Herring Gull (argentatus & argenteus)

(last update: February 11, 2013)

Coordinators:
Jean-Michel Sauvage (France)
Mars Muusse (the Netherlands)

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Herring Gull plumages:

HG 1cy July
HG 1cy August
HG 1cy September
HG 1cy October
HG 1cy November
HG 1cy December

HG 2cy January
HG 2cy February
HG 2cy March
HG 2cy April
HG 2cy May
HG 2cy June
HG 2cy July
HG 2cy August
HG 2cy September
HG 2cy October
HG 2cy November
HG 2cy December

HG 3cy January
HG 3cy February
HG 3cy March
HG 3cy April
HG 3cy May
HG 3cy June
HG 3cy July
HG 3cy August
HG 3cy September
HG 3cy October
HG 3cy November
HG 3cy December

HG sub-ad Jan.
HG sub-ad Feb.
HG sub-ad March
HG sub-ad April
HG sub-ad May
HG sub-ad June
HG sub-ad July
HG sub-ad Aug.
HG sub-ad Sept.
HG sub-ad Oct.
HG sub-ad Nov.
HG sub-ad Dec.

HG adult January
HG adult February
HG adult March
HG adult April
HG adult May
HG adult June
HG adult July
HG adult August
HG adult September
HG adult October
HG adult November
HG adult December

Herring Gull (argentatus) KV79 2cy, January - April 2007, Westkapelle, the Netherlands. Pictures Pim Wolf. 

Not at all a strong powerful 2cy argentatus with almost the complete juvenile plumage retained, as one would expect. Instead, a bird hardly distinguisable from local Dutch Herring Gulls, with about half of the scapulars replaced by mid-winter. Also, rather small in size, not unlike average local birds. In the last images, note the tappered, wedge-shaped tail-band, somewhat resembling michahellis, but with four extra black transversal lines on the outerweb of R6, unlike michahellis.

It hatched last summer along the coast of the White Sea in the Kandalaksha Nature Reserve (67.15N,32.30E), Murmansk District, Russia in a project of Vitaly Bianki. Ringed as pullus July 08 2006 with plastic white KV79 and metal RUM Moskwa DS005710 ringed at Lunnaya Island, Kandalaksha Bay in the White Sea (67.05N,32.29E). Many thanks to Vitaly, who wrote a paper about the ring recoveries of his project, which can be order at the Bird Ringing Centre of Russia. If it is out of print, you can ask how to obtain this report in the Centre after mid-August 2002 by e-mail: ring@bird.msk.ru. Title: "Marking of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) with plastic rings." In this book you find ringing records from Russia and adjacent countries 1988-1999. The report is in Russia, with an English summary.

From this region, Kleinschmidt describes a large, very long-winged Larus argentatus major breeding from the SE Baltic towards the White Sea. It's a pale grey mantled and partly yellow-footed Herring Gull in adult plumage. The juvenile and 2cy plumage are not described. However, this bird strongly resembles the argentatus from Finnmark Scandinavia, entering the Netherlands by mid-winter.

Recoveries:

below: 01 January 2007.

below: 01 February 2007.

below: 04 February 2007.

Herring Gull KV79 2cy (argentatus), April 23 2007, Westkapelle, the Netherlands. Picture: Pim Wolf.

Bird ringed in the White Sea, N Russia in 2006. Lowest row of LS ( LLS) still juvenile, as may be expected in 2cy northern argentatus.