ML642465095

Observation details

Continuing. Found almost immediately as I scanned midway across pond with bins and with sun in great spot for viewing. Resting on water so legs not seen at first. Dark gray back, darker than nearby Cali and Ring-billed Gulls. Largish gull, maybe slightly larger than Cali Gulls, definitely larger than Ring-billed. Thinnish yellow bill with red spot, light-eyed, grayish smudge around eyes, smudgy specks/streaks on head and nape. I had to hang around and search a lot to get additional views as this gull moved around the north pond, disappearing and reappearing. I noticed that from different places around the pond, as the sunlight was different from different locations, the gull's leg color ranged from fleshy pinkish to yellowish-pinkish. This is the only characteristic that gives me pause, so I checked other posted photos of this bird, and found this same pinkish tint in them. Perhaps it is an artifact caused by the bright sunlight?