ML619193518
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
McNab initially spotted this bird in flight while we were scanning through the many birds on the inshore waters approximately 4 1/3 kilometers south of the breakwater at 33° 24' 57.8" N, 117° 40' 55.5" W. In addition to seeing this bird flying by, we also saw it sitting on the water near some Bonaparte's Gulls. This was a small gull that was only slightly larger than the Bonaparte's Gulls, but it also appeared slightly plumper and with somewhat more rounded wingtips and possibly broader wings. I further noted a short bill, a rounded crown, a short neck, a plump body, a relatively short tail that was square-tipped, and slim wings with narrowly rounded to broadly pointed wingtips, but I never clearly saw the legs or feet. This was a striking bird, even for an alternate-plumaged gull. Clearly apparent was a full and sharply demarcated, black hood with a contrasting, white crescent both above and below each eye, but I saw no additional markings in the hood. The neck and underparts were white from the lower edge of the black hood on the upper breast down through the breast, belly, sides, flanks, and undertail coverts. I did not notice an obvious pink wash below and I cannot now recall much about the underwing pattern, but I suspect it will be shown in at least some of my photos. Returning to the upperparts, the white neck also contrasted sharply with the medium-gray of the mantle, scapulars, wing coverts, and most of the remiges. When seen in the spread wing, there was a limited amount of black in the wingtips, but also with some white both at the very tips of the primaries and as a band that demarcated the gray of the basal part of the wing and the black distally. Complementing the white markings in the wingtips was a sharply demarcated band of white that extended the length of the trailing edge of each wing from the body to the wingtip. I saw the rump and upperside of the tail as white and never noted in the field any gray on the upperside of the tail. My views of the bird on the water were not as good as those of it in flight. My impression was that the Franklin's Gull was only slightly larger than nearby Bonaparte's Gulls, and I also thought the wingtips were not as narrowly tapered or as finely pointed. Again clearly apparent was a black hood that was sharply demarcated and with contrasting crescents both above and below the eye. The neck and what I could see of the breast and flanks were white, but the back and closed wings were medium-gray for the most part. Contrasting with the mostly gray wings, the wingtips combined a white band followed by a black wedge and narrowly white tips. I could not see the belly or the tail when the bird was on the water. The bill and eyes were both dark. I was unable to see in the field the precise colors of either the bill or the eyes, but my photos do show the bill to have been deep red. I failed altogether to note the color of the legs or feet, but it is possible that they are shown in the photos.
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS R7
- Lens
- EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- ISO
- 2500
- Focal length
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/5.6
- Shutter speed
- 1/2500 sec
- Dimensions
- 1641 pixels x 1136 pixels
- Original file size
- 280.96 KB