Place: Filey, Yorkshire
Date: 3 November 2015.
I saw this great black-backed seagull on the beach south of Scarborough, holding its wings in a rather strange fashion. When scared off, it could fly ok, but it never folded its wings where they normally go on its back. From its feathers and bill colour I can tell it’s only just matured, and I wonder whether it got hurt in some way through inexperience. At the time that I spotted it, it was scavenging crab and fish remains thrown on the beach by some fishermen. Is there anyone with any bright ideas as to what might mean ?
[Larus marinus, Family Laridae, Order Charadriiformes, Wikipedia Entry: Great black-backed gull]
The sound of the great black-backed gull (borrowed from the Xeno-Canto website, recordist Stuart Fisher)
Distribution and sightings of the great black-backed gull across the British Isles (borrowed and modified from the Bird Atlas Mapstore).
Marnix's Bird Gallery 