ML647106082

Ажиглалтын дэлгэрэнгүй

***very rare, annually returning bird first detected here by Josh Malbin in 2021 (probably the same bird also documented by Ryan Zucker off Manhattan around the same time?) and subsequently relocated the last three winters by Ant Tab, but they’ve always been very ephemeral-seeming one-birder observations and it has never been chaseable. I tried to chase it after it was first found and publicized by Ant two winters ago to no avail, and while that was the only time I tried for it prior to today, it’s become something of a white whale to me, so when Ant refound it yesterday, I resolved to try and refind it today. I eschewed study of Thayer’s gulls in general, instead studying this particular Thayer’s gull, noting: its smudgy grayish head streaking lacking any real definition or coarseness, recalling pencil graphite smudged with a finger, rather faint now and fairly even throughout; bright yellow bill with a reduced red gonydeal spot (when Ant posted this bird on discord last year a few people momentarily confused it with a Kamchatka gull, as the gonys spot is almost invisible from some angles) the gonys spot does not reach the bill opening or upper mandible and contains no gray or blackish pigment; the bill also has a slight olive tinge typical of Iceland gull taxa; appreciably dark eyes; and its size, which Ant noted to be intermediate between ring-billed and herring. I arrived at the begging beach and settled in for a long cold stakeout, but very surprisingly located the bird within ten minutes of setup, paddling back and forth across the patch of open water. I was sure this was the bird based on initial views, and it eventually did hop out on the ice and show off its deep purplish-pink legs; as it periodically shuffled, flew around, and returned to the lake, myself and the now-assembled small crowd of birders got to appreciate its unique primary pattern: black tips to the primary uppers which are dark but interrupted with pale bands, primary unders almost almost completely white save for the black tips on the outer primaries. (Previously caught an inkling of the pale primary unders by sneaking a peek at the underside of the opposite folded wingtip from certain angles as it swam) More subtle features became apparent after observing for it a while, such as its small round head (I guess it is an Iceland gull afterall?) and the distinct dumpy-butted, short-legged structure I associate with Thayer’s and other North Pacific Larus (glaucous-winged, slaty-backed) I also want to say it’s a half shade paler than an American herring gull, which not all Thayer’s are, but I’m not sure how much I trust this impression. Occasionally went missing for periods of time but seemed to reappear pretty reliably. Thrilled to finally cross paths with this bird, which is a subspecies lifer; a dark-winged Iceland gull that I saw on the february pelagic did not cut it as a Thayer’s. Other folks got much better documentation, but I’ll post what I got.