Gulling in the boro'

LBBs @ Tanholt

Back in Lincs this weekend so headed over to Peterborough to check the gulls out this morning. Absolutely nothing at Dogsthorpe, with no tipping activity happening either. However, Tanholt was a different story, with at least 500 large gulls - mainly Lesser Black-backed - gobbling up detritus on the new landfill cell there. I eventually found a good place to view them, and had nine Yellow-legged Gulls (3 adults, 2nd-summer, 1st-summer and 4 juveniles). Some photos below.

Juvenile; note the presence of several moulted upper scapulars (with anchor markings) already.

Juvenile; same bird as above. A classic in every respect.

Adult (or near-adult) with Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls. I always find that older michahellis look much
 grottier facially than Herrings at this time of year, presumably because they moult their head feathers earlier.

Comparison of juvenile gulls: Lesser Black-backed (left), Yellow-legged (above centre) and Herring (bottom right).

In other news, I flushed a Quail on my patch this afternoon as I searched for the recent Black-necked Grebe (no sign). This is the first time I've seen a Quail without hearing it; really surprised me and burst out of the undergrowth Jack Snipe-stylee. Got great views of the facial markings, too - top stuff.