ML639545947

Observation details

Initially dismissed in the field as a second Bonaparte's Gull but revisited observation after Julie Hart and Daniel Schlaepfer updated their nearly concurrent checklist after reviewing photos and determining one gull was a Franklin's Gull. We saw two small hooded gulls at Cohoes Flats, but they were never near each other during the observation period. The first one we saw stayed further back the whole time, closer to Second Island on the Saratoga side, where it was loafing with a number of Ring-billed Gulls. It was distant and scope views were suboptimal due to heat and wildfire haze, but it appeared to be a Bonaparte's Gull (other small hooded gulls were considered, but we didn't observe any details to support an alternative identification). We didn't bother taking any photos of this first gull due to the distance. A few minutes later, we spotted a second, somewhat closer hooded gull making its way through more Ring-billed Gulls. To be frank, I just assumed it was a second Bonaparte's, didn't scrutinize it more carefully in the scope, and moved along to looking for shorebirds. But a bit later, it moved onto a rock by itself and was posing cooperatively, so we ended up snapping a few shots before we left - if anything, to have documentation of the Bonaparte's Gull we still assumed it to be, and which was being flagged as rare. After seeing Julie and Daniel's updated identification and checklist the next morning, I decided to check my photos (which I hadn't done yet) and it appears that the one small hooded gull we photographed was the same one they identified as a Franklin's Gull. These photos aren't very good, but they seem to show the same identifying features noted by Julie and Daniel: apparent molt at the top of the hood (inconsistent with molt timing for Bonaparte's), dark legs (rather than reddish-orange we originally noted in the first gull), and reddish tint to the bill visible in some of the images. Structurally, the gull seems a better fit for Franklin's Gull as well: heavier and bulkier in appearance than the smaller, daintier Bonaparte's. Thanks to Julie and Daniel for their more careful examination of this gull and for alerting us of their updated identification!