ML175457361

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This bird was observed to be continuously in flight for over 10 minutes as it quartered along the west side of the southeast cell, facing into a northwest wind of 20-25 mph (estimated). The temperature was 60 deg and there was little heat distortion. It was cloudy with the sun trying to peak through at times. The distance from the bird was in access of 500 feet but less than 1000. It was first observed through a 20x Leica spotting scope and studied for about five minutes before I began to try to get photos using Nikon Coolpix P1000 at maximum extension (3000 mm). The camera I'm sure was focusing on the building behind rather than the bird itself. The accompanying photos have been cropped but otherwise not modified. The blackish underside of the wings is what convinced me it was a Little Gull. Overall it appears to be an adult, nonbreeding Little Gull as shown in the photos of the Crossley Guide, and the illustrations in the 2nd Edition of the Sibley Guide. These show this age of gull as having a completely white underside of the body, a rather uniformly grayish upperside of wing that is a darker gray on the primaries, a trailing white edge to the wings, black markings on the back of the head, a blackish bill and a white tail without a terminal black band. These are the characteristics that can be seen in the photos. Some 15 photos were taken, all showing the blackish underwing. Although the underside of the wing is shaded, the degree off blackness is not consistent with shadowing. Further Franklin's and Ring-billeds in flight did not show such blackness of the underwing.

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P1000

ISO

360

Focal length

395 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/640 sec

Dimensions

1372 pixels x 1033 pixels

Original file size

483.14 KB