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Hi,

Today, rising gullstar Merijn Loeve found this interesting gull at the dump of Dordrecht, The Netherlands. He showed me the pictures in the field and I suggested that it would be nice to have a closer look at this bird. It didn't show up again. Some things are pointing towards heuglini in my opinion, but I know it is hard to say anything more than that based on these pictures. However, never mind to give it a try.....

- large 1cy gull, even as big as a Herring Gull argenteus;
- as far as I can see, completely fresh;
- broad white edges of the scaps;
- roundish head with micha-look;
- strong bill with pale base;
- quite pale bird;

Any comment?

Hi Albert (& Merijn),
I read Theo observed the bird again today, for only 10 minutes. You already mentioned a few points about this bird, but the pictures show more:
- dark inner primaries,
- primaries and secondaries obviously darkest part of the bird, feathers not pale brown but rather blackish brown.
- tertial pattern very LBBG like
- tail with very much black. As far as I can see, only outer-web of R6 with some white, very limited in other rectrices. (see plate 568 in Olsen & Larsson).

The problem is, we don't know very much about this taxon. I just surfed the 1st winter heuglini pages on ORG, to find a bewildering variation in birds, patterns like in Herring Gulls and like in LBBG, still juvenile by December and moult timing much advanced. Still, we have to see if all these birds, photographed in the Middle East, are indeed heuglini (or maybe other taxa are involved as well... Hey, what about a location called Ivanovo Oblast...).

Still a very good candidate in Dordrecht.

it might look very good for heuglini, but can't a male intermedius from norway look similar? i mean, that pale?