Black-headed Gull - Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Black-headed Gull - 1st winter.
The Black-headed Gull is probably the most familiar of all Europe’s gulls. It is a common winter visitor to the Algarve, although returning birds arrive as early as July and many acquire their chocolate-brown heads (Black-headed Gull is a misnomer) characteristic of breeding plumage as early as January and in a few this plumage is well advanced by the end of December. Black-headed Gulls may be found anywhere along the Algarve coast in the appropriate seasons.
Black-headed Gull - adult winter. Salinas de Tavira
Black-headed Gull - adult breeding. Lagoa dos Salgados
Pictures by Ray Tipper - More about Ray...
More about Ray Tipper
Ray Tipper began his birding on the North Kent Marshes at the age if eleven. He left his native Britain in 1973 spending most of the next 22 years in Hong Kong. As a trustee of WWF he was intimately involved with its renowned Mai Po Nature Reserve. It was in Hong Kong that Ray turned to bird photography, which quickly became his major interest. He gained associateship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1990, and his photographs appear in journals and books throughout the world. Ray guides specialist birdwatching and bird photography tours and since 1997 has led more than 100 tours in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Madagascar. He now lives in the Algarve, where his intimate knowledge of its birds has been recognised by his appointment as Chairman of the Portuguese Rarities Committee.
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