Stephen Welch
Lothian SOC bird recorder from 2011: bird atlas, gull/tern ring reading, vismig/nocmig, Seton/Gosford patch, surveys, roosts & garden birding
- Large gulls typically scarce on Seton Sands pre-roost, more variety than usual: 1. the juv Glauc, 2. ad, slight build, blue-ish back, yellow legs, but streaked (presumed Baltic Herg?), 3. large v dark-mantled sub-ad, bright pink legs, boa, large P10 mirror, black to P6 ("northern" argentatus?) [1/2]
- Vid 1 of the big argentatus - also dark eye, big dark gonys mark, small P9 mirrror, P10 fully grown - so my feeling is modest tertial and scapular crescents, and lack of any black on P5 (or P4), rule out any more interesting options, but I'm not so familiar with these northern argentatus types [2/3]
- Vid 2 of the big argentatus - commences preening at end, size of P10 mirror clearly visible on underwing [3/3] [Post-script: bird 2 above might also be a hybrid LBB x Herg, need a better view of it, it unfortunately departed immediately...]
- The huge gathering of large gulls continues at Gosford Sands, feeding on storm debris, starfish, shellfish, etc., no flock photos as too busy counting but initially c. 5200 last Sat 24/1 by today increased further to c. 6800, with 54 GBB, 1 3cy LBB, 1 juv Glauc [1/5] * app.bto.org/birdtrack/pu...
- The juv Glaucous found by Dylan late Fri not visible early on but was sitting in the raft off the pipe early afternoon, a fairly bulky individual with beautiful dipped in ink bill, but yes it's a darker one with some dark arrowheads and white notching on primary tips, but pale buff base colour [2/5]
- A good showing of argentatus Herrings, ads with darker backs and head streaking, 15 counted in c. 2500 birds, an interesting parallel with the argentatus influx at Storm Babet in Oct 2023, also arriving after easterlies and feeding on storm debris [3/5]
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View full threadMore candidates for ad Casp, this one at Seton with darker back, small dark eye, weakly coloured bill and long white tip on P10 and big mirror on P9 when flew out to roost at sunset, but usual problem of getting photos of open wing when birds moving in low light [5/5]
- Where's Woody? Shocking pics of Woodlark found by @jarrodhadfield.bsky.social & @mattjsilk.bsky.social in stubble SE of Gosford saw mill, feeding with several Skylark, creeping low, diagnostic eyestripe in 1st image, head turned to right in 2nd image #birdinglothian maps.app.goo.gl/G3U8JwYeqn58...
- juv Glauc still Gosford, off pipe, in still 6k+ Herrings ##birdinglothian
