Gulls and Terns

How is everybody doing??
I cannot believe that it is almost 2 months since i uploaded any images here. Not really had much chance of getting any photography done, other than when we went away again in the beginning of July. And that could of ended up a wash out but we were fortunate to have a few semi dry days.
Before going away got a bad case of conjunctivitis too so everything was blurred in my left eye and was very pink and bloodshot, and then on top of that got a stye in the same eye. As i use the left eye to look through the eyepiece on the camera most of the time i had to get used to using my right eye. Left eye still not back to normal yet as stye remains. But hopefully it will go completely soon.

Lots of images to show although most of my images are too big to upload on imageshack and im not sure about flickr at the moment so going to upload in small groups until i can resize the images, not that i rate either of these sites for photosharing anyway. Just a shame there was not a way for uploading images straight from PC onto here.

Starting off with a Juvenile Herring Gull and an Adult Black Headed Gull and two images of a Common Tern. All images are as taken from camera, no cropping done.









C&C welcome.

I`ll try and catch up with other members images soon. Thanks for looking.

Wow! I love the last one especially!







No, I can't resist, sorry...looks like the fish took a tern for the worst
Gaz


I'll get me coat

Nice set agree the last one is my fav

Haha Gaz yes it did...... Thank you both

The last one is superb!

First image isn't a juvie black headed by the way - perhaps Herring Gull? Or Lesser Black Backed?

xx

Im not exactly sure about last one. Now you have given me one of 2 other options Laura the scales are tilted towards a Juvi Herring Gull. The Lesser BB Gull looks like it has darker markings.......Im hopeless with Gulls

Here is the 2nd shot of the Common Tern having his meal





Laura please feel free to point me in the right direction if i cannot ID some birds that you may know I am getting there slowly.

I do have a few ducks that need Id`ing taken on the same day

I find gulls and terns can be quite tricky for me personally - the only other thing the tern you have photographed could be is an Arctic Tern - but going on a couple of things - mainly leg length, it says to me it's a common. Karl would know more, but he's not here right now! Maybe Brian can elaborate?

I think the gull is probably a Herring Gull, but I find them really hard to tell apart from LBB at this age!

xx

Fantastic series Mark, I especially think you did well with that last shot it's brilliant.

Thanks Ken and Laura.

I was told that the way to ID the Common Tern from an Arctic is by the tip of its beak. On the common Tern the tip of its beak is blackish/Brownish. The Arctic Tern does not have this marking on its beak. Also the Arctic is a shade lighter in colour They are both of similar size and think if it was not for its beak it would be almost impossible to ID out in the field......

When i was taking these shots i was talking to a guy and he was the one that mentioned to me about the tip of the beak. He was like a walking encyclopedia on birds. Showing him my other images on camera he just reeled off names just like that, many of which were species i had never heard of.