ML40950241
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
"Wondering about a first winter Ring-billed or Herring Gull. Heavy bill mostly black tip. Black primary wing tips. Seemed slightly larger than Ring-billed." These were my first comments based on caution. I don't see many gulls in AZ throughout the year so I generally feel like I am seeing a bird for the first time all over again. Now back at home I am reflecting on the sighting. I had been seeing Ring-billed gulls fly by throughout my visit to the lake, and they were expected and likely common here. The sheer size of this gull I am calling a Herring is tough for me to get a feel for in the field. Was it larger than a Ring-billed Gull or even California Gull? In hindsight, yes I feel strongly that it was. I don't think I should have used the wording "slightly larger" in my initial comments, because that to me suggests just an inch or two larger. When it flew off I watched it for some time and compared to the Ring-billed Gulls I had been observing, it seemed heavier with strong and deeper wingbeats. The outer primaries were black and inner primaries had a more silver color. I also saw the dingy pink legs as it lived off the water. When the bird was sitting on the water, through binoculars I saw it had a mostly black bill with flesh color at the base, and it was large. The scapulars were a chocolate color with mottled appearance. No clean light gray upper back. San Carlos is a hot bed for wandering birds. So I should consider even more rare gulls. But all the field marks for me at this time lead to Herring.
Technical information
- Model
- DSC-HX300
- Lens
- 4.3-215mm f/2.8-6.3
- ISO
- 80
- Focal length
- 215 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/6.3
- Shutter speed
- 1/250 sec
- Dimensions
- 5184 pixels x 3888 pixels
- Original file size
- 3.79 MB