Monthly Notables February 2018

Sightings:

• Black-headed Gull (adult). Brevard County, Florida. 02 February 2018.
  
• Continued from previous month.

• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Coffey County, Kansas. 03 February 2018.


• Slaty-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Monterey County, California. 05 February 2018.


• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Onondaga County, New York. 06 February 2018.
• Same individual found in Oswego County in January 2018.


• Mew Gull (1st cycle). Tarrant County, Texas. 08 February 2018.


• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Benton County, Washington. 11 February 2018.


• Black-tailed Gull (adult). Del Norte County, California. 11 February 2018.


• Thayer's Iceland Gull (adult). Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. 14 February 2018.


• Franklin's Gull (adult). Los Angeles County, California. 15 February 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Seneca County, New York. 16 February 2018.


• 2nd County Record. Same individual from Onondaga and Oswego County.


• Slaty-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Middlesex County, Massachusetts. 16 February 2018.


• California Gull (1st cycle). Volusia County, Florida. 16 February 2018.


• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Columbia County, Oregon. 18 February 2018.
• Showing a peculiar orange color to the legs, and especially on the bill.


• Common Gull (adult). Essex County, Massachusetts. 19 February 2018.
• Same banded adult with silver band from last year. Banded in Iceland 2013.


• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Digby County, Nova Scotia. 19 February 2018.
• Presumably a returning bird, first detected last winter.


• Little Gull (2nd cycle type). Barren County, Kentucky. 20 February 2018.


• California Gull (2nd cycle). Kleberg County, Texas. 22 February 2018.


• Slaty-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Kennebec County, Maine. 23 February 2018.
• Apparently the same individual that was found in Massachusetts the week before.
• 2nd State Record. Incidentally, the first state record was also from this site.


• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. 24 February 2018.
• On-and-off from January. 


• Laughing Gull (adult). Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. 27 February 2018.


• California Gull (3rd cycle). Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. 28 February 2018.


• Great Black-backed Gull (adult). Pubelo County, Colorado. 28 February 2018.
• Believed to be the same adult returning for the 24th winter.

Miscellaneous:

The theme in February was Slaty-backed Gulls. Multiple adults, two 3rd cycle types and a 2nd cycle type were seen and photographed in the lower 48. This continues to beg the obvious question: how many 1st cycle birds are being overlooked?!

The increase in Kamchatka Gulls between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts might be contributed to several returning birds. Nonetheless, this novelty is curious to say the least and it'll be interesting to see where we go from here. 

February 2018 Quiz

AGE: The brown wing coverts and black tailband point to a small-ish 1st cycle gull.


IDENTIFICATION: This 1st cycle gull already shows all-gray upper scapulars and gray on the inner median covert. The gray is relatively dark - darker than, say, Bonaparte's. The smudging around the neck and breast recall Franklin's and Laughing Gull. The black bill and black legs are not only species-specific, they're seasonal characteristics in this species. The bill is rather heavy and the outlines of the eye crescents are relatively thin. On Franklin's, the bill appears shorter and thinner, and the head typically keeps a quasi-hood toward the back of the head. Inscribed in this hood are usually much more bolder eye crescents. These marks, along with messy underwing coverts, and black coming all the way out to the outer edges of the outer tail feather, all point directly to a 1st cycle Laughing Gull.

Brevard County, Florida. January.

Monthly Notables January 2018

Sightings:

• Mew Gull (1st cycle). Franklin County, Ohio. 02 January 2018.
• Continued from previous month.
• Ivory Gull (adult). Lake County, Illinois. 03 January 2018.
• 4th State Record.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Mohave County, Arizona. 03 January 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Cook County, Illinois. 04 January 2018.
• 3rd County Record.
• Slaty-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Los Angeles County, California. 06 January 2018.
• Ring-billed Gull (adult). Northern Peninsula - St. Anthony County, NL. 08 January 2018.
• Vega Gull (adult). Humboldt County, California. 12 January 2018.
• Laughing Gull (1st cycle). Mohave County, Arizona. 14 January 2018.
• Mew Gull (adult). Keith County, Nebraska.15 January 2018.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Nantucket, Massachusetts. 15 January 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Oswego County, New York. 16 January 2018.
• 2nd County Reocrd
• Mew Gull (adult). Kings County, New York. 16 January 2018.
• Likely a returning bird, first detected here as a 2nd cycle in 2015.
• Laughing Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 16 January 2018.
• Common Gull (adult). Oswego County, New York. 18 January 2018.
• Common Gull (adult). Essex County, Massachusetts. 20 January 2018.
• Returning adult from last winter. Silver leg band on right leg not matching last winter's banded adult. 
• Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 20 January 2018.
• Returning for at least the last 4 consecutive winters.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. 21 January 2018.
• First for Nova Scotia. 3rd for all of Canada.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Brevard County, Florida. 25 January 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. 29 January 2018.

Miscellaneous:

Worthy of mention is an adult Western Gull found in Estero Las Aguas, Choluteca, Honduras on 04 January 2018. Not only is this a 1st for Honduras, it's also an overdue first record for all of Central America.

January 2018 Quiz

Age: The well-patterned wing coverts and undertail coverts suggest a 1st cycle large gull. Zooming in, the primary tips are pointed, also supporting a 1st cycle bird. Note that the dark gray feather splotching along the upper flanks, breast and hindneck, is presumably from a post-juvenile molt. These feathers are thought to be from the same molt that produced the post-juvenile scapulars seen here. Bear in mind that all the visible scapulars have been renewed (i.e., formative). The tertials and upperwing coverts are juvenile (i.e., 1st basic).


Identification: We can immediately rule out all white-winged species as none have primaries this dark in 1st cycle, coupled with renewed mottled scapulars. All of our large gulls begin with pink legs, so leg color is of no value here. Note that California Gull can superficially resemble this, but the wing projection is typically longer (difficult to ascertain from a single photo), the rear is sleeker and more attenuated, and the body doesn't appear as heavy. The bill is starting to pale and the overall size/proportions point to a standard American Herring Gull. The pale head with contrasting dark body is fairly common in this age group, quite early in the season.

Our January Quiz is indeed a 1st cycle Herring Gull. Winthrop Harbor, Illinois. November.

Monthly Notables December 2017

Sightings:

• Great Black-backed Gull (1st cycle). Polk County, Iowa. 02 December 2017.
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult). Pueblo County, Colorado. 02 December 2017.
• Believed to be the same returning adult for the 24th year!
• California Gull (adult). Butler County, Pennsylvania. 03 December 2017.
• Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). Wakulla County, Florida. 03 December 2017.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Riverside County, California. 05 December 2017.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Cibola County, New Mexico. 06 December 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Kenosha County, Wisconsin. 10 December 2017.
• First County Record. 
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Benton County, Washington. 11 December 2017.
• Likely a reoccurring bird from last two winters. 
• California Gull (adult). Ketchikan Gateway County, Alaska. 16 December 2017.
• Thayer's Gull (2nd cycle). Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 16 December 2017.
• Sabine's Gull (1st cycle). Galveston County, Texas. 17 December 2017.
• Herring Gull (1st cycle). Nome County, Alaska. 21 December 2017.
• Subspecies undetermined. 2nd latest record locally. 
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Digby County, Nova Scotia. 24 December 2017.
• Returning individual for third consecutive winter. 
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Chambers & Harris County, Texas. 25 December 2017.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Ottawa County, Michigan. 26 December 2017.
• Kumlien's Gull (2nd cycle). Nanaimo District, British Columbia. 27 December 2017.
• Mew Gull (1st cycle). Franklin County, Ohio. 28 December 2017.
• Laughing Gull (adult). La Salle County, Illinois. 28 December 2017.

December 2017 Quiz

Age: The upperparts on this bird have neat pale fringes that immediately suggest a juvenile. The jet-black bill and pointy tips to the primaries also support a 1st cycle individual.

Identification: The medium, even-brown, tones with very little contrast throughout the plumage is only expected in a couple of taxa in North America. An initial view of the extensive pale edging wrapped around the primary tips should call to mind juvenile Glaucous-winged Gull or Thayer's Gull. A date and location, or other birds in the frame for comparison, would easily settle this in the field, but we'll try to do without that information. Afterall, what do we have to lose?

A couple of salient features that Glaucous-wingeds regularly show - but not so much in thayeri - include a plain, muddied, greater covert panel. In thayeri, the greater coverts tend to show more internal markings with a frosted appearance - more illustrious, if you will.

The plain upper tail, plain tertial tips, plain scapulars and plain wing coverts nicely work together to shape this "muted" look we expect in Glaucous-winged Gull. Our December quiz bird is indeed a juvenile Glaucous-winged, photographed in King County, Washington during the first week of September.

For comparison, here's a juvenile Thayer's, photographed in the same county in late December:

Greater coverts show more internal markings, and overall, the upperparts are more contrasty and patterned. An ID like this, where Glaucous-wingeds and Thayer's overlap, must also take size and structure into consideration.

Monthly Notables November 2017

Sightings

• Sabine's Gull (1st cycle). Gila County, Arizona. 03 November 2017.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Los Angeles, County, California. 03 November 2017.
• Sabine's Gull (1st cycle). Lake County, Tennessee. 03 November 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Labrador-Happy Valley-Goose Bay County, Newfoundland & Labrador. 04 November 2017.
• 2nd record for Labrador. Incidentally, the 1st record was only last year in April 2016. That individual was an adult, found roughly 1 mile away from the 2017 bird.
• Great Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle type). Stark County, North Dakota. 05 November 2017.
• Little Gull (adult). Lawrence County, Alabama. 12 November 2017.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Inyo County, California. 12 November 2017.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Butler County, Pennsylvania. 12 November 2017.
• A returning adult since at least 2011. 8 county records which may prove to be of the same individual.
• Thayer's Gull (1st cycle). Mohave County, Arizona. 17 November 2017.
• Only about the 15th record for the state.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Sedgwick County, Colorado. 16 November 2017.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Okanagan-Similkameen District, British Columbia 17 November 2017.
• First record for the Okanagans.
• California Gull (adult). Lake County, Illinois. 19 November 2017.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Scott County, Iowa. 20 November 2017.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Washington County, Minnesota. 24 November 2017.
• Thayer's Gull (1st cycle). Accomack County, Virginia. 24 November 2017.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Battleford County, Saskatchewan. 25 November 2017.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (2 - 1st cycle). Sangamon County, Illinois. 29 November 2017.
• Great Black-backed Gull (1st cycle). Polk County, Iowa. 30 November 2017.
• Rare for inland Iowa. 

Miscellaneous:

A relatively large influx of Ross's Gulls was found in the Gambell, Alaska region beginning on 13 November, and continued through the end of the month. Some estimates put numbers at 14-20 birds roaming the waters of the northwest portion of St. Lawrence Island.

Black-legged Kittiwakes were reported in above-average numbers, inland, on the western Great Lakes and beyond.

An adult 'Taimyr Gull' was reported in Sonoma County, California (24 November 2017). It's believed this individual is a returning bird, first found last winter. The taxonomy of this form remains unsettled and has yet to be clarified.