An often overlooked, but none the less an impressive bird.
Adult
Juvenile (light was against me)
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Good shots, I agree they are very impressive, definitely wouldn't be overlooked by me as we don't get them here in Sydney.
Same for us Canberrans- would be very exciting if I saw that from a bus over the lake
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Very impressive bird. I'll be on the look out for these when I visit Tassie in May.
Samford Valley Qld.
Yes they are. I would be very excited to see one. Looks like he has lipstick on in the first pic.
Thanks all, we take them for granted.
John, coming to Tassie in May, bring some warm clothes!! You should have no trouble spotting these guys near any coastal waters. On our Easter weekend, went fishing. Sighted Pacific, Kelp and the ever present Silver gulls, White Bellied Sea Eagle (poor photo), Shy and Bullers Albatross (photos later), Sooty and Pied Oyster Catcher (poor photo), Crested Terns (posted in ID), Autralasian Gannets (no photo), Short Tailed Shearwater (no photo, last few before their migration north), White Faced Heron, Little Penguin (no photo occasionally surface near boat) and Forest Raven (from the shore)
A mate sent me this phone photo of a gull (permission to post), can't see its beak clearly enough, probably a juvenile Kelp, but possibly a Pacific gull. Landed on their bait board, and was able to be tickled by those on board. Ate all the bait and then retreated!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
i believe the Kelp gull is increasing in tasmania, and the pacific may be decreasing
interestingly Pacifics are extremely common in melbourne, kelp only occasional.
We usually see more Kelp than Pacific, but I haven't noticed a decline.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
the theory goes that the Kelp's rapid colonisation and increase may displace the Pacific due to occupying the same niche
guess we'll see
the Kelp has a fantastic call though
Thanks Dale, I will bring warm gear. It might sound strange to you but I'm looking forward to a few days of cold weather actually!
Samford Valley Qld.
Could that bird on the boat be a Brown Skua? Thats what it looks like to me.
Possibly, looks good for it, and location fits as well. I did not see it in person, so cannot offer much comment. Maybe someone else would know. I have another photo I cant ID properly so will post both in ID section shortly.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Nice photo of the pacific gull ... it is an impressive bird, with those nice bright yellows and reds.
Not sure what the bird on the boat is - but it does not look right for a kelp gull.
The bird on the boat is a Juvenile Pacific Gull. Brown Skuas dont have that patterning on the wings and mantle, they are a more uniform dull brown.
LM
the bill doesn't seem long and heavy enough to be a pacific even for a juv imo, i've seen many thousands
Hope you don't mind Dale,resolution not too good but a little more detail.
Thanks Rick, no problem, it was only a phone photo. I am still not sure, but with the predominately darker beak, leaning towards Juvenile Kelp, as the Pacific would have a lighter base?.
We may need to agree to disagree.
Thanks all for your input and comments, either way, they are a joy to see live!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Great shot of the PG, Dale. I have only had the pleasure to see them a few times.
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
i wonder why this bird was given the name pacific gull if generally doesn't occur there