July 2023 Quiz

 

July. Illinois.

Age: The well-patterned upperparts and pointed primary tips suggest a straightforward juvenile (1st basic plumage).

Identification: Surprisingly, a number of answers this month went with California Gull, which is a very fair guess. It's doubtful that California Gull can show this much white on the primary tips, although juvenile Ring-billeds regularly do. It's difficult to appreciate size in this single still, especially with no other birds in the frame. But this was a fairly small individual feeding around other small Ring-billeds. Given the location and time of year, juvenile Ring-billed it is.

July 2023 Monthly Notables

 Sightings:

• Heermann's Gull (5th cycle). Carteret County, North Carolina. 01 July 2023.
• Atlantic Coast Bird
• Black-legged Kittiwake (13 - mostly 2nd cycles). Grays Harbor County, Washington. 01 July 2023.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Avalon Peninsula - St John's County, NL. 03 July 2023.
• Great Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Mobile County, Alabama. 03 July 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Brown County, South Dakota. 05 July 2023.
• Franklin's Gull (adult type). San Mateo County, California. 07 July 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult type). Canyon County, Idaho. 07 July 2023. 
• Iceland Gull (2nd cycle kumlieni type). Barnstable County, Massachusetts. 13 July 2023.
• Western Gull (adult). Park County, Colorado. 14 July 2023.
• Heermann's Gull (3rd cycle). Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 15 July 2023.
• Continuing 1st County Record.
• Little Gull (21; ~ 75% adult). Norfolk County, Ontario. 17 July 2023.
• Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle). Kent County, Delaware. 19 July 2023.
• Swallow-tailed Gull (adult). Santa Barbara County, California. 19 July 2023.
• 5th State Record.
• Yellow-footed Gull (3rd cycle). Clark County, Nevada. 22 July 2023.
• Presumably returning/continuing individual found here in March 2022 as a 1st cycle.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Ward County, North Dakota. 22 July 2023.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). North Slope Borough, Alaska. 23 July 2023.
• Possibly a second bird present in this general vicinity (Prudhoe Bay).
• Red-legged Kittiwake (adult). North Slope Borough, Alaska. 24 July 2023.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Barnstable County, Massachusetts. 25 July 2023.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Juneau City & Borough, Alaska. 27 July 2023.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Pacific County, Washington. 28 July 2023.
• Continuing. 
• Laughing Gull (adult). Simcoe County, Ontario. 29 July 2023.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Anchorage Municipality, Alaska. 29 July 2023.
• Heermann's Gull (5th cycle). Duval County, Florida. 31 July 2023.
• Atlantic Coast Bird.