ML396050091

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - X

Observation details

The bird was first seen while scoping at (37.8909821, -122.3233548) at 3:55 pm. I was roughly 150 meters away, standing on the thin rock pathway that borders the small pond at the NE corner of the bulb. The bird did not stay on the mudflats in one spot for longer than a few minutes. I was able to take a couple of digiscope videos and photos in the 3 minutes I directly viewed it. It made several small flights to the NW and landings along the mudflat, and it eventually rested at a point at the NE corner of the bulb. There it rested for close to 7 minutes near the rocky shoreline mainly out of sight until a pair of people and their dog came close to the NE tip, and the gull flushed to the east towards a large group of resting gulls. I viewed it in-flight through my scope for 30 seconds until it went out of sight at 4:09 PM. Attempts to refind the gull with other birders failed in the short amount of daylight left. The bird showed typical nonbreeding adult plumage; it was mainly pale overall and had a slight pink tint, noticeable on the chest and flanks. Dark, small bill and bright red legs. In-flight, the lack of any dark markings on the wings or back and lack of gray mantle ruled out BOGU, and the lack of smudgy markings on the head ruled out LIGU.

Technical information

Dimensions

837 pixels x 971 pixels

Original file size

154.12 KB