ML208493491

Age and sex

Juvenile, Unknown sex - 1

Media notes

Time stamped on photo is an hour off, should be 0949 MST.

Observation details

This bird was the object of our search, and rewarded us when it flew in at 0928. We had been looking for it since 0630. After it flew in, we watched it for an hour, and it was still present when we departed at 1030. Small gull, about the size of a Mew Gull. Strikingly white plumage, apart from numerous small black speckles here and there, most noticeable on the folded wings (on the lesser, median, and greater coverts, as well as on the tertials). There were four arrowhead-shaped black primary tips visible on the folded wings as well. When the bird flew in, a very narrow terminal tail band was visible, which I believed consisted of small blackish dots at the tips of the rectrices. The legs, feet, and webbing were black. The legs were short. There was white feathering on the tibiae, at least part way down toward the intertarsal joint. Most intriguing was a series of blackish marks that formed a pair of eyebrow-arcs, so to speak. Someone remarked to me that these might have been ectoparasites. When this very confiding bird walked closest to our party, I was able to see these marks very well through the scope, at a range of perhaps eight meters, but was unable to tell for sure what they were. I did have a suspicion that they might indeed be arthropods, but was not at all sure. They don't really show in my photos. Irides were black. There was a smudgy-looking or "dirty-looking" area of greyish feathering on the upper throat and between the eyes and the bill, including part of the forehead. The bill was fairly short, and of a striking color pattern: pale yellowish at the tip, but with a greyish or bluish-grey base, tinged with an indescribable greenish that bordered on celadon. Overall impression was of a rather stout or chunky small gull. When the bird walked, its gait was unusual, sort of a careful, waddling march. Fleet of flight, the bird took some sweeping turns. I observed the bird catching and eating some very small things from the beach at the water's edge--a shoreline of small, rounded stones. These food items may have been invertebrates, although there was also a small quantity of what appeared to be Canada Goose excrement here and there. The bird foraged, perched, and swam about, alone. There were no other birds anywhere near it.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

800

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/160 sec

Dimensions

1920 pixels x 1080 pixels

Original file size

718.26 KB