ML82482081

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

****Very rare. Adult sleeping in Ring-billed flock on ice above dam. First picked out by JWM as it briefly raised its head and the short bill was apparent. Confirmed a few minutes later after AG and BM arrived, then seen well awake and on flight. Soon flew out to forage more distantly over the falls, where it continued for the duration of the count and where others who arrived saw it. Small, gray-mantled gull with black wingtips and white primary tips. Very pink wash on breast! From Ring-billed Gull by short, slender, mostly yellow bill; slightly smaller and more slender body and longer wings; slightly darker gray mantle; bold white tips to P9-10, giving the impression of a bigger white spot at the tip of the wings in flight; and very dark eye with dark smudging around it, giving it a very dark-eyed appearance, especially at a distance (and often the most obvious character in flight). From L. c. brachyrhynchus by slightly paler mantle (only slightly darker than Ring-billed); only small amount of white markings on mid-primaries to P8; zagged dark ring on bill; and more streaked rather than smudgy head and neck markings.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 60D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

250

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/640 sec

Dimensions

3962 pixels x 2640 pixels

Original file size

5.65 MB