ML645855621

Observation details

Notes written up immediately following the observation: I found this gull floating alone by itself and it immediately gave me "strange gull" vibes. With no other gulls nearby to compare it to I thought it may just be a weird RBGU, but I kept coming back to it. The mantle seemed dark (moreso than RBGU but not nearly as much as LBBG) and the face 'appeared' dark and smudgy, again nothing to compare it with. After much closer inspection, I was able to finally see that the smudgy face was actually the dark spot behind a dark eye (at distance they blend together). Having observed many BOGU at this location for the past month I immediately assumed this was a late BOGU that hadn't left yet...until I noticed the yellowish bill. I worried that it was chromatic aberration from my scope but it consistently appeared yellow at all angles. I was aware that adult BLKI have yellow bill and my heart started racing. I have studied BLKI extensively in guide books hoping to find one some day but have no real world experience with this species (honestly hoped I'd find a juvenile for a much easier ID! 😅). I immediately sent a picture and digiscope video clip to some other local birders who agreed that it looked good for BLKI. Unfortunately, in this time, the bird disappeared from where I had last seen it and I couldn't refind it. The weather deteriorated quickly with an incoming storm system bringing rain and fog. I continued to search until the rain got too hard (around 3pm) before calling it quits. In the 15-20 minutes I spent with this bird it was resting on the water often with its head tucked. I never saw open wings, unfortunately. Primary ID point based on my limited experience with this species is the yellowish bill and similar dark spot behind eye (much like BOGU). Additional supportive features are slightly darker mantle and the fact that my first impression at a distance was RBGU size, though neither of these are very strong arguments because this bird was alone without comparative gulls. I've added a photo of it with a Common Loon for some reference of scale. North American Gulls FB group confirms ID as BLKI. "You got it, nice find. Adult black-legged kittiwake" -Kaze Ferio Additional notes written up within days of observation after consulting field guides: One feature that I neglected to write about initially was the somewhat dusky nape observed both in the field and while reviewing the digiscoped videos/images. I was not aware of this trait of adult non-breeding BLKI during the observation period and it was not something I initially used as part of my ID, but I have since become aware that this is a common feature to observe on non-breeding plumaged adults. This bird matched image 19 (Basic adult) on page 79 of The Gull Guide by Amar Ayyash. For the record: this bird was well within MN waters the entire time I observed it. Approximate location was: 44.925294,-92.757498