I spent 4-8 February birding in Latvia, with Paul Baxter, Hywel Maggs and Phil Crockett. We spent time in the forests around Riga looking for woodpeckers, but also managed to catch up with a Hawk Owl that had been around for a week or so (130 km SE of Riga) and a Ural Owl that was frequenting a city centre park in Riga. And of course we also had a day on Riga dump, looking at Caspian Gulls.
Ural Owl, Riga city
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshv9_Sg0mID1zYG_Xo7-e1Ea9hlzTuZfPTlButAcGAUoQv6Mxl8SNg7PCWYAaPlZg0Ku1R3lPn_XsOsa6_yUqr-on9teJLK7Uze9Amzv9CTpoauWw9RTrS5QyBIMJjmpX1C90Ro15ycE/s400/web829K1782.jpg)
Pygmy Owl.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAJzDh5rzpkSa-kP6Qo_DC2eKSelvj4e4pzWtbkmuqa10yQ2EWTZFBSitTrb1_rg0ytEG33UVfxXxCKsYin6mbMPbCvjGpGHzEEFGLzpCxSXg1NcV3hM_wXE1f3xsLB8xQiP866M9n-A/s400/web829K1776.jpg)
Pygmy Owl; a lucky flight photo
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNK5q6cdP8wBBsxPDTNl7dwi7V-EXQytZZiZupuAd2LKlu1LVDkUfWOjy1mh1BNP-cgGfYu1b-uA0cHvq8AJ6pjqZDqyYcUQ13_7vyL8Widfcsj_Map6-vdYpNLWKsdUu69FaHfpKVVw/s400/web829K2206.jpg)
Caspian Gull (3w)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgk01o8NBu0gFzL3_XJYA6_lPOYoI9H58XmfGGVR-xpoMNDOQLMNy9xXqUTmB28k-0XxWQpfCUrf3IJDdu5-i-DLD_gp6WdQ6MDcDShLeYS76OfR1qyZLPH5P6Lgm9iXr6Fx_zQw8rAk/s400/web829K2045.jpg)
Caspian Gull; same bird as above
Caspian Gull; same bird as above, long-calling in the classic albatross posture
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJW2R34V7b64KH3uJWFPB5T3sr3DQY2NQIznQ-t49CoE9bAeBINLGGw8kWM7qSYfAjK1VIB6z-UTXw0rfxFDKyjAIydPTcJaobmqjF4Jazk91ot_iPZF8GRXuNWOpSXiodoOec87pQgLo/s400/web829K2359.jpg)
Caspian Gull; a large, presumably male bird.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVimAESYZuGPf8r1pnb4SzQ1ReZ_VO5CEMg_mAOfzZWsOd9VZwewQq6rnHLfMF0fUVgxfv4H32oJA4LXoF3UnNAE_4TlcewwTlMADUf7yP7vS9_H9AKIiG3HwT6xBrFWRnqYjuXkmrtqY/s400/web829K2377.jpg)
Caspian Gull. Same bird as above. The bill colouration, rather short P10 tongue and black across the tip of P10 suggest that this bird is not fully mature.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFQMr7hYycspq4de4QTlGElE7J9FGCJNraz2JUcAAVU1v-WDe6pH30aNjkXYP7g0AYqt3_hatx5DjqOUe2OowpvVr6eaF3LiWuBlppD-NQheLNjMefj1qgDtD-2lEAbcxaNE1EA9Qer4/s400/web829K2011.jpg)
Caspian Gull.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekPeChYFtpqPK5-SbWxOqfL6DGQ4Mv6b89IIPMAjH8y2YN4Ti6krEYBsjxOB5h0cIsQtSxbb447tLQQaFNrwCqCTqQBxQ72idD5wCn_YbiW6FMd0_QP7ORDydDbj9JHn4xhLrblQsMcc/s400/web829K2007.jpg)
Caspian Gull; same bird as above. This bird has some black in the primary coverts, just visible here. Also note that the black extends inwards as far as P4.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QHMYoUzCmq6W5CyUetgqHffgeJVwcrqejMjjOkeX1slLwCqINNqOnYQxRMn13Rs0Mq2tn34B_mLoxsj-Zlvm1jsN0ScPRWXkIUXYiyUKgbClYTHa8qRVe4IRK_J17cTBieMXeZkT-iY/s400/web829K2481.jpg)
Presumed Caspian Gull. This 3w bird called like a
cachinnans, but one or two things concern me a little. Its bill is rather bright and, especially visible in the image below, bulges at the gonys; it also has rather a lot of neck streaking. Collectively, these features make it a less than typical bird. If I was in UAE, without the call I would just take this to be a
barabensis.
Presumed Caspian Gull; same bird as above
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