On March 18, 2013 for the
second time in Extremadura, a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
was seen in the rice fields of Santa Amalia (Badajoz) by José
Guerra, Marc Galvez (pictured) and Fernando Yuste. The purpose of the
field trip was to find 24 flamingos that appeared in the area the day
before, and also to see waders. Among the many gulls present, which
is unusual at this time, a gull was photographed and looking at the
photos more closely it proved to be a Ring-billed Gull in second
winter plumage. To verify, identification experts were consulted
(Albert Cama and Daniel Lopez Velasco) who then confirmed the
species. Read more on the personal blog of Jose and
Marc.
Therefore, it is the second record for Extremadura, after one seen on the River Guadiana it passes through Badajoz, in the winter of 2008-2009. The first case was a first winter bird viewed from the Old Bridge in Badajoz between late 2008 and January 31, 2009 (Joaquin Mazon -bottom photo-, Jose Manuel Caballero, Salvador Solis and Juan Carlos Paniagua).
Therefore, it is the second record for Extremadura, after one seen on the River Guadiana it passes through Badajoz, in the winter of 2008-2009. The first case was a first winter bird viewed from the Old Bridge in Badajoz between late 2008 and January 31, 2009 (Joaquin Mazon -bottom photo-, Jose Manuel Caballero, Salvador Solis and Juan Carlos Paniagua).
Ringed-bll Gull is a bird of
North American origin. This is the Nearctic gull observed in greatest numbers
in Western Europe. Although in Spain it is known of the 1950 ringings
in the Great Lakes region, the species was not seen in Europe
until the 1970s. Thereafter it began to be increasingly frequent in
the next three decades, the cumulative number of birds seen in the
UK, France, Portugal and Spain approached two thousand. Therefore,
this gull was removed from the lists of rarities from the above
countries. The distribution and Iberian phenology is typical of
Nearctic gulls, with a high presence in the Northwest coast during
winter, although there are records every month of the year and some
remain even in summer. The regions accumulating more recordings are
Asturias and Galicia, also being present, although in small numbers,
in the Mediterranean coast of western Andalusia. To our knowledge,
the first date in the interior of Spain is the one referred to in
Badajoz in 2008. Then there are records in the dump of Alcázar de
San Juan (Ciudad Real): first winter birds in February-March 2009 and
February-April 2010 (Gabriel Martin), and in Madrid: at least five
recordings in the landfills of Pinto and Colmenar Viejo, first and
second winter and an adult, on 05/02/2010, 25/11/2012, 02/12/2012,
06/12/2012 and 02/08/2013 (Madrid Gull Team), and a first winter from
14/12/2011 to 26/02/2012 in the river Manzanares in Madrid (M.
Fernandez Lamadrid). It is interesting to note the observation of an
apparent hybrid gull (Larus fuscus x. L. delawarensis) for five
winters, moving progressively from first winter plumage to adult
plumage in Pinto landfill, 30/11/2008, and at Colmenar Viejo, on
15/11/2009, 28/11/2010 and 12/10/2012 (Delfin Gonzalez and Juan M.
Ruiz
