ML620885475

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Unexpected! A black-headed gull appeared for about 2 minutes before continuing to the west. Bonapartes was quickly rules out due to the size and lack of a white leading edge on the upper wings. We were initially leaning towards Laughing Gull since it is somewhat more expected, however the head and bill seemed a bit smaller and more petite than a Laughing which brought up the possibility of Franklin's Gull. Fortunately the photos show the classic Franklins wing pattern, with the white crescent between the gray wings and the black tips. I believe this is a second year bird as it doesn't quite have the full hood, interestingly the only other recent record for the Mountains and Valleys, one seen (on May 27 as well!) at Silver Lake in Rockingham in 2016, had a very similar plumage.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

Lens

3.8-247mm

ISO

100

Focal length

162.5 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

1712 pixels x 1284 pixels

Original file size

288.72 KB