My latest bogey bird

08 Saturday Feb 2025

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British gulls, Cardiff Bay birding, Larus michahellis, Yellow-legged gull

The Water rail used to be my bogey bird but, once my sightings of that beautiful skulker increased, the bogey bird title passed to the Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis). I’ve continued to look for one, several times thought I’ve found one, only to work out for myself or be told by birders more skilled than me that I’ve been wrong.

That same thing happened with this bird: when I posted photos online, no one stepped up to proffer an opinion and the one birder who was prompted by someone else to give his judgment decided it wasn’t a Yellow-legged gull.

So, you can imagine how very delighted I was when I received a message from our county bird recorder that he was happy to accept it as a Yellow-leg. As he wrote, the bird shows: ‘uppers mid grey (darker than Herring [gull], paler than LBBG [Lesser black-backed gull]), large size, and [in this case, quite pale] yellow legs all consistent.’ And those features are precisely why these birds can be tricky to identify – unless you have all three gull species standing side by side, the colour ‘mid-grey’ can be difficult to determine, as can the gull’s size. I was fortunate than my Yellow-legged gull was standing next to a Lesser black-backed gull as that made the comparison a little easier. Now to find another!

Mediterranean gull

13 Monday Jan 2025

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British gulls, Larus melanocephalus, Med gull, Mediterranean gull

This is another of my sightings from December, certainly the best view I had all year of a Mediterranean gull (Larus melanocephalus).

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As is usually the case, it was with a large flock of Black-headed gulls, searching the grassy playing fields of a Cardiff park for worms and other invertebrates. These gull flocks can be quite skittish but, as there were no dogs being walked off lead on my side of the park, this lot were content to continue their search while I sat on a park bench watching and taking lots of photographs.

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Med gull on The Marl

16 Wednesday Feb 2022

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British gulls, Med gull, Mediterranean gull

I managed to clock up the 89th species on my 2022 patch birding list on Friday after bumping in to the bird’s finder at the Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve. John had, about an hour earlier, spotted a Mediterranean gull among the flock at The Marl playing fields, so I strode in that direction, hoping the bird would still be present. At first I couldn’t find it as The Marl is popular with dog walkers and their pooches were constantly unsettling the large flock of Black-headed gulls prospecting diligently for worms in the lush grass. But, eventually, the birds settled down again and a thorough scan for a white rear end (adult Med gulls have no black on their wing or tail feathers) produced my bird.

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Not so Common gull

17 Wednesday Feb 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British gulls, Common Gull, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park

I was standing at a regular feeding spot on the edge of one of the lakes at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, checking the gulls that were floating on the choppy waters, watching them watching me. Amongst the many Black-headed gulls, there was one Common gull, a species which, despite its name, is not so common in my local area.

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There was a bitter easterly blasting across the lake and I knew the birds were hungry, hoping for a handout. So, I obliged, sprinkled the contents of the seed container I had brought with me on to the grassy bank.

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The reaction was instant, a screeching of throats, wings flapping, an excited flurry of hungry gulls heading for the bank, knowing they had to be quick, to beat their fellows, to gain even one seed.

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As I’d hoped, the Common gull came with them, and its slightly larger size meant it had an advantage, used its bulk to muscle in and claim more than its share of seed. And, of course, that meant I was also able to get some reasonably close photos of it. A win for the gulls, and a win for me.

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115/365 The gulls are back in town

25 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British gulls, Lesser black-backed gull

The Lesser black-backed gulls mostly disappear during the winter months – I’m not sure where they go – but, come the Spring, they return, and they’re very good at making their presence felt. They often wake me very early in the morning, sometimes by jumping about on my roof, other times with their screeching calls. I’m hoping you can imagine the noise by looking at this series of photos.

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Cardiff’s lovely Little gull

14 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, autumn passage of birds, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British gulls, Cardiff Bay, gulls, Hydrocoloeus minutus, Little gull

I mentioned a few days ago, in my post about the autumn passage of birds now getting underway, that a juvenile Little gull has recently been spending time in Cardiff Bay. As it’s such a lovely creature, I thought I’d go back and try for another look and more photos. My camera gear’s not the best so these shots aren’t the crispest you might see but I think you’ll agree this is one beautiful small gull.

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The Little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is perfectly named (minutus, as you might have guessed, means small, minute): in the photo below you can clearly see its petite stature in comparison to the Black-headed gulls and Feral pigeon perched near it.

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According to the RSPB website, between 400-800 Little gulls over-winter in Britain but, locally, here in south Wales, they are uncommon visitors, mostly seen on passage in spring or autumn. My first-ever Little gull sighting was during this year’s spring passage, in Cardiff Bay on 10 April, but that bird spent much of its time flying around in the centre of the bay, visible only through ’scopes and binoculars.

So, it’s been especially nice that our current visitor has been flying, perching and feeding much closer to shore where I, and many other people, have been able to get a better look at it. Soon, I’m sure, it will head south to meet up with others of its kind who will spend their winter around the coastlines of the Mediterranean and western Europe. Fly well, little beauty!

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