This yellow-legged gull has returned to the Pennington Flash gull roost again for the winter. Now an adult in it's 4th winter, it's returned ever year since it was a juvenile. At this time of year adult yellow-legged gulls can be very difficult to pick out when they are on the water like this. Yes they have a darker mantle than the British herring gull and usually a brighter unstreaked white head, but the northern race herring gull argentatus which is quite common at the roost in winter also has a darker mantle and after Christmas many acquire a white head. At the roost I skip past many birds which might be adult yellow-legged gulls but which could be argentatus but I just can't be sure. Yet this bird stands out like a sore thumb. It's a real cracker of a bird, small square head, thick neck, dark mantle, long wings and small mirrors. We did see it standing on a buoy briefly when it's yellow legs were clearly seen.
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