01 May 2015

April 2015 Quiz


It's known that 1st cycle gulls typically show pointed primary tips, while older gulls display more rounded tips to the primaries. Looking at this bird's primaries, it seems they are rounded, but overall the plumage appears to be that of a 1st cycle gull. The caveat here is that the apparent shape of the primary tips can change with the bird's posture, behavior, and even the angle at which we observe these feathers. This is indeed a first cycle gull, but what species?

Proportionally, the body-to-head and body-to-tail size seem to rule out a large species (such as Herring, etc.). The barred tail, brown and white wing coverts, and mostly white neck narrow this down to Ring-billed Gull or Mew Gull. This next photo should help:


Notice how the tips to the primaries appear more pointy now. But much more importantly, notice the pale edging surrounding the primary tips - a very "Mew-like" feature. This neat, white-winger-like edging is rarely as extensive in Ring-billed (see a typical 1st cycle Ring-billed example here). Additionally, the petite bill, domed head, smudgy hind-neck markings, and relatively dark gray 2nd generation scapulars all add up to a 1st cycle Mew Gull. There are several other field marks that help eliminate Ring-billed, but the description I've provided here should suffice. This Mew Gull was photographed in Seattle, Washington in January 2010.

Monthly Notables April 2015

April 2015

  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Manitowoc, Wisconsin. 04 April 2015.
    • This individual was seen on and off for over a month but could not be identified to species until 04 April when the original finder observed it closer to shore.
  • Western Gull (1st cycle). Sierra County, New Mexico. 09 April 2015.
  • Mew Gull (adult). Southport, Connecticut. 10 April 2015.
    • Another presumed Kamchatka Gull (the 4th one on the Atlantic Coast in 6 months). North America's default East Coast subspecies has always been nominate canus. The recent rash of L.c. kamtschatschensis is curious, to say the least. Perhaps it's a good time to reassess historic records where photos and/or specimens are available.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (continuing adult). Tacoma, Washington. Present all of April 2015.
  • Little Gull (1st cycle). Sullivan County, Indiana. 12 April 2015.
    • Now here for at least 23 consecutive weeks!
  • Mew Gull (adult). Milford, Connecticut. 16 April 2015. 
  • Thayer's Gull (1st cycle). West Haven, Connecticut. 19 April 2015.
  • Iceland Gull (adult). Morgan County, Colorado. 20 April 2015.
  • Little Gull (adult). St. John's, Newfoundland. 22 April 2015.
  • Little Gull (adult). Waukegan, Illinois, 25 April 2015.
    • A single adult was viewed flying north on Lake Michigan with a relatively big flight of Bonaparte's (822). This number of Bonaparte's is unusual on the Illinois lakefront at any time of year.
  • Little Gull (158). Oshawa, Ontario. 26 April 2015.
    • A site high count at the famous Oshawa Second Marsh. All birds present were adults with just a single first cycle bird.

01 April 2015

March 2015 Quiz



Let's get the gull in flight out of the way first: Adult Laughing Gull. Franklin's Gull would be a fair contender but definitive adults tend to show less black on the outer primaries with traces of a white medial band. The medial band partitions the black subterminal region from the gray on the upperwing (see here).

Now for the standing birds. Both are in their 1st plumage cycle (first winter) and happen to be the same species. Interestingly though, the bird on the right appears smaller and has greater coverts that are darker and more solid. Those two characteristics alone may convince an observer that they're looking at two different species, but this is nothing more than expected "variation" found at the species level. Note that the overall uniform brown coloration to the upperparts is a good indication we're looking at black-backed species, and not Herring Gulls. The anchor-shaped centers to the lower scapulars, all-black and straight bills, and elongated look to the wings all point towards Lesser Black-backed Gull. The lightly barred undertail coverts and lower belly (seen better on the right bird) is also a good indication of a non-American Herring taxon.

First cycle LBBG presents some challenges for beginning birders. Identifying them is much more a matter of being familiar with Herring Gull and eliminating that species first. My advice would be to stay with any gull that you suspect may be a 1st cycle Lesser until it opens its wings and until you see the uppertail pattern (here's an example showing the paler uppertail coverts and darker inner primaries).

This photo was taken in Volusia County, Florida on 24 January 2015. Incidentally, the smaller individual on the right is Florida's first banded Lesser Black-backed Gull, and was sexed as a female (which average smaller bodies and proportions than males).

Monthly Notables March 2015

March 2015
  1. Kamchatka Gull (adult). Lynn, Massachusets. 01 March 2015.*
  2. California Gull (adult).Clarksville, Indiana. 01 March 2015.
  3. Kamchatka Gull (adult). Lynn, Massachusetts. 04 March 2015.** 
  4. Heermann's Gull (2nd cycle). Pima County, Arizona. 17 March 2015.
  5. California Gull (adult). Lake County, Indiana. 17 March 2015.
  6. Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Marquette, Michigan. 22 March 2015.
  7. Little Gull (adult). Hall County, Georgia. 23 March 2015.
Of note this month is an important lesson to be learned about under-monitored areas. David Brown and company found 3 first county records in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania at the Williamsport Dam: Glaucous Gull (1st cycle - 24 March), Kumlien's Gull (2nd cycle - 29 March) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (1st cycle - 30 March). The observers feel this rash of new county records is due to an increase in effort and isn't likely due to an unusual occurrence.


*Apparent northeast Asian taxon, Kamchatka Gull (L.c. kamtschatschensis).
** Amazingly, a second adult Kamchatka Gull (a noticeably smaller bird) was also found in Lynn (the same site as the 01 March bird).

28 February 2015

February 2015 Quiz

HERRING GULL (1ST CYCLE). BREVARD COUNTY, FL. JANUARY 2015.
Pointed primary tips with relatively crisp and checkered upperwing coverts readily age this bird as a first cycle. It's obviously bigger than the medium sized Ring-billeds in the background, so the default large white-headed gull to begin with would be American Herring. This taxon has a range that's more widespread than any other North American gull. It would behoove anyone with a serious interest in gull identification to become intimately familiar with Herrings.

The majority of participants nailed this month's quiz, but a fair number of participants - perhaps unsurprisingly - answered Thayer's Gull. The overall pale and uniform coffee-color to the upperparts, and pale-tipped primaries do bear a superficial resemblence to Thayer's.

It's not, however, uncommon for 1st cycle Herrings to show pale chevrons on the tips of the outer primaries. When Herrings do show this pattern, the pale color is typically restricted to the very tips of the primaries and not as encompassing as in Thayer's (which shows pale edges coming up towards the sides of the primaries - here's an example).

Other features that favor a 1st cycle Herring Gull is the paling bill base and smokey gray upper mantle. Although this aspect isn't unheard of with Thayer's, it's much more common with Herrings.

Monthly Notables February 2015

February 2015
  1. Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Mohave County, Arizona. 01 February 2015 (under 20 state records).
  2. Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Santa Clara County, California. 03 February 2015.
  3. Iceland Gull (1st cycle). Rutherford County, Tennessee. 03 February 2015 (6th state record).
  4. Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Cook County, Illinois. 07 February 2015 (6th/7th state record).
  5. Mew Gull (2nd cycle type). Brooklyn, New York. 09 February 2015 (5th state records).*
  6. Vega Gull (adult type). Brownsville, Texas. 21 February 2015 (5th state record).**
  7. Great Black-backed Gull (1st cycle). Tulsa, Oklahoma. 25 February 2015 (under 10 state records).
Notes: 
* Apparent North American "Mew" or Short-billed Gull (L.c. brachyrhynchus).
**Regarded as a subspecies of Herring Gull, L.a.vegae, by the AOU. 

31 January 2015

January 2015 Quiz


Most gull identifications are tied to age, so let's begin by establishing that. The all-brown scapulars, dark-solid tertials, and relatively neat upperwing coverts all belong to a juvenile bird. The pointed primary tips and mostly black bill also aid in ageing this individual.

We don't have any reliable references for size comparisons in the photo, but this appears to be a medium sized gull (smaller than a Herring Gull). The attenuated look to the wings helps narrow it down to a few species, but much more telling is the strong "cinnamon" color throughout which is only shown by two North American gull species: juvenile Ring-billed and juvenile California Gull (much more common on the latter). The bleached appearance to the chest, neck and forehead, as well as the straight tubular bill and decurved gape expression make this a pretty solid California Gull.

This plumage aspect is not uncommon among juvenile California Gulls - loosely named "Cinnamon Types". Photographed in mid-September in San Mateo County, California.