26th March 2011
Completely different in appearance to the bird above taken on the same date.
Here the scapulars are pale with bold markings whilst there is now a lot going on in the wing coverts; the new next generation feathers are appearing through, seen as dark centred almost diamond shaped.
The greater coverts are mostly dark with pale diffuse edges and the tertials are very dark brown with only narrow whitish edges.
The white ground colour is evident as is the structure and bill shape.
First-winter: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 2nd April 2011
Another individual that has replaced a number of scapulars, tertials and wing coverts. The newer lesser coverts are seen as dark diamonds with white fringes whilst the replaced central median coverts are whitish with darker brown a tips and subterminal bars. The inner greater coverts are seen as a similar pattern. The upper most tertial is new, being whitish with dark shaft and subterminal bar.
The general michahellis structure still shows through.
First year: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 23rd July 2011
The white head with sparce streaking, large eye and hefty dark blunt tipped bill are clearly visible.
There the bird is progressing its moult towards its second year plumage as can be seen by the emerging mid-darkish grey scapulars and blackish rounded tipped primaries.
The wing coverts have a distinct buffish tone.
First year: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 5th November 2011
This bird could perhaps easily be overlooked in amongst Herring Gulls as it's not an overly striking bird as many Yellow-legged Gulls can be. It is a little more subtle with ID coming from the moult.
Most of the Median coverts have already been replaced; appearing as buffish toned, with the older darker brown and plainer outer feathers still to be replaced.
Only the inner Greater coverts have been replaced however most of the Lesser Coverts are new.
This gives the wing a mixed bag of new and old generation feathers which Herring Gull would not show this early into the winter season.
Additionally many of Scapulars are replaced and the inner Tertials also; the older feathers are plainer older dark brown with neat edges with only the faintest of notching.
The head is pale but note overly obvious and the bill is becoming slightly paler.
Not a large bird so presumably a female.
The second image shows the bird from it's right side showing a similar pattern of moult in the wing coverts.
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