The final of the fourteen species of gull we encountered during our week-long Irish trip was this delightfully salmony adult Ross's Gull at Kinsale. Of course, a good proportion of Ross's Gulls show a pink wash to their plumage but they rarely come this bright (at least in the UK) - the most intense hue was around the bird's tail base, on the rump and the vent. This was another new Irish bird for me, and infinitely better than the utterly underwhelming Lancashire bird (that later died!). Just a shame about the appalling light that morning, not to mention the oil all over the belly and, as you'll see in the perched shot above, on the tertials too.
Josh, fwiw I dont think this bird is oiled, at least not in the normal way. Jim Wilson saw the bird today and its clean underneath. I think it must be some manky stuff it's landing in that washes off again. Either way a cracking bird. Paul Moore
ReplyDeleteHi Paul, thanks for that - funnily enough was just talking to Colin about it via Twitter, who said the same thing. Saw pics of it from Sunday when it looked decidedly cleaner..! Wonder if it's going to feed in a field or something. Beautiful bird, not sure Ross's Gulls can get much better!
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