31 July 2020

July 2020 Quiz

JANUARY; CALIFORNIA

Age: This appears to be a large, four-year gull. Based on the rounded primary tips, muted pattern to the inner primaries and wing coverts, moderate gray on the back, and largely white tail coverts, we can safely assume this is a 2nd cycle. A 1st cycle holding on to all its flight feathers would likely show less gray on the back, and patterned uppertail coverts and greater coverts. A 3rd cycle would show adult-like primaries, or at the very least, adult-like inner primaries, which this individual does not. 

Identification: Based on the darker gray scapulars that have come in, we can eliminate paler-backed species such as the Iceland Gulls, Herring Gull and even Glaucous-winged Gull. One may ask, how do we correctly interpret the gray on the back, and this could be done by judging the white on the uppertail coverts. The white on the uppertail is a true white -- not blown out and not covered in shadow. Thus, we can visually measure the contrast between the gray upperparts and the uppertail to get a sense of gray values.

This is a broad-winged bird with noticeable white tips across the secondaries. It looks too broad winged for Lesser Black-backed and the bill appears too heavy for that species too. Judging from the swollen bill appearance and smudged head and dusky neck markings, this bird best fits a 2nd cycle Western Gull, and is actually a fairly typical bird. A 2nd cycle Yellow-footed Gull at this time of year would show some indication of adult-like flight feathers and should perhaps average more gray on the upperwing coverts. The date and location also support Western Gull. 

01 July 2020

Monthly Notables June 2020

Sightings:

  • Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle). Lincoln County, Oregon. 01 June 2020.
    • Continuing. Apparently only the second "June" record, locally.
  • Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Montreal County, Quebec.03 June 2020.
  • Sabine's Gull (adult). La Vallee-de-l-'Or County, Quebec. 04 June 2020.
  • Franklin's Gull (2nd cycle type). New London County, Connecticut. 05 June 2020.
  • Laughing Gull (2 - 2nd cycles). Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. 10 June 2020.
    • 2nd County Record. 
  • Glaucous-winged Gull (2nd cycle). Wichita County, Texas. 08 June 2020.
    • Pending acceptance. Would be 2nd State Record. 
  • Great Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Lake County, Illinois. 10 June 2020.
  • Laughing Gull (2nd cycle). Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. 11 June 2020.
  • Black-headed Gull (adult). Cape Many County, New Jersey. 13 June 2020.
  • Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle). Glynn County, Georgia. 13 June 2020.
  • Laughing Gull (adult). Jackson County, Colorado. 13 June  2020.
  • Iceland Gull (2nd cycle). Allegan County, Michigan. 15 June 2020.
  • Laughing Gull (2nd cycle). Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. 15 June 2020.
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Albany County, Wyoming. 16 June 2020.
  • Black-headed Gull (adult). Queen Anne's County, Maryland. 19 June 2020.
    • 1st County Record. First summer record for MD since 2008.
  • Black-headed Gull (adult). Bay County, Michigan. 20 June 2020.
    • 2nd County Record. Last seen in Bay County in December 1981. 
  • Franklin's Gull (adult). Barnstable County, Massachusetts. 21 June 2020.
  • Heermann's Gull (2nd cycle). Duval County, Florida. 21 June 2020.
    • Now in it's 2nd plumage cycle. Same individual since August 2019.
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Mendocino County, California. 22 June 2020.
  • Franklin's Gull (1st cycle type). Macomb County, Michigan. 25 June 2020.
  • Sabine's Gull (2nd cycle type). Los Angeles County, California. 27 June 2020.


Notes:
  • The biggest surprise this month was the apparent Glaucous-winged type from Wichita County, Texas. It looks like a bona fide Glaucous-winged Gull, but bleaching on the primaries makes it impossible to ascertain previous patterns. Uppertail pattern favors Glaucous-winged Gull over a hybrid.
    • 08 June 2020 - 2nd prebasic molt in motion with p1-p2 missing.
    • 11 June 2020 - new p1 barely visible, just beyond primary coverts.
    • 12 June 2020 - p3 missing, new p1 now clearly visible well beyond p-coverts.
  • The other highlight this month is alternate adult Black-headed Gulls found in random places that they're not usually expected in the summer. Most notable is Bay County, Michigan which had not seen this species in the county in 39 years, and is now a first summer record. 
  • Finally, summering Lesser Black-backeds in the interior continue to increase in the summer season, especially for the last 3 consecutive years. Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska all reported 1-3 birds each. All of these individuals, expect for Wyoming, appear to be one-year-olds beginning their 2nd plumage cycles. 

June 2020 Quiz

June. Wisconsin.

Age:  It's safe to assume this is a 1st cycle based ont the black terminal band on the tail.

Identification: Our June bird appears to be a small, two-cycle, gull. The small, pointy bill, black pseudo-hood and thin black tips to the primaries immediately evoke Little Gull and Bonaparte's. It's difficult to judge bill proportions here, but Black-headed is safely ruled out not only by the bill's color, but also by the white under side to the primaries. As for Bonaparte's, that species would show a prominent black trailing edge running across all of the remiges. Here's an example of a typical trailing edge on Bonaparte's:


Instead, what we see here is a "spotty" black trailing edge that is discontinuous and weakly patterned, which leaves us with Little Gull.