Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii & intermedius)(last update: November 04, 2015
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lbbg 1cy May lbbg 2cy January lbbg 3cy Jan-April lbbg sub-ad Jan-April lbbg adult January |
first calendar year: November By November, many LBBG have left the colonies and surrounding feeding grounds near the Maasvlakte (the Netherlands) and have migrated south towards France, Portugal, Morocco and Senegal. By mid-November, several 100's LBBG may still stay near the Maasvlakte, probably as long as it's not freezing. By December, a couple of hundreds remain on continental NW Europe, as north as southern Netherlands along the coast at Westkapelle, 65 km south of the Maasvlakte (see map). As it seems, every year a larger group of LBBG stay "at the most northern latitude as possible", i.e. migrate south only when winter conditions or food supply force them to. They feed out on the North Sea and follow coasters and fishing trawlers in mixed flocks of mainly Herring Gull (argentatus and argenteus) and (in winter only a few) Yellow-legged (michahellis) and Caspian Gulls (cachinnans). Year 2000 had a rather mild winter with temperatures below zero as late as mid-December. At Westkapelle, ringed individuals from Scandinavia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Britain were present. When winter really started in December, this group moved south as well, to unknown wintering grounds, probably the Atlantic coast of Western and SW Europe. The first weeks of November 2001 proved to be mild again and several 100's of LBBG (many adults) could be found at southern locations in the Netherlands: the Maasvlakte and Westkapelle. As in the previous year, red colour-ringed juveniles from the Maasvlakte (the Netherlands), a green colour-ringed 2cy LBBG from Helgoland (Germany) and blue colour-ringed juveniles from Vest-Agder (southern tip of Norway) were present, together with several metal-ringed juveniles from Belgium, Britain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. Westkapelle seems to be one of the best places to watch graellsii and intermedius LBBG together from a short distance. Comparison of 1CY November taxa:1cy Lesser Black-backed Gull: post-juvenile moult The partial autumn moult (moult into so-called "first winter" plumage) includes the body and head feathers. This moult starts as soon as the nest is abandoned (especially in southern populations of graellsii) and continues until January. Early graellsii juveniles fledge by late-June in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, intermedius and fuscus fledge only by mid-July in northern Norway. The post-juvenile moult in the first year is extensive in southern Lesser Black-backed Gull populations and the final stage of this moult is more or less reached by mid November. Northern juvenile intermedius and nominate fuscus postponed the post-juvenile moult until they reach the wintering grounds, hence retain a juvenile plumage in their hatch year. Although graellsii is well ahead of its cousins fuscus and intermedius on January 01, much changes dramatically in the new year. Intermedius start a late post-juvenile moult, replacing feathers in March-April. Not only the scapulars and inner wing-coverts are replaced, many birds start replacing almost all of the visible wing-coverts and also rectrices. Advanced birds even include secondaries in this late post-juvenile moult and return in fresh 2nd gen plumage in N Europe in June (2nd gen, except for the juvenile primaries). Fuscus too has a late post-juvenile moult, or shifted first complete moult. Here things are more complicated: some birds follow a moult strategy similar to that of the complete moult in taxa like argentatus, michahellis, cachinnans or graellsii do in their summer. Other 2CY fuscus adopt a strategy outlined above for intermedius, and start replacing primaries after they have moulted the wing-coverts and tail.
After the post-juvenile moult, the head turns paler on throat and forehead. The breast turns paler as well, but most is an effect of bleaching and wear. The feathers on belly and vent remain juvenile in most 1cy graellsii by November. |
U.K. 1cy: graellsii |
LBBG 5CN6 1CY, November 02 2014, Landfill VRSU de Colmenar Viejo, Madrid, Spain. Picture: Delfín González. | ||
LBBG 1cy 1PF November 27 2005, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
LBBG 1cy AJ.AH November 30 2008, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 097:F 1CY, October - November 2016, Portugal. Picture: José Marques & Carl Baggott. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 5FK9 1CY, November - December 2016, Matosinhos beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
LBBG 1cy 1K8 November 15 2009, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 6Y6:C 1CY, November 18 2016, Portimao Fish harbour, Portugal. Picture: Carl Baggott. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 8C0:C 1CY, October - November 2016, Portugal. Picture: José Marques & Carl Baggott. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 8C1:C 1CY, October - November 2016, Matosinhos beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 8E4:C 1CY, November 15 2016, Torreira beach, Aveiro, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
LBBG 1cy A5ZJ November 25 2007, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii D+J 1CY, November 24 2016, Matosinhos beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii K+W 1CY, October - November 2016, Matosinhos Beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
LBBG 1cy A+R November 28 2010, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
France 1cy: graellsii |
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Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 3:DEE 1CY, November 24 2016, Matosinhos beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 3:DGE 1CY, October - November 2016, Matosinhos Beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 3:DTH 1CY, November 14 2016, Matosinhos beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Belgium 1cy: "Dutch intergrade" graellsii |
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Lesser Black-backed Gull intermedius AS.0J 1CY, November 14 2016, Leixões Harbour, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii AT.0J 1CY, November 16 2016, Katwijk, the Netherlands. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii AV.0P 1CY, November 16 2016, Portimao Fish harbour, Portugal. Picture: Carl Baggott. | ||
LBBG 1cy DSAY November 05 2006, Madrid, Spain. Picture: Delfín González. Also as 1cy Nov. | ||
LBBG 1cy HPAN Westkapelle, the Netherlands, November 09 2008. | ||
LBBG 1cy BLB L-91xx09 November 04 2010, Westkapelle, the Netherlands. | ||
the Netherlands 1cy: "Dutch intergrade" graellsii |
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Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 5||3 1CY, November 16 2016, Portimao Fish harbour, Portugal. Picture: Carl Baggott. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 5||A 1CY, November 15 2016, Torreira beach, Aveiro, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii 8||P 1CY, November 03 2016, Matosinhos Beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
LBBG 1cy SL October & November 2014, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Picture: Robert & Frank van der Meer. | ||
LBBG 1cy 50 November 30 2008, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
LBBG 1cy 04 November 10 2010, Santander, Cantabria, SPANJE (4.327,00 N, 347,00 W). Fernando Arce. | ||
LBBG 1cy NLA 5.410.095 November 01 2002, Westkapelle, the Netherlands. | ||
N Germany 1cy: transition graellsii - intermedius |
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LBBG 1cy HK90 November 02 2011, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Picture: Herman Bouman. | ||
LBBG 1cy H24K November 01 2006, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
LBBG 1cy H560 November 11 2007, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
LBBG 1cy HC63 November 21 2010, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
LBBG 1cy HJ39 November 18 2012, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull graellsii HAE87 1CY, November 18 2016, Portimao Fish harbour, Portugal. Picture: Carl Baggott. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull HXL70 1CY, November 30 2014, Comenar Viejo, Madrid, Spain (40°15'41"N 003°38'00"W). Picture: Delfín Gonzalez. | ||
LBBG 1cy DEH 4273064 November 02 2003, Westkapelle, the Netherlands. Ringed on the isle of Helgoland, Germany. | ||
Denmark 1cy: intermedius |
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LBBG 1cy VM4L November 11 2012, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. | ||
LBBG 1cy VR9L November 21 2012, Anza - Agadir, Morocco. Picture Christian Pedersen. | ||
Norway 1cy: intermedius |
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Lesser Black-backed Gull intermedius J643Z 1CY, November 03 2016, Matosinhos Beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull intermedius J652R 1CY, November 03 2016, Matosinhos Beach, Matosinhos, Portugal. Picture: José Marques. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull intermedius J760R 1CY, November 16 2016, Portimao Fish harbour, Portugal. Picture: Carl Baggott. | ||
LBBG 1cy J824 November 05 2006, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Delfín González. From N. Norway. | ||
LBBG 1cy JR2Y November 24 2012, Anza, Morocco. Picture: Christian Pedersen. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1CY, November 16 2012, Leiden, the Netherlands. Picture: Maarten van Kleinwee. | ||
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1CY, November 09 2015, Utrecht, the Netherlands. |