Waukegan, Illinois. 25 December 2015.
Glaucous Gull hath done a good job evading me all season - until today! This 1st cycle was my first interesting gull of the day before being bombarded with Thayer's, Kumlien's and Lesser Black-backeds.
1st cycle Kumlien's at close range:
And a 1st cycle Thayer's with subtle folded wingtips:
For the first time this season, here's all 3, Thayer's, Kumlien's and Glaucous in the same frame:
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| Kumlien's. |
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| Glaucous with sub-adult Lessers in background. |
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| Adult/sub-adult type Lesser. |
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| Thayer's and Kumlien's. |
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| Herring and Kumlien's. |
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| Extensive pigment but the shade was too pale for my idea of Thayer's. |
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| 1st cycle Lesser with renewed scaps, pale head and neck. |
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| Same individual above. |
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Same individual above. Note how a different angle/exposure can change the
apparent shade of this bird. |
A nice day afield with no snow or ice still. Temps were between 34-44F. Bright sun and very little wind.
