UNIDENTIFIED GULLS - VEGA-like (vegae & "birulai":
NOTE: Although I discuss each gull's possible identity using language ranging from tentative to somewhat confident, I regard all identities to be SPECULATIVE unless there is wide (but not necessarily universal - these are gulls, after all!) external support from the gulling community.
- April 09 , 2015 - Strong candidate first-basic Vega Gull from near Galveston in 2008 - note the similarities with the Feb 2015 bird here.
- Feb 22 , 2015 - much better photos of the near-adult-basic Vega Gull from Brownsville from Feb 07;
- Feb 07 , 2015 - Strong candidate first-basic Vega Gull from Brownsville - on the same day as the adult below;
- Feb 07 , 2015 - Strong candidate adult-basic Vega Gull from Brownsville;
- March 02, 2010 - a first-cycle gull that seems in-between YLGU and argentatus!? - from Florida in late January;
- March 02, 2010 - a first-cycle HERG-type gull that looks more like an Old World type - from Florida in late January;
- March 02, 2010 - a first-cycle HERG-type that has an "Old World rear end" - from Texas in December;
- Feb 27, 2008 - A HERG-type with way too much white in the tail for a pure smithsonianus...
- Feb 13 , 2008 - Another strong candidate adult-transitional Vega Gull from Houston - perhaps the same bird returning?;
- Jan 08, 2008 - found more images of this Vega-type first-cycle Gull from March 2005 (from two weeks earlier) that reveal more critical detail- click HERE
- Feb 21 , 2007 - Strong candidate adult-alternate Vega Gull from Houston;
- Jan 09, 2007 - A weird Adult Vega-like gull from Corpus Christi - check out those primary markings.
- Jan 07, 2007 - Another first-cycle gull from Houston area that looks a lot like Vega;
- Jan 07, 2007 - Another first-cycle gull from Houston area that looks more like Vega;
- Dec 23 , 2006 - A first-cycle gull from Houston area that looks more like an Old World form;
- Dec 23 , 2006 - A first-cycle gull from Houston area that looks a lot like Vega;
- Dec 23 , 2006 - A first-cycle gull from Houston area that looks more like Vega;
- April 02 , 2006 - Another first-cycle gull from Corpus Christi- it's very large and pale; a weird GBBG or hybrid thereof?;
- April 02 , 2006 - Strong candidate adult-alternate and first-cycle Vega Gulls from the same site/day in Houston;
- Jan 26, 2006 - A striking first-cycle Vega-type Herring Gull from Galveston; check out that tail!;
- Dec 16, 2005 -
a first-cycle HERG-type that looks like an Old World form - probably Vega Gull;
- Nov 18, 2005 - a first-cycle HERG-type that looks like an Old World form...
- Apr 20, 2005
- pics of a first-basic gull that
suggests Vega - check out the tail and the molt.... from
Corpus Christi;
- Mar 30, 2005 -Three more
recent first-basic gulls from Corpus Christi that show charachaaeristics
of Vega Gull - click HERE (updated Jan '08),
HERE,and HERE;
- Feb 17, 2005
- another first-basic gull with
the characteristics of Vega Gull from Corpus Christi;
- Feb 17, 2005
- a first-basic gull with characteristics
most like "British" Herring Gull from Corpus Christi;
- Jan 18, 2005
- a first-basic gull with the
characteristics of Vega Gull from Corpus Christi - the tail
looks like that of an Old World form;
- Jan 18, 2005
- another first-basic gull with
the characteristics of Vega Gull from Corpus Christi;
- Jan 07, 2005
- a bright juvenile HERG-type
from Corpus Christi, with some very unusual features;
- Dec 29, 2004 - a first-cycle HERG-type that looks like Vega Gull ;
- Dec 14, 2004
- a different even funkier juvenile
large gull from Corpus Christi;
- Apr 13, 2004 - added a strong
candidate for adult Vega Gull from Corpus Christi;
- Mar 14, 2004 - a first-winter large gull from Corpus Christi on March 04 - very vegae-like;
- Mar 06, 2004 - an adult Vega-type gull from Corpus Christi on March 04;
- Dec 30, 2003 - added a first-winter
HERG suggesting vegae from Fort Worth;
- Feb 05, 2003 - added a first-winter
suggesting vegae from Fort Worth;
- Jan 25, 2003 - added a vegae-like
first-winter from Fort Worth;
- early December, 2000: The Easton, Pa mystery gull;
- June 19, 2000: Here are some
2nd-basic-type Herring Gulls( which
race?) plus a thayeri-like HEGU(?)
from Nome, Alaska, thanks to Don Cunningham.
- April 06, 2000: A visit to the
upper Texas coast yielded a darkish, angular adult HEGU;
- March 30, 2000: An excellent
series of photos from Alaska by Don Cunningham have added significantly
to the Vega
Gull sections, and provide a point of reference for Alaskan
American Herring Gulls. I have added
some comparative head-profile crops of Don's Alaskan Vega Gulls
to the bottom of the Vega Gull from Texas
page.
- March 7, 2000: a bird showing the characteristics of Vega
Gull, from Texas.
- an adult presumed smithonianus
from Texas that seems to have some vegae-like
features