www.gull-research.org

These time pale iris Caspian from Lubna 30.07.2010
PABE was ringed 02.05.2009 in breeding colony as female, more than 3cy, in Poland ZB.KOZIELNO, PACZKÓW, OPOLSKIE, POLSKA, 50°29'N, 16°58'E. Ringer Jacek Betleja.

Michal

ps. im not sure where i have to post photos of ringed birds - in Caspian sub-forum or in local patches - Lubna topic?

Hi Michal,
these pale eyed CG seem to occur but obviously not very often?

Again this "famous" 006P, born at Asow Sea/Ukraine. With it´s intense yellow bill and it´s yellowish feet in midwinter I had beleived in my first Polish YLG!

BTW: In the meantime I have received a report from 1cy yellow PDXD (Greifenstein, river Donau near Wien), so obviously the Jankovice colony in southern Poland has survived the great flood and Jacek has ringed again a lot of them?

Wolfgang

Hi Wolfgang,
indeed these pale eyed CG are regular in Poland, maybe not so numerous but present and not rare.
I post another pale iris one - 103P from Lubna. Unfortunatelly still dont have ringing data.

I haven't any informations from Jacek about birds ringed these year in Jankowice. But good to see that some of them have survived


Michal

Interesting that this 103P also has got these pale eyes

I have got another proof for a surviving Polish cachinnans colony: I was able to observe a 1cy CG with yellow ring PDDK at river Donau near Melk (power station, roosting). It was a large heavy bird, obviously male.
I have made the poor picture after sunset from a distance of about 90 meters with 2x500mm... So please excuse the quality
I believe the Jankowice colony could survive because it is situated at a gravel pit, not at a river.

Wolfgang

hi guys.

concerning pale irises: out of 150 adult cachinnans photographed in romania 30% have "pale" irises, 51% "medium" pigmented and only 19% "dark" ones. a count i just made from my collected photos and of course many are not straight in one category but i think the relation is somewhere there!

regards,

lou

Hi Lou,

and what´s about the bill colour? Last winter I had this 916P, ringed as a nesting adult in 2004. Seems to have a pale (or medium?) iris too. And an intensely yellow bill like 006P, normally during winter I see this greenish yellow bills in cachinnans. Does it depend on the age?

Regards
Wolfgang

hi wolfgang,

i don't know. actually i don't think it is age related. they occure from time to time. see this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=79&p=1056&hilit=ca ... ight#p1056, well i see you just look at it and remember this: http://www.iesmeulmeester.nl/fotos.php? ... catsub=410
i associate birds with bright colours as advanced in hormonal terms, but i may be wrong.

I think there is a difference between the yellow-white colour of the eyes in 103P against the obvious warmer yellow eyes in 006P.
Yellow-white, or white-yellow eyes are to me not possible in cachinnans, but you can always show me the opposite.

Theo

Hi Theo,
so you think that 103P is not a pure CG? Im very curious about it so i wrote to my friends from ringing station form some data for these bird in non-oficial way
I attached a photo of another CG with iris colour simillar to 103P.

Theo Muusse wrote:I think there is a difference between the yellow-white colour of the eyes in 103P against the obvious warmer yellow eyes in 006P.
Yellow-white, or white-yellow eyes are to me not possible in cachinnans, but you can always show me the opposite.

Theo

hi theo,

not possible is a hard word. you yourself have photographed a cach without p5 mark for instance.
attached two caspians with very pale eyes, though a better resolution would be needed to exactly discern iris pigmentation.

best,

lou