We had at least 3 first cycle Franklin's Gulls following our boat on Saturday, 27 September 2014, on Carlyle Lake in southwest Illinois:
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| Note how the black tail band does not typically extend to the outer rectrices. |
This species is very reliable at Carlyle in the Fall, and I'm beginning to get the feeling that hatch year birds are more common here than adults. For the last 4 years, every Franklin's I've seen on the lake has been a hatch year. Perhaps the adults don't partake in following boats and competing for "bread" and "popcorn"?? In general though, I think the majority of the adult population tends to keep west of the Mighty Mississipi River while on their southbound migration...
