ML518326421
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
Juvenile. As I scanned through the gulls gathered near the end of the boat parking area, I found this very dark gull. It quickly did not seem right for a Herring Gull: it was too dark compared with most wintering immature Herrings, plus it was not large enough, just a little larger than the adjacent Ring-billeds. Most LBBG that I find show more white on the head and neck, and while this one does show white when the head is bent and the feathers separate, it retains much juvenile darkness there. Comparing this with an immature Hering Gull, head shape is not blocky like a Herring, but more gently rounded as appropriate with LBBG, the body is slimmer and smaller, and the wings have a longer look past the tail tip. While still a sturdy bird, it was not bulky. The gull flew twice, first flushing with the entire group and landing on the water to swim a while, and again in to retake its perch on the wall. In flight, the rump or upper tail coverts were mostly white, contrasting strongly with the black terminal band. I don't think it is visible in the photos, but the scope view clearly showed a tiny yellow tip to the end of the bill.
Technical information
- Model
- SM-G960U
- ISO
- 50
- Focal length
- 4.3 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/2.4
- Shutter speed
- 1/612 sec
- Dimensions
- 4032 pixels x 1960 pixels
- Original file size
- 1.6 MB