ML488057351

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - 1

Media notes

Note the touch of black on wing tip

Observation details

*Rare. 1st eBird record on the New York side of Lake Champlain, but a handful of historic records in eBird on the VT side. While scoping and glassing east towards the center of Lake Champlain, I picked up on a 2 cycle type gull flying high and towards the north, towards Schuyler Island. I had assumed it would be another Bonaparte’s Gull but the higher elevation flight and seemingly a bit heftier appearance commanded my attention. I viewed the bird in my scope and was thrilled to discover that it was an adult Black-legged Kittiwake. I stayed on the bird for a while as it flew north and noted all of the relevant filed marks to clinch the identification. Having seen many Black-legged Kittiwakes throughout my life along the coastal region, and offshore, I was well primed for this sighting as this has been one of my most sought out species on Lake Champlain. First, the long, slender wings and stiff wingbeats immediately keyed me in to a non Larus-type gull. The lack of a black M pattern on its upperwings indicated that I was viewing an adult. The upperwings were a pale, uniform gray and lacked the white leading edge as seen on Bonaparte’s Gull (and the more rare Black-headed Gull). The very tips of the bird’s wings were black, as if dipped in paint. The bird had some dusky marking on its hindneck, indicating that it was in non-breeding plumage. The distance and lighting did not allow me to see the bird’s bill color, as is usually the case when viewing Kittiwakes during sea/lake watches. I managed a handful of horrible, heavily cropped yet supportive images as the bird continued north and west towards Schuyler Island/Port Douglas.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

Lens

300.0 mm f/4.0

ISO

450

Focal length

420 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

492 pixels x 328 pixels

Original file size

96.52 KB