BLACK-HEADED GULL

I am delighted to see any lifer of course, and any new Australian bird outside my annual pilgrimage to Cocos/Christmas is especially welcomed. If I can achieve one in a year, I am pleased. This year, 2026, I've seen an impressive four, and the year's not yet half over. I saw the Indian Pond Heron and Arctic Warbler on Christmas in March, then the Cocos Booby at Lake Macquarie in May, and now the Black-headed Gull in Geraldton in June. How lucky is that! Here's a dreadful shot I took with my camera. At least it's proof:

And here it is enlarged:

On Wednesday, 3 June, Richard Baxter informed me that there was a vagrant, unidentified gull in Geraldton. I was scheduled to go to Queensland on Monday (to look for the Herberton Honeyeater and Lloyd Nielsen's undescribed quail-thrush) and doubted I had time to organize a trip to Geraldton before then. Richard scoffed. 'You've got four full days!' he said. 'Plenty of time!' On Thursday, I learnt that the unidentified bird was a Black-headed Gull - a bird I'd seen in England, but which I needed for my Australian list. Here's a shot I took last century in England:

I was reluctant to fly to Perth until I had arranged transport to Geraldton, and I spent an anxious few hours discussing options and seeking travelling companions. Finally, thanks to Damien Baxter and the WA What'sapp birding group, I arranged a lift with Geoffrey Groom, who was driving up with John Edmond. He had a Ford Ranger, I was welcome to join them, but there was little legroom in the back seat, Geoff warned. Lack of legroom is generally not a problem for someone on my stature. He agreed to pick me up at my hotel at 4 a.m. on Friday morning. So I flew to Perth and stayed, as usual, at the Sanno Marracoonda. Four a.m. on Friday found me standing in the street outside the Sanno, ready for an exciting adventure. Geoff arrived. We picked up John, and drove directly to Geraldton. We had a very brief stop at the Badgingarra Roadhouse, and arrived in Geraldton a little before 9 a.m. Geoff seemed convinced that we'd have trouble spotting the bird and would have to stay the night in Geraldton. I was hopeful we'd see it immediately and be back in Perth comfortably by tea-time. We parked near the Surf Life Savers yellow building, and while the boys were playing with their camera equipment, I strolled over to the beach to get the lay of the land. Immediately I saw a flock of Silver Gulls, and one gull had a very obvious black head! 'I've got it! I've got it!' I yelled as I ran back to the car. Literally within twenty seconds, and before 9 a.m. we had our quarry. What a relief! Now, all anxiety dispelled, I could concentrate on enjoying the bird. His attractive dark red bill perfectly matched his dark red legs. (I say 'he', but I don't think anyone knows what sex it is.) He seemed to me to be the same size as the Silver Gulls and his pretty brown (NOT black) head, just as I remembered, finished high on his nape and did not give him a complete hood. His partial white eye-rings were most attractive. Let's face it: I wouldn't have cared what he looked like: a tick's a tick!