ML45599501

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

1st cycle bird that was being watched/photo documented by a couple folks just as I arrived to look for the Slaty-backed Gull (this bird was also seen on the 1/12/17 but not identified to species by that point). Uniformly chocolatey brown gull with a whitish throat patch, and frosty white tertials. Primary tips at rest were a uniform dark chocolate brown, noticeably darker than the rest of the brown tones on the body, and in flight the primaries on the underside were also uniform brown in color but perhaps a touch lighter. Front two thirds of the bill was a dull pink/flesh color, contrasting sharply with the remaining third which was a coal black except for the very tip, which showed just a faint hint of blood-red at the very tip (noticeable in some of my photos). Front of the face was an off-white/cream color before fading into the uniform brown of the rest of the head/plumage. Another seemingly diagnostic field mark was the broken eye ring, present in few N. American gull species at that age. This individual was also noticeably thinner and smaller (though not by terribly much) than the California Gull it was loafing next to for a considerable time. In flight, showed the white rump patch with the black terminal band. All of these points seem conclusive for a positive identification of first cycle Black-tailed Gull. Observed loafing on the beach and rocks with the other gulls, and also occasionally making a foray across the road to the golf course pond and returning, before (seemingly) departing for good in the mid-afternoon not to be seen again (to my knowledge, anyway). Many thanks to whoever discovered this bird and got the ball rolling on its identification.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

160

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

4341 pixels x 3256 pixels

Original file size

1.48 MB