Herring Gull Ageing

[michael23]

hi, i have photographed some herring gulls, and i would like confirmation of there ages please. Just to see if i have taught myself correctly.:smile:
To me image 1 is a juvenile/1st summer

http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv283/michael23_photo/Sea%20Birds/bempton09113-1.jpg

image 2 is a 2nd summer[/

http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv283/michael23_photo/Sea%20Birds/bempton09117.jpg

[B]image 3 is a 3rd summer

http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv283/michael23_photo/Sea%20Birds/bempton09125.jpg

image 4 i think is a 3rd summer?

http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv283/michael23_photo/Sea%20Birds/bempton09105.jpg

[MichaelF]

#4 looks pink-legged to me.

Wish you'd cropped the pics a bit better so they weren't
wider than the screen! Makes some of the captions
unreadable. :hmpf:

[michael23]

hi michael, my appologies, have edited it as best as i can, hopefully the captions are more readable now, in terms of cropping, my laptop decided to crash everytime i tried to do so! so i just uploaded to photobucket and then embedded them.

[michael23]

Spam Reported!

Anyway, I have managed to resize the pics, I would appreciate it if someone can confirm I have the right ages.

Michael

[JanJ]

Hi Michael.
For your Herring Gull's
Just rememberd this and since no one has made you an offer I´ll have a go.

I suppose they are take in April, so the first one is a first winter/summer type (2cy), regogniced by all juvenile pointed primaries, tertials, tail and coverts. All scapulars are second generation - apart from a few lower juvenile feathers with dark centers, seen at the rear over the right wing.
Nr 2 is a second winter/summer (3cy), regogniced by third generation grey scapulars th with a few older brownish feathers, second generation primaries with rounded tips and no mirror. I can´t make out the eye colour, but usually paler at this age.
Nr 3 I think is also a second winter/summer (3cy), but with an advanced bill colour, otherwise similar in pattern to the previous one. We need to see the open wing for a possible better clue than the age I suggested.
Nr 4 probably as you suggested. Bill colour, but with a pale tip (as oposed to all dark tip as in the previous ones). Seems to have a small mirror on p10 and lightly dark patterned undewing coverts.

JanJ

[michael23]

hi jan, thanks very much for the reply, they were taken 4th april this year.
thanks again
:beer: