Little Gull

While in the Pamucak Wetlands in Turkey, nearing the Little Meander River where it empties into the Aegean Sea, I spotted a gull that did not look like any of the others I'd seen on our trip. It was on Pamucak Beach very near the water. 

This does look like a photo of a first winter little gull on Birds of the World, with a dark beak and blackish/red legs and feet. 

I identified it as a Mediterranean gull on iNaturalist, but an identifier named kocoleoptera disagreed and indicated it was a little gull. I went to kocoleoptera's iNat page and he identified himself as a Turkish student that is "mainly a birder..., especially those from Turkiye...On ebird, I've been a reviewer for Turkiye since March 14, 2026."  On eBird, his name is indicated as Koray Ogreten from Istanbul, the Regional Reviewer for Turkiye and the Hotspot Editor for Turkiye. 

Illustration of breeding from Birds of the World.

Illustration of non-breeding from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. As I look at the range map, the little gull looks like it should be farther north at this time of the year and iNaturalist did not even show the little gull as an option. But after looking at the identifier's credentials, I decided to go with it. 

The little gull is the smallest gull in the world. Birds of the World's article focuses on the little gull in North America. The Wikipedia article does state that "In the early 21st Century non-breeding birds have summered in western Europe in increasing numbers..." It also indicates that they "typically arrive at their breeding areas from late-April up to late May and start to move away from the breeding areas from the middle of July." This was in western Asia, not western Europe, and was in late June, but I decided to go with the Turkey eBird expert. This is a new bird (lifer) for me. 

Lesser Yellowlegs

I've seen lesser yellowlegs a couple of times. The first time was in the mitigation wetlands along McDonald Road outside Niland, California on April 9, 2021. 

The second time was at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Juab County, Utah on October 20, 2022. 

Illustration of breeding from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of non-breeding from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of non-breeding flying from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World.

Black Turnstone

In March 2025 we visited our son, Sam, who was living at the time in Santa Cruz, California. On the 29th we took a circuitous drive, starting inland, looking for pileated woodpeckers (unsuccessfully), then circled around to the coast and drove south, stopping at a number of beautiful beaches, including Pescadero State Beach which is along SR 1, 14.5 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 1.5 miles west of the city of Pescadero, in San Mateo County. I found my first and only (so far) black turnstones, which look quite a bit like the ruddy turnstone, but are not as colorful. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. 

It breeds in western Alaska with the bulk of the population in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It winters on rock shores along the Pacific coast from southern Alaska southwards as far as northwest Mexico. 

Crested Lark

In Spata Fields, Attica, Greece, with a guide, Spyros Skareas, I saw quite a number of crested larks but they were jumpy and would not let us get too close without flying. I was not able to photograph any of them. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World.

Little Ringed Plover

On July 3rd with Spyros Skareas, my guide, we were in the Spata Fields in Attica, Greece, near Athens International Airport. He saw several little ringed plovers which he placed his scope on and gave Judy and I an opportunity to view them. They are cute little birds with a yellow eye-ring (we saw them in breeding plumage) that really stood out. They were very far away, beyond the capacity of my camera to photograph them and Spyros felt he could not capture them on his cellphone through the scope. 

Illustration of breeding ssp. curonicus from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of non-breeding ssp. curonicus from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Little Owl

On July 3 of this year we were just finishing our Viking Cruise which started in Istanbul and ended in Athens. Our last day, before flying home, I had a half-day bird watching tour with Spyros Skareas of Greece Bird Tours. Judy decided to come along. We took a taxi from our hotel near the Acropolis to the Katehaki Metro Station where we were picked up by Spyros in his vehicle. We drove to the Spata Fields, a seasonal agricultural wetland located north of Athens International Airport in the Attica region, situated between the towns of Spata and Artemis, about 43 kms from Athens. One of the best finds was a little owl. It was standing on a portion of a metal frame that looked like it was for a large barn. Spyros saw it from some distance and we gradually got closer, taking photos as we moved along, before it finally flew away. I'd never heard of a little owl before. In fact, when Spyros identified it, I thought he was referring to its size, not its name. It is also known as the owl of Athena and the owl of Minerva, as the owl was a symbol of wisdom, which was sacred to the Greek Athena and to her Roman counterpart, Minerva. 

I think the most distinctive thing about it is the yellow iris. It looks like a combination of a saw whet owl and burrowing owl. There are 14 subspecies and I saw ssp. indigena. 

Illustration of ssp. lilith from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Yellow-Legged Gull

I first saw a yellow-legged gull in the Sado Estuary near Lisbon, Portugal on July 2, 2022 (post on March 30, 2026) while taking a ferry from the Troia Peninsula across the Sado River/Atlantic Ocean to Setubal. It was an immature bird, resting on the water (so that I could not see the legs) and had a black mark on its bill instead of the red mark of a mature bird. 

On our recent trip to Turkey and Greece I saw lots and lots of yellow-legged gulls as we were on a Viking Cruise and spent lots of time on the boat and near the ocean. It may have been the most common bird we saw, except perhaps for the house sparrow. Following are some of my photos from the trip. 

The first one I saw on our trip, near the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. I thought it was a lifer as I'd forgotten about the one I saw in Portugal. 

On the waterfront in Cannakale, Turkey, on the Dardanelles Strait across from the Gallipoli Peninsula. 

On Pamucak Beach near Kusadasi, Turkey. A mature bird and a number of immature birds. 

This immature gull and the next four photos that follow were all taken at Aposelemis Lake on the island of Crete in Greece. 

On the Gulf of Corinth near the old harbor to ancient Corinth.