Thayer's Gull in Mie... and Quail yet again

A few weeks ago I failed to find a Thayer's that had been reported at Tsu in Mie prefecture. As I spend a fair bit of time checking the gulls there I was a bit miffed not to have connected. I'd actually quite forgotten about, I imagined it would have long since gone, so it came as a total surprise to come across it while checking for Taimyr Gulls today. Stumbling onto it like that was as exciting as a self-find.


So without further ado; an adult Thayer's.

Head-on and more or less as I first saw it; an eye-catching small, short-legged gull that demanded attention.

Standing behind the larger gulls it's small size is obvious, as is its paler saddle.

Between a Vega on the left and Taimyr on the right.

There's just the slightest suggestion of the uniform shawl there would have been in winter.

The legs could look quite pale pink at times but they are much deeper in this shot.

Only greyish notches on p5.

As can be seen from the title japanese Quail was easy to see again today.

Not at all a bad day considering until a week ago I'd never seen Japanese Quail on the ground and the Thayer's was my first ever adult.