A genuine Azorean
An elusive Azores Gull in Co Mayo eventually gave itself up during February.
CLAIMS of Azores Gull in either Ireland or Britain are not too unusual, with one or two candidates generally reported each year. However, a good number of these are either disproven as hybrids or left unconfirmed due to a lack of diagnostic identification features.
In reality, it is immatures that provide the best chance of proving a genuine atlantis. Individual Azores Gulls can be highly distinctive in the first few years of their lives, before reaching the far less verifiable adult plumage. Youngsters are dark and swarthy, with secondand third-calendar-years generally demonstrating a densely streaked and neatly formed hood for most of the winter as well as a ‘dark chocolate’ basal colour to the tertials and greater coverts, and dark grey upperparts approaching that seen in graellsii Lesser Black-backed Gull.
A look at the past claims of atlantis across both Britain and Ireland shows that such distinguishable birds are few and far between. Thus, the discovery by Derek Charles of a candidate third-calendar-year on the Mullet peninsula in Co Mayo in June 2021 was of real note.
Alas the bird initially proved very elusive, being seen just a few times between the first sighting and the end of 2021, but has become a little more reliable in 2022 and has now been observed and photographed well. The bird looks a classic Azores Gull in all respects, with its retained hood, dark upperparts, greater covert and tertial pattern and robust overall structure with deep, square-tipped bill.
In fact, it could be argued that this is the most distinctive individual ever recorded in Ireland and, including British claims, the best since the second-winter in Cornwall between July and November 2008 – itself accepted as the first British record. A total of 15 records has been accepted in Ireland, with a few claims in recent years – including the Mullet bird – yet to be considered by the IRBC. ■