ML41839051

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

photo by Becky Swearengin

Observation details

Suspected non Herring Gull upon initial observation. No black on wingtips, pale coloration for HERG. Gull was only slightly larger than RBGU nearby. clean plumage on coverts, secondaries, primaries, with white edges on light brown feathers. Studied photos and consulted various state and national gull experts. My experience with Thayer's Gull is very limited, so I relied heavily of Bill Rowe's remarks in response to seeing photos below. I quote William Rowe: "I only saw photo "gull4" previously, so I'm glad to see these others. Based on those, I'm asking myself why this is not a Thayer's Gull. (1) I see no Herring Gulls in the photos. Seeing this bird next to the Ring-bills, I can't say it is a lot bigger, maybe the size of a California or Lesser Black-back? (2) Color tones look like at least some Thayer's: tail is brown, not blackish, as are the wingtips at rest, which also show pale chevrons (#7209). (3) Topside primary pattern (gull3) shows two-toned outer primaries with washed-out inner ones (window, like Herring). (4) Underside primary pattern (gull1) shows silvery primaries with slight dark tips. (5) Gull3 and gull4 show a rather heavy black bill; this could be the basis for thinking it had some Glaucous-winged blood. But we know that not all Thayer's (esp. males) conform to our idea of "typical" Thayer's as round-headed and petite-billed. We may have that idea because they are easier to pick out."

Technical information

Dimensions

2048 pixels x 1204 pixels

Original file size

328.96 KB