ML284784111

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Continuing adult found yesterday by Gavin Stacey. Seen with large gull roost on gravel bar between the hatchery and Sailor Bar boat launch. Birding from across the river, Mark Martucci spotted the bird first and got my attention, thanks Mark! Very dark slate-gray mantle immediately stood out in the crowd, significantly darker than nearby California Gulls. Sleek and slender-bodied, especially when compared to Herring Gull, with thin black primaries. Surprisingly short primary projection, shorter than all adjacent birds, as P9 and P10 are still growing in. Only slightly larger in appearance than adjacent California Gulls. White head with very fine, crisp streaking/spotting continuing down neck. Pale yellow iris, dark smudging around eye. Bright yellow bill, straight and even in thickness throughout length, red gonys spot bordered at rear by black, drooping tip. Yellow legs seen briefly, as the bird was mainly wading or swimming. Open wings showed little contrast between dark mantle and black wing tips, very limited white in primaries with small “windows” on the undersides of P9 (reduced to a small dot) and P10. Inner webs of primaries paler gray, contrasting with darker outer webs in a similar pattern to Thayer’s Gull. Bathing nearly continuously during my observation. Great bird, Gavin!

Technical information

Model

NIKON D7200

Lens

AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED

ISO

1000

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/1600 sec

Dimensions

1280 pixels x 856 pixels

Original file size

458.51 KB