June 2017 Quiz

Age: The largely dark brown wing coverts and substantial tail-band suggest a 1st cycle gull.

Identification: This is a hooded species with obvious eye-crescents. The dark-gray mantle and scapular feathers eliminate paler species such as Bonaparte's, Little and Sabine's Gull. Although not discernable from this single photo, the bill and body size should aid in the elimination process when observed in the field. The only reasonable choices for this 1st cycle gull are Franklin's and Laughing.

This month's quiz bird is a rather typical 1st winter Laughing Gull, photographed in Volusia County, Florida. January.

For comparison, consider this 1st cycle Franklin's Gull. Illinois. September.

First cycle Franklin's show a silvery gray wash across the greater coverts - and perhaps diagnostic - white outer edges to the outermost rectrices. Overall, this species will show whiter underparts and hindeck earlier in the season than Laughing. Finally, Franklin's will often show a much more demarcated semi-hood and wider eye crescents than similar-age Laughing Gulls.

Monthly Notables May 2017

• Black-tailed Gull (adult). Kitimat-Stikine County, British Columbia. 04 May 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Lambton County, Ontario. 06 May 2017.
• This individual, presumably seen on the Thunder Bay CBC in January 2017, then in Muskegon, Michigan in April 2017, was resighted just outside of Sarnia, Ontario near the St. Clair River.
• Black-headed Gul (1st cycle). Erie County, Ohio. 10 May 2017.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Chippewa County, Michigan. 19 May 2017.
• Black-tailed Gull (2nd cycle type). San Francisco County, California. 23 May 2017.
• Ivory Gull (adult).  Bonavista/Trinity-Clarenville County, NF & Labrador. 23 May 2017.

May 2017 Quiz

Age: All 3 birds are in high molt, with a mixture of old and new upperparts. The visible primaries on the rightmost and leftmost birds appear to be 1st generation (note the primaries on the center bird aren't visible). Thus, it's safe to say these large white-headed gulls are roughly 1 year of age.

Identification: Both individuals with bi-colored bills look like typical 1st summer Herrings - size and structure rule out smaller species such as Ring-billed, and the thick bills and heavy chests seem to rule out California Gull. The left bird - with a mostly black bill and attenuated look to the rear - is different.

Here's a slightly underexposed image of this individual:

The upperparts are genuinely dark with dark centers. Note the bill is relatively long, but straight, ending with a slight droop. The striated neck markings, and dark stippled tips to the new wing coverts, recall Lesser Black-backed Gull, and that's what this month's gull was identified as.

This first summer Lesser was photographed in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. June.

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.