ML521877741

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Spotted by Matt Hafner (who was scoping from one of the hotels nearby) as it flew in and landed among the gull flock that David Luck & I happened to be scanning (following up Matt's earlier find of an adult Kumlien's race individual, which we did not see during the outing). Larger gull, slightly bigger than the Lesser Black-backed Gulls around it, but with daintier structure than similar Herring Gull, including a much more rounded, less blocky head shape, a slimmer bill, a more dove-headed appearance in line with other races of Iceland Gull but with extensive streaking/blotching on the neck, nape, even down to the chest and flanks, very different than the usually cleaner look of Kumlien's race. Completely dark iris, in contrast to the lighter iris on Herring Gull, mantle maybe a shade off from Herring, vibrant pink legs. This bird was originally in the flock at 12th Street beach but was flushed by a kid running through the flock. It flew over the pier to the north and that was the last view I had of it, probably still lingering in the area though. The Kumlien's adult was later reported farther north along the beach as well. Photographed extensively, though not well in flight as all the wings around it made things difficult.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

200

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/9.0

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

6240 pixels x 3857 pixels

Original file size

8.16 MB