ML273341291

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Raced to the beach for coordinated search when word got out there was an immature Heermann's Gull on Casey Key. John and Kathy were on the gull in no time, off northernmost beach access at North Jetty Park, 1/4 mile north of inlet/jetty. HEEG was mixed in with small group of Laughing Gulls on beach near shore, not far from a family with snacks! Cooperative for pictures during my visit. First impression in bright light of cloud cover was of black gull with black legs, slightly larger than surrounding LAGUs. When the sun came out I could see it was actually a beautiful smoky gray with brown wing coverts, with a paler chin and faint white eye crescents. Its colorful bill stood out with yellow, orange, even a little green at the base, with a tiny white bit on the end of the black tip. The black did not completely cover the entire gonys. I noted neatly stacked white tertials and when it opened its wings I noted a pale rump and dark tail with one, maybe two, broad white tipped retrices. It flew into gulf for a few minutes, floating and splashing a bit with some LAGU, then returned close to the same spot on beach. It later flew north to Nokomis Beach, then was spotted briefly south of the jetty on Venice Beach. Hope it stays in area so others can see it. First Sarasota County record per ebird!

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P900

ISO

220

Focal length

143 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

3859 pixels x 2723 pixels

Original file size

1.42 MB