nominate Lesser Black-backed Gull (L. f. fuscus)

(last update: 20-1-2010)

(4 images) Larus fuscus fuscus adult J20E October 2009, January & March 2010, Ashdod, Israel. Pictures Amir Ben Dov.

J20E was ringed in northern Norway, as an adult (4+cy, sex unknown) at the nest. The colony only holds dark mantled birds (nominate fuscus). It was ringed on June 22 2007 at Lislandholmen, Nordhorsvær, Sømna, Nordland, Norway (65°19'24"N 011°36'33"E).

More information about migration strategies in Norwegian fuscus and the ringing programme in the three northern counties of Norway: Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, can be found here: The summary for juveniles can be found in the fuscus 1cy October section, the summary for adults can be found in the fuscus adult October section.
Morten Helberg, Geir Systad, Ingve Birkeland, Nils Lorentzen & Jan Bustnes published an article about this research in Ardea 97, 2009, titled: Migration patterns of adult and juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus from northern Norway. The complete PDF can be found HERE.

above: J20E October 31 2009, Ashdod, Israel. Pictures Amir Ben Dov.

P1-P4 fully grown, P5 growing, P6 missing, P7-P10 old. Secondaries and rectrices old. Adult fuscus wihich is active primary moult in the inner primaries, as is typical for nominate fuscus in October. Ill-defined head streaking in the hind neck and a small black smudge on the bill. Red gonydeal spot doesn't exceed on the upper mandible. Upperpart colour rather pale grey, obvious paler than black sub-terminal bands on the new inner primaries. Wing covert moult in progress, simultaneous with primary moult, most obvious in missing central greater coverts and fresh inner median coverts.

below: J20E January 02 2010, Ashdod, Israel. Picture Amir Ben Dov.

Difficult to say anything substantial, except that P10 is still old.

below: J20E March 26 2010, Ashdod, Israel. Picture Amir Ben Dov.

Interesting individual. By March, all primaries are new now (P7 most probably folded under P8, sugesting a moult gap in the outer primaries which is hard to believe when you see the pictures above and know the moult strategy in this bird).
However, tertial #2 growing and several mc & llc missing and recently replaced mc. Hence, a partial moult in the wing-coverts by March in this N Norwegian bird??? Similar moult can be found in this J0X0, also from N Norway. So far, we have not recorded it in any of the Finnish ringed full adult birds in March.