The Workington area of West Cumbria has been the focus of autumn and wintering Mediterranean Gulls for over a decade but in the last few years numbers in autumn have far exceeded the handful of birds that previously occurred ...
Today I counted 74 but that is certainly a conservative count ... most (57) were adults but there were also at least 12 juv/ 1st W and 5 2nd W birds present ...
At least two carried Darvic colour rings ... this adult with a white ring ...
... juveniles can be strikingly attractive but this bird has started its moult into 1st winter ...
... another adult carried a yellow Darvic ...
... some bill colours were interesting as with this adult showing a lot of yellow rather than red ...
... and this 2ndW showed a distinctly orange bill ...
... and this 2nd S > W had a particuarly complex bill pattern ...
... and a 2nd W with a distinctly yellow bill ...
... most of these birds originate from the near Continent, from colonies in N Germany, Belgium, France and Holland ... many then winter in the Iberian peninsula before returning directly to their Continental breeding areas ...
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