A ride down the beach south of Daytona yesterday afternoon yielded hordes of gulls - mostly Ring-billed, Laughing, and Herring - including several Great Black-backed and one possible 1st year Lesser Black-backed (LBBG). I say possible because "Lessers" are not a common gull for this part of the world and, in first year plumage, can be difficult because they are similar in size to the much more common Herring Gull (HERG). From the 2nd year on the Lessers have yellow legs making them easier to distinguish from the Herring which have pinkish legs as do the 1st year Lessers. The only field mark that really sets them apart is the "dirty" white head on the Lesser, the Herring Gulls being more uniformly brown all over.

Gulls can be either "3-year" or "4-year" depending upon how long it takes them to reach adult plumage (and sexual maturity). I was able to find 3 different winter plumages of Greater Black-backed Gulls on this outing and have included them here. The only one I did not see was the 3rd winter plumage, given more time and more beacch it would have been nice to get that one too. The "Greats" really stand out in the crowd because of their sheer size - they are about 2/3's the size of a Bald Eagle at 30" in length. They also seemed to be less tolerant of humans approaching with long telephoto lenses than the rest of the gulls and frustrated me a couple of times when they bolted before I got the shot . . .

Great Black-backed Gull, 1st Winter plumage.

Great Black-backed Gull, 2nd Winter plumage.

Great Black-backed Gull, Adult plumage.

Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1st Winter plumage.

For comparison here's a first Winter Herring Gull:

Herring Gull, 1st Winter plumage.