Ethan Gyllenhaal and I found this Great Black-backed at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Tuesday - only my 2nd one for this site (3rd for this general vicinity):
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| GBBG (1st cycle). Lake County, IL. 23 Dec 2014. |
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| GBBG (1st cycle). Lake County, IL. 23 Dec 2014. |
Although it was a bit squat it towered over all of the surrounding Herrings:
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| Seen here with 2nd & 3rd cycle type Herrings. |
We also had a nice mix of Thayer's (8 total, including a 3rd cycle and a 1st cycle):
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| Thayer's Gull (1st cycle) with adult type Herring. Lake County, IL. 23 Dec 2014. |
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| Thayer's Gull (1st cycle) with adult type Herring. Lake County, IL. 23 Dec 2014. |
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| Thayer's Gull (3rd cycle type). Lake County, IL. 23 Dec 2014. Unlike most adults we see with heavily marked heads and necks, this individual had markings coming all the way down to belly and flanks. |
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| Dotted tail pattern is one of the heavier-marked tails I've seen on a 3rd cycle type THGU. |
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| Thayer's Gull (adult). A long slender bill, and big beefy head, with a beady eye. |
The highlight for both of us - which was the last bird of the day - was this Kumlien's Gull that came storming in while we were watching the 1st cycle Thayer's:
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| Kumlien's Gull (2nd cycle). Lake County, IL. 23 Dec 2014. Textbook. |
We also had 3-4 adult type Herrings with extensive white on p10/p9. Here's one that stood out due to the disheveled outer primaries:
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| So-called "white-winged" Herring. |
I'm seeing many more of these Herrings in the last two years. It could simply be a matter of never having good looks like this at the large numbers of wintering birds we get here.
