ML115409011

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I spotted one adult mew gull that was resting on the shore with other gulls (HEGU, RBGU). Identified as a small, white-headed gull with a yellow-green bill that had no dark ring or red gonys spot. The eye was dark and the legs were a drab green-gray-yellow. Winter streaking on the head was light. In my experience, this gull appeared larger and with a longer bill than the North American subspecies L. c. brachyrhynchus, which would lean I.D. towards L. c. canus. But, no photos of the open wing were taken and so I stalled at identifying it to subspecies. I welcome feedback. Photos attached. Update: I photographed this mew gull on 2/15/18 while it took flight. It showed a short, pale tongue on P8 and the black on P6 ran up along the outside edge. These traits are characteristic of L.c. canus. Photo from 2/15 attached.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D7000

Lens

70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

ISO

2000

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/4000 sec

Dimensions

2345 pixels x 1530 pixels

Original file size

780.03 KB