Monthly Notables April 2017

• Ivory Gull (adult). Nome County, Alaska. 01 April 2017.
• Great Black-backed Gull (1st cycle). Larimer County, Colorado. 01 April 2017.
• Continued from March 2017.
• Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). Glynn County, Georgia. 04 April 2017.
• Laughing Gull (1st cycle). Monterey County, California. 05 April 2017.
• Sabine's Gull (adult type). Yolo County, California. 07 April 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Clatsop County, Oregon. 08 April 2017.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Monterey County, California. 11 April 2017.
• 4th County record. 
• Laughing Gull (adult type). Lincoln County, Oregon. 11 April 2017.
• 4th State Record.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Kings County, Nova Scotia. 14 April 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (3rd cycle type). Muskegon County, Michigan. 19 April 2017.
• Michigan's 3rd April record of Slaty-backed Gull. A photo from the Thunder Bay CBC in early January (2017) suggests this may be the same individual, found some 400 miles to the southeast.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult type). Socorro County, New Mexico. 29 April 2017.

Notes

1. Worthy of mention is what appears to have been a "surge" in Lesser Black-backed Gull sightings on the Central California coast this past season. Interestingly, this was also the case for Oregon where there were 3 coastal sightings (previous to this the state only had one coastal record).

April 2017 Quiz

Age: Rounded primary tips, gray scapulars and plain upperwing coverts all point to a 2nd cycle type large white-headed gull.

Identification: The pattern on the outer primaries - a so-called venetian blind effect - suggest a white-winged gull. The contrasting dark-brown outer webs with light-brown inner webs on the 5 outer primaries are reminiscent of Iceland Gull. The bill has retained much black with a pinched-base look, something we often find in Thayer's, and that's what the April Quiz bird was identified as.

2nd cycle Thayer's Iceland Gull. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. February 2017.

Monthly Notables March 2017

• Common Gull (adult). Rockingham County, New Hampshire. 01 March 2017.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Lorain County, Ohio. 02 March 2017.
• Pair-bonding behavior observed with adult Ring-billed all throughout the month.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 02 March 2017.
• Continuing from February.
• Yellow-legged Gull (adult). 03 March 2017.
• Presumed atlantis. Continuing.
• Ivory Gull (1st cycle). Essex County, Ontario. 03 March 2017.
• Found in Flint, Michigan a week later.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Berrien County, Michigan. 03 March 2017.
• A single bird continued for several weeks - not associating with other small gulls.
• Ivory Gull (1st cycle). Flint Michigan. 09 March 2017.
• Seen everyday through 13 March 2017 and then found dead late that morning. The specimen was delivered to the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Berrien County, Michigan. 10 March 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Benton County, Washington. 12 March 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). St. John's County, Newfoundland. 17 March 2017.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 20 March 2017.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Sangamon County, Illinois. 23 March 2017.
• First county record.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (1st cycle). Monterey County, California. 24 March 2017.
• Originally found in January 2017 with complete juvenile plumage, this presumed Heuglin's Gull (L.f. heuglini), was later sighted at the same location with ~80% post-juvenile scapulars. Possible 1st record of this taxon in the lower 48 states.
• Great Black-backed Gull (1st cycle). Loveland County, Colorado. 26 March 2017.
• Common Gull (adult). Barnstable County, Massachusetts. 26 March 2017.
• Mew Gull (adult). Richmond County, New York. 29 March 2017.

Monthly Notes

• An adult type Laughing x Ring-billed hybrid was found in Lorain, Ohio on 06 March 2017. This while a pure adult Laughing Gull was hanging out in this same harbor with a large contingent of Ring-billed Gulls. This seems to now be an established phenomenon on the Great Lakes, where the occasional adult Laughing Gull is found with Ring-billeds, and shortly after, a putative hybrid is detected in the following year(s).
• An overdue proposal to lump Thayer's and Iceland Gull has been submitted to the AOS Classification Committee (Proposal Set 2017-C).

March 2017 Quiz

Age: An apparent 1st cycle gull with checkered upperparts and juvenile-like flight feathers.

Identification: The pale uppertail coverts with thin, black, tailband immediately point away from Herring Gull (and most other North American large gulls). The secondaries and outer primaries are strikingly dark, a pattern that's expected on both Lesser and Great Black-backed Gull. The wing is broad, and the overall peppered aspect to the wing coverts looks better for Great Black-backed. Structurally, the bill - peeking under the left wing - and the long thick legs add up to a GBBG.

Here's a better look at the March 2017 quiz bird.

1st cycle Great Black-backed Gull. Whiting, Indiana. March.

Monthly Notables February 2017

• Ross's Gull (1st cycle). Franklin County, New York. 01 February 2017.
• Continued from January. Last seen 02 February 2017. An unknown observer reported seeing the bird on Simon Pond on 23 February 2017.
• Ivory Gull (1st cycle). Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon County, Alaska. 01 February 2017.
• Kumlien's Gull (1st cycle). Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon County, Alaska. 03 February 2017.
• Thayer's Gull (adult). Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. 04 February 2017.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Digby County, Nova Scotia. 04 February 2017.
• Possibly a returning bird from last winter.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Linconln County, Oregon. 04 February 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Grays Harbor County, Washington. 04 February 2017.
• Ross's Gull (adult). Washington County, Rhode Island. 04 February 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Erie County, Pennsylvania. 05 February 2017.
• Continuing from late January 2017.
• Kumlien's Gull (1st cycle). Lincoln County, Oregon. 06 February 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Nanaimo County, British Columbia. 07 February 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 13 February 2017.
• Laughing Gull (1st cycle). San Mateo County, California. 18 February 2017.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 19 February 2017.
• Common Gull (adult). Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. 20 February 2017.
• Black-tailed Gull (1st cycle). Monterey County, California. 22 February 2017.
• January bird. Relocated after going missing on 18 January 2017.
• Vega Gull (adult). Volusia County, Florida. 23 February 2017.
• 3rd occurrence for Daytona Beach Shores.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult & 2nd cycle). San Mateo County, California. 25 February 2017.
• Black-tailed Gull (1st cycle). San Mateo County, California. 25 February 2017.
• Photos revealed this to be the same individual first found last month some 80 miles to the south in Monterey County.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). San Mateo County, California. 25 February 2017.
• A first cycle found here a few days later on 27 February 2017.
• Common Gull (adult). Essex County, Massachusetts. 25 February 2017.
• Sporting a metal band of its right leg, this individual was banded in Iceland in 2013. Some 2500 miles from its banding location, #581641 was still being seen at King's Beach as of 28 February 2017. 

Notes:

• On 20 February 2017, Donna Martin recorded an unexpected video of an adult Kumlien's Gull attempting to woo an adult Herring Gull. The Kumlien's was performing obvious courtship behaviors (head tossing, calling with mock-regurgitation). There are no known records of Herring and Iceland Gull hybridizing, and this pre-breeding behavior appears to be the first of its kind to be documented.
• San Mateo County, California lived up to its reputation of being a winter gull magnet. On 25 February 2017, 14 species were recorded with highlights being 2 Slaty-backed Gulls and the 1st cycle Black-tailed Gull that was first found in Monterey County last month. The county now has a whopping 22 gull species to boast about, not counting Vega Herring. 
• Worthy of mention in the February notes is the banded adult Common Gull from Essex County, Massachusetts (see above). This report confirms what many of us already suspect - a presence of gulls from the far North Atlantic wintering in North America.  

February 2017 Quiz

This month's quiz gives us a break from large gulls with a potpourri of smaller larids. Most of the birds in this photo show obvious signs of wear and active molt, hinting it may be the summer season in the northern hemisphere.

The 2 paler gulls in the center with yellow bills and blocky heads have a short-legged appearance. These are safely identified as 1st summer Black-legged Kittiwakes, with much of the upperparts and body feathers already renewed via the first prealternate molt. The individual in the front shows a worn, brownish outer primary, and black edging on the visible rectrices (retained juvenile feathers).

The darker, long-legged birds surrounding the kittiwakes all look like standard Laughing Gulls. There are at least 2 first summer LAGUs in the photo - can you point them out? The red-billed bird on the left with the complete hood is likely a definitive adult. The age of the others is questionable without an open wing. With this many Laughing Gulls in the flock, the photo must have been taken along the Atlantic seaboard or the Gulf Coast.

What about the bird in the back on the far left stretching its wing? It's a hooded species with a pointy black bill and a white "flash" to the outer primaries. The brown marks on the upperwing coverts and wrist also identify this as a 1st summer gull - a Bonaparte's now in its 2nd prebasic molt. If you zoom in on the photo, you'll notice a molt gap at the mid-primaries, separating the newer 2nd basic inner primaries from the retained juvenile (1st basic) primaries.

Barnstable County, Massachusetts. July.

Monthly Notables January 2017

• Mew Gull (1st cycle). Will County, Illinois. 01 January 2017.
• Western Gull (1st cycle). Salt Lake County, Utah. 01 January 2017.
• Continuing all winter. Here since October 2016.
• Iceland Gull (adult). Flathead County, Montana. 01 January 2017.
• Nominate glaucoides candidate.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Pierce County, Washington. 01 January 2017,
• Continuing. Reoccurring. One of 3 in the state this month.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Niagara County, New York. 01 January 2017.
• Seen crossing back and forth into Niagara County, Ontario. 
• Franklin's Gull (2nd cycle). Volusia County, Florida. 02 January 2017.
• Common Gull (adult). Somerset County, New Jersey. 03 January 2017.
• 2nd state record. Head streaking, relatively thick bill and slightly darker upperparts than Ring-billed suggest nominate canus.
• Laughing Gull (1st cycle). Colfax County, New Mexico. 02 January 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Walla Walla County, Washington. 07 January 2016.
• Presumably back for a second winter.
• Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 07 January 2017.
• Presumably back for a third winter.
• Iceland Gull (1st cycle). Salt Lake County, Utah. 02 January 2017. 
• Kumlien's Gull (1st cycle). Stanislaus County, Califormia. 08 January 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Monterey County, California. 09 January 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Clallam County, Washington. 12 January 2017.
• Ross's Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 12 January 2017.
• 2nd state record. A pair of Peregrine Falcons depredated this individual mid-afternoon on 14 January 2017. The bird appeared healthy and was actively feeding on worms before its demise.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle type). San Mateo County, California. 14 January 2017.
• Black-tailed Gull (1st cycle). Monterey County, California. 13 January 2017.
• Only 3 accepted records for the state prior to this. First county record.
• California Gull (adult). Winnebago County, Wisconsin. 16 January 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (1st cycle). San Diego County, California. 16 January 2017.
• Photos of a very convincing 2nd calendar year bird of what is almost undeniably a young Slaty-backed Gull - the first of its kind to be identified with such broad consensus in North America. This will be a 1st county record.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Lincoln County, Oregon. 17 January 2017.
• Heermann's Gull (adult). Clark County, Nevada. 21 January 2017.
• Ross's Gull (1st cycle). Franklin County, New York. 25 January 2017.
• Only a couple records of this plumage in the lower 48 states. Excellent audio recording obtained by Andrew Spencer - perhaps the first time this age group has been recorded!
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Erie County, Pennsylvania. 27 January 2017
• Mew Gull (adult type). Kings County, New York. 27 January 2017.
• Possibly continuing from mid-December.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Shasta County, California. 27 January 2017.
• First county record.

Miscellaneous Notes

• A putative adult California x Ring-billed Gull was found and photographed by Mark Sawyer in Placer County, California. 06 January 2017. Beside showing a paling iris, the markings on the crown and nape were fine and thin, similar to Ring-billed. The primary pattern showed less black than expected on a typical California Gull and the gray upperparts appeared a shade paler than surrounding California Gulls.
• An adult Iceland Gull was found dead in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin on 05 January 2017. The finder, Tood Leech, discovered the gull with all of its outer primaries plucked on both wings. This is unfortunate considering the outer primaries were thought to be all white on this individual. There were no signs of injury and the cause of death is still unknown. This is the 3rd Iceland Gull to be found dead by birders on the Great Lakes this winter. 
• Two video recordings with audio of presumed Kumlien's Gulls were taken this month by Donna Martin. One of a 2nd cycle bird giving short calls with head tossing, and another of an adult giving a long call. There's an obvious raspy and screechy quality to both vocalizations. 14 January and 23 January 2017, respectively. Summerside, Prince Edward Island.