Not long ago Yellow-legged Gulls were very scarce in Guernsey, with a handful of records each year. I can't help noticing now that I am recording one or more birds virtually every time I go down the coast. Why should this be? I think the answer is two-fold. There can't be any doubt that Yellow-legged Gulls are appearing more regularly in Guernsey. I haven't counted up...but I must have in excess of 50 bird-days this year now. Of course the other reason is probably because we are becoming better at identifying them amongst gull flocks. We are now picking out Yellow-legged Gulls of most ages...however...as I've commented before on this blog there is a glaring absence of juvenile/1st winter birds. This is most unlikely to be the real position, as one would expect dispersing and migrating 1st year birds to be perhaps the commonest age group to be seen in the islands. This leads me to the unfortunate conclusion that I am struggling badly to notice them amongst the numerous juvenile Herring Gulls... identifying them will have to be next year's gull resolution!
A run down the coast this morning produced three Yellow-legged Gulls (one adult and two 3rd calendar year birds), but little else of note.
A few photos of Yellow-legged Gulls in Guernsey
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