Contributor
Brian Sullivan Media from this contributor Profile
Date
Location
Carmel River SB (beach, lagoon, and/or Cross Hill)
Monterey, California, United States
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist- Age and sex
- Immature Unknown sex - X
Observation details
First-winter. Outside the range for Thayer's in my opinion. First picked up flying in off the water, and was immediately obvious as being much paler overall than Thayer's. I started shooting photos as it flew in and landed, but unfortunately it was quickly flushed by a dog, and it didn't return. The bird seems fairly typical in plumage for Kumlien's, but is on the heftier side of bill and head structure for that taxon. The bill also has more pale at the base than most Kumlien's on this date, but it is within the range of variation. Many first-winter Thayer's also show pale-based bills by this date. Size and general shape should rule out hybrids, especially those of larger, heftier taxa like Glaucous-winged x Glaucous Gull.
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS 7D Mark II
- Lens
- EF500mm f/4L IS USM
- ISO
- 800
- Focal length
- 500 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/5.6
- Shutter speed
- 1/1600 sec
- Dimensions
- 2500 pixels x 1500 pixels
- Original file size
- 1.66 MB