This is one of those birds where, without the Merlin app that I use--a program developed by the Cornell Institute of Ornithology, whose links to info about the birds I sometimes include in my posts--I would never have been able to figure out what bird this was. The advantage that this app has is hundreds and thousands of photos and ID markers to help identify birds in their non-breeding or seasonal plumage. The black-headed gull is quite distinct, one I might have been able to ID just by typing something like "black head gull UK" into a Google search and very likely coming up with the answer. But, as I've talked about winter plumage, these are birds that have nonbreeding plumage rather than winter plumage. They have what looks like a wispy but thick eyebrow over their eyes, and that's the marker of the nonbreeding plumage of this bird. They're going to look really cool when I see them in the summer!
According to Wikipedia, these birds do exist in Canada, but on the eastern side, so it's unlikely I'll see them at home unless I get to travel out east sometime, which I hope to do. Anyway, I'm particularly happy about the photo with the 3 gulls in it--sometimes people with professional photography skills will get 3 different action shots and then create a composition showing the different stages of the animal's movement. In my case, I don't have that ability nor the camera equipment to do so, but I lucked out with 3 gulls in 3 different stages of landing, and it amounted to the same effect.
April 2021
As I had hoped, I was able to get photos and make a compilation of this bird from juvenile stage to breeding plumage. I'm happy I didn't get lazy and think I could get these photos at any time, at least of the breeding plumage stage, as I assumed they'd be here all summer. I was quite wrong! I suddenly realised a couple of weeks ago that the only gulls I was seeing around here were the black-backed and herring gulls, and as I finally got my RSBP birding guide, I consulted it, and learned that black-headed gulls only breed up north in the summer, so they've all gone for their breeding season.
The one with brown in the photo is the gull in first year plumage, and the rest are in between until you see the ones with the full black caps (that are apparently chocolate brown up close, in reality), which is their breeding plumage.
Starting in early July of 2021, I noticed that the gulls were making their way back from their nesting grounds. I am hoping to catch a few juveniles and photograph them. I was informed by someone with more knowledge than I have that what I thought was a juvenile in my compilation above was in fact a gull in first winter plumage. They are not the same thing. Gulls take years to mature in their full adult colours, so that means the gull I thought was a juvenile is actually a full adult, and this is what they would look like their first winter. In the second winter is where you'll find more of the grey tones above. I might have guessed it myself, but I didn't look hard enough to realise that there was already some light grey on the gull's wings, or else I might have doubted my guess of juvenile, but live and learn. That's why it's great to be connected to knowledgeable birders so that you can learn something from them. In any case, I was able to get a
photo one of the gulls having returned in July. One thing you might read about black-headed gulls is that their heads are not actually black but chocolate brown in colour. From a distance, it's hard to tell, and they do look black, but catch them in the right light, and you can see that they do indeed have chocolate-coloured feathers and not black ones like crows or ravens. You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see the brown head up close. It's quite a beautiful bird, and they are small and agile, not unlike terns. The only thing I didn't miss was their shrill squawk. Other gulls sound like the ones you know from the seaside; black-headed gulls sound like they're squawking. It doesn't remind one of the seaside at all!
Rye Harbour Nature Sanctuary, 29 April 2023: I mentioned earlier in my post about these little gulls that leave London during breeding season, around late March or so and then don't return until around July. Well, I discovered where one of their nesting sites is: atthe Rye Harbour Nature Sanctuary! There were probably a good 60+ birds there, and with some of the hides at the sanctuary, you could get up close to some of the nests. It was quite nice to see them like that, though less nice to hear them again, with their squawk that sounds like a baby screaming!
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