We went to Stony Point today, the tide was out and a lot of fish carcasses were washed up on the beach. All the different Gulls were having a feast.
Now, I'm not an expert in Gulls, but I think the ones with the bigger beak are the Pacific Gulls, and the ones with the more slender beak and the red dot are Kelp Gulls. The juvenile Kelp Gulls are lighter in colour too. I need your help here, which is which?
No 1 is an adult PG, and then.....?
i'm no expert with gulls either - but maybe the eye colour matters here?
great shots by the way
no question , this is a Silver Gull.
, but what kind of fish is it?
M-L
Pacific gulls, give away is the colour on the tip of the beak, both upper and lower (red in adults, brown/blackish in juveniles. Kelp gulls only have colour on the lower. Morcombes does show some kelp gulls with colour on both, but the juvenile shown by Morcombe does not have any different colour to the beak. Great shots.
Looking at the fish, it appears to be a wrasse of some description- Tail land teeth, but a bit decayed to be sure.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
No 3 looks like a Kelp and the rest are Pacific. A nice collection of plumage stages and, ofcourse, your usual high standard of images.
Cheers,
George
Melbourne, VIC
The fish are Snapper , just the frames after the fillets have been removed
Thanks sparrow, they must have come from a big factory ship, because there were hundreds.
M-L
I reckon these are all Pacific Gulls M-L. Just varying ages.
@George in no. 3. you can see a black patch on the top of the bill which a young Kelp Gull wouldn't have. This is exactly the same bill markings as no. 2 which has the thick bill of a Pacific
I have been to Stony Point a couple of years back and photographed the gulls where they feed on scraps.
Cheers, Owen.
but what about the eye colour Owen? i thought like the rest that no.3 is a Kelp gull because of the darker eye? unless juvenile Pacifics have variable eye colours
Nathan, eye colour varies depending on how old the bird is. I think the younger ones have dark eyes which turn pale as they get older.
Cheers, Owen.
Hmm, you could be correct, young fella. But what about the breadth of the bill? It looks a little narrow to be a Pacific's bill.
Cheers,
George
Melbourne, VIC
The breadth doesn't really matter I think. Just depends on how thick the bill is when looking side on and the last photo is an example of this as it has exactly the same bill markings as the bird in question.
Check out this Pacific I found on google. Quite a thin bill when looking from above.
^ This aint my pic BTW!
Cheers, Owen.
Good bit of detective work, Owen. Well done!
Cheers,
George
Melbourne, VIC
I have been reading all of this with a great deal of interest. I will have a close look at the 126 photos I took at Stony Point. There were some with slender beaks and "a red dot" on the bottom part of it. My Simpson&Day tells me, they would be the Kelp Gulls. I wiil have a look again, because some of the gulls looked different. Should I find one, you will be the first to know.
M-L
There is a difference in the adult bird's , as the white tips and the white band on the wings are different. You have to check what S&D says, not easy to explain.
M-L
The adults are easy to pick, Kelp red only on lower beak, Pacific on both. Juvenile Kelp have an all black beak according to Morcombe. Morcombe also shows the difference in white colouring.
If Morcombe is correct, then the beak colouring is also the difference. Look forward to seeing some Kelpies. Wonder if they will generate as much discussion?
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Haha Dale, I don't have Kelpies, will a Blue Heeler do?
M-L
Thanks Araminta. I was waiting for that one. You didn't disappoint!
I looked at all the photos of Gulls, I didn't find any Kelpies, but here is one of my Heeler
M-L
As with all your bird photos, this is a great shot. Thanks
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
The resolution in these pics is just wonderful. I'm in the market for a new camera. What do you use?
Thanks for the compliment, I use a SONY SLT-A-77V, and a SONY 70-400mm F 4.0-5.6 G SSM lens. (you have to google it, I just love it)
M-L