counting coots

The picture below shows two gulls. That much we can agree on. I can verify that the gull in the rear of the photo is the resident Yellow Legged Gull. The beady eyed bugger in the foreground goes into the dodgy pile as it is showing some Caspianesque features (here we go again). Now the probability of me taking a photograph in Fulham of both of the above is remote – if it were a photo of the two suggested above this would make Fulham a Gull hotspot. Not very bloody likely methinks dear reader.


The first photograph was taken on Tuesday, when I took a fair few photos of the Dodgy Gull (DG) but when looking at them later on I deleted most of them because it wasn’t leggy enough. But yesterday it was still there and it still looked funny. So, of course, I got stuck in again.

But what bits are dodgy and what are not? Remembering that this is in moult and Caspian is split from YLG not Herring...





Beady eye
Parallel(ish) bill
Long forehead
Pear-shaped head
Longish neck
Weak gonydeal angle
A bit busty
No significant tertial step
Long gape line thing



Not aggressive to YLG
Hint of tertial step
Legs a bit too red

Not overly dark mantle
Bill not really long enough
Little marking on nape

Not leggy enough

I'm guessing that some readers fell asleep when they got to the words 'tertial step'.




Anyway in summary, it's probably just a funny Herring Gull. But I haven’t a bloody clue. It stays in the dodgy pile for now.



Any ideas??