ML619666049

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Continuing find by Skye, Gary, and Louie. I was unfamiliar with this ID, but did not have much time before the sunset to research. With a brief look at the Sibley guide, I learned that it was larger than BOGU. Upon arriving I found the flock of gulls directly east of the shore, fairly far away. A scope was required to see any identifiable features. It was mainly BOGU and I scanned through the flock looking for a gull which appeared larger. Viewing conditions were difficult due to the distance, overcast skies, light rain, and it was quickly getting darker. The flock was quite active, flying laps over the water and landing for a minute at a time. After finding a gull which appeared larger than the others, I noticed that it had a dark surface to the underwing once it flew. It also looked like there was more white on the upper surface of the wing compared to the BOGU. This gull appeared to be a breeding plumage adult with a dark hood. At that time I was uncertain of the ID due to my lack of knowledge and poor looks. I did obtain some photos of the gull while it was in flight. These photos confirm that it was the Black-headed Gull. I was only able to observe the gulls for about 5 minutes and then a fishing boat drove towards the flock of gulls and they flew towards the north. Unsure of where they exactly went and they did not return before it was completely dark.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

ISO

40000

Focal length

420 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

1099 pixels x 731 pixels

Original file size

566.72 KB