I spent last weekend at Race Point Beach on the far north tip of the Cape Cod peninsula. I've never been disappointed visiting this site. Gulls abound here and the diversity of species is some of the best I've experienced. This year, it seemed I was a tad late for large numbers of winter gulls and a tad early for spring migrants, but still, 10 species on Saturday speaks to the magnitude of this stretch of beach.
The highlights of my 10 species list include Black-headed (adult), Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle) and Glaucous (3rd cycle type). I estimated between 20-30 Kumlien's Gulls of all ages. 1st cycles were mostly ragged and as pale as one could expect for late April. Also of note was a single
thayeri type.
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| This Glaucous easily matched most of the Great Black-backeds in size. |
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| 1st cycle Iceland Gull with 1st cycle Great Black-backed, and Herrings. |
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| Lots of bleached 1st cycle Icelands were lingering |
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| Most of the 600+ Laughing Gulls present were adults, but here's a 2nd cycle type. Note the incomplete hood and black tertial markings. Spread wing below. |
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| The black alula and primary coverts readily age this bird as a sub-adult. |
It's breeding season and the gulls are busy at work...
Bonaparte's were streaming by all day working the offshore Atlantic Right Whale buffets.
Another highlight is this banded 1st cycle Herring Gull.
This sighting reinforces the belief that there is a regular exchange between NF Herrings and those of the NE United States, particularly from Maine and Massachusetts. An important question that may be worth investigating is whether or not this exchange is a function of age. Do younger birds winter farther south, and stay to the south in their formative years? Are adults more likely to "return" to the north Atlantic - particularly to breed - when the become of age?
