Monthly Notables October 2018

Sightings:

• California Gull (3rd cycle type). Richland County, Ohio. 01 October 2018.
• Apparently the same individual found in Lorain County in late September. 
• California Gull (adult). LaPorte County, Indiana. 04 October 2018.
• Little Gull (juvenile). St. Charles County, Missouri. 05 October 2018.
• Franklin's Gull (2nd cycle type). Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. 07 October 2018.
• 1st for Philadelphia.
• Herring Gull (adult). Yuma County, Arizona. 07 October 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Snohomish County, Washington. 08 October 2018.
• Mew Gull (2nd cycle). Allegan County, Michigan. 14 October 2018.
• 9th State Record.
• Laughing Gull (1st cycle). Arthabaska County, Quebec. 18 October 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Ketchikan Gateway County, Alaska. 20 October 2018.
• Glaucous Gull (1st cycle). Cameron Parish County, Louisiana. 21 October 2018.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Halifax County, Nova Scotia. 21 October 2018.
• Laughing Gull (1st cycle & adult). Saint Pierre & Miquelon. 22 October 2018. 
• Laughing Gull (2 adults). St. John's County, NF & Labrador. 22 October 2018.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Lane County, Oregon. 22 October 2018.
  
• Western Gull (2nd cycle). Nueces County, Texas. 25 October 2018.
• 4th State Record. 
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd cycle type). Santa Cruz County, California. 26 October 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (3rd cycle type). Cook County, Minnesota. 28 October 2018.
• 9th State Record.

Miscellaneous Notes:

A small influx of Laughing Gulls was recorded in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the 3rd week of October. This was in all likelihood associated with hurricane conditions along the Atlantic.

October 2018 Quiz

Age: Both gulls appear to be typical adults with no traces of sub-adult plumes or bill patterns.

Identification: The only thing better than an open wing shot is two open wings for comparison. The gray upperparts are virtually equal in color, and so they're of little help. Suffice to say the gray is pale and any dark-backed species is immediately excluded.

Most useful are the wingtips. To the discerning eye, the bird in front has more extensive black pigment on the wingtip while the other shows limited black and more white. Not only this, the shade of black is slightly paler on the farther individual. The bird in front shows a fairly standard Herring Gull wingtip for the central and western part of the continent, and its pale eye and fairly strong bill agree with Herring as well. The farther individual shows a rather classic Iceland Gull wingtip with thayeri pattern on the 9th primary. The all-white tip to p10 and notable white tongue tips on p6-p8 also point to Iceland Gull. Also note the dusky eye and smudgy head markings, and hints of a smaller bill.

Our October Quiz birds - Adult Herring & Thayer's Gull - were photographed in Superior, Wisconsin in late November.

Monthly Notables September 2018

Sightings:

• Laughing Gull (juvenile). Marion County, Iowa. 03 September 2018.
• An immaculately fresh juvenile.
• Little Gull (juvenile). Lake County, Indiana. 03 September 2018.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (juvenile). Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. 07 September 2018.
• Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 07 September 2018.
• Little Gull (juvenile). Cook County, Illinois. 10 September 2018.
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult type). Keith County, Nebraska. 12 September 2018.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Gallatin County, Montana. 12 September 2018.
• A rarely-seen adult bird. Only the 7th for the state and earliest fall record by two months.
• Little Gull (juvenile). Washington County, Colorado. 13 September 2018.
  
• Sabine's Gull (juvenile). Marion County, West Virginia. 14 September 2018.
• Only the 4th state record.
• Black-tailed Gull (3rd cycle type). Powell River District, British Columbia. 13 September 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Pierce County, Washington. 14 September 2018.
• Likely the same adult returning here since 2013.
• Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle). St. John's County, Newfoundland. 15 September 2018.
  
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Metro Vancouver District, British Columbia. 16 September 2018.
• California Gull (adult). Lorain County, Ohio. 13 September 2018.
• Heermann's Gull (2nd cycle type). Pima County, Arizona. 18 September 2018.
• Mew Gull (adult). Larimer County, Colorado. 19 September 2018.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Halifax County, Nova Scotia. 19 September 2018.
• Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). District of Columbia. 22 September 2018.
• First record for Washington DC since 1989.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd cycle type). Wasco County, Oregon. 24 September 2018.
• First county record.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult type). Peace River District, British Columbia. 24 September 2018.
• Laughing Gull (2nd cycle). Randolph County, Missouri. 26 September 2018.

September 2018 Quiz

Age: This rather small and compact gull displays a full tailband and brown-washed wing coverts. We can feel safe aging it as a 1st cycle. Of course extended views would be desired to better age our gull.

Identification: There's no question that this is a hooded species. Of note is the solid-patterned upperwing (right wing). It lacks a carpal bar, eliminating species such as Bonaparte's, Little and Black-headed. The bold eye crescents and semi-hooded appearance scream Franklin's Gull. Also supportive of Franklin's (over Laughing Gull) is the clean white wing linings and hind neck. If we zoom in, the tailband on Franklin's almost never reaches the outermost edge of the outer tail feathers, as is the case here.

This 1st cycle Franklin's Gull was photographed in Chicago, Illinois. October.

Monthly Notables August 2018

Sightings:

• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). San Luis Obispo County, California. 03 August 2018.
• Franklin's Gull (1st summer type). Fairfax County, Virginia. 04 August 2018.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Lunenberg County, Nova Scotia. 04 August 2018.
• Laughing Gull (juvenile). Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. 04 August 2018.
• Sabine's Gull (adult type). Sarasota County, Florida. 11 August 2018.
• The observer has had 3 Sabine's at this site in 14 months. 
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult). Sweetwater County, Wyoming. 13 August 2018.
• Possibly the same individual seen here last August.
• Mew Gull (2nd cycle). Arapahoe County, Colorado. 13 August 2018.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Mendocino County, California. 14 August 2018.
• Apparently the 3rd LBBG seen in California this summer. 
• Black-legged Kittiwake (juvenile). Hamilton County, Ontario. 20 August 2018.
• Common Gull (adult). St. John's County, Newfoundland & Labrador. 24 August 2018.
• Herring Gull (3rd cycle type). San Francisco County, California. 25 August 2018.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• On 01 August 2018, Jean-Guy Beaulieu found and photographed a banded 1st summer Black-legged Kittiwake in Les Escoumins, Quebec. After doing a little investigating, I received a reply from a French biologist who claimed the bird - apparently the first banded French kittiwake to be found on mainland America. More here.

August 2018 Quiz

Age: Focusing on the two individuals with heads upright, we can be fairly confident these are adult, large white-headed gulls (LWHG).

Identification: The black-backed gull should be the easier to identify from this duo. Given its relative size, we should readily dismiss Great Black-backed Gull. This appears to be a slim and long-winged gull. The red gonys spot is enlarged and the bill itself is relatively straight with virtually no expansion at the gonys. The streaking on the face is made up of thin, pencil-like, streaks. All of these features make this yellow-eyed critter a Lesser Black-backed Gull  

The noticeably larger gull to the left with paler gray upperparts is superficially similar to a Herring, but it isn't one. Notice the black on the primaries is not a jet black like the other gulls in the photo. That, along with the extensive white on the primaries should convince us we may have something other than a Herring in view. The darkish eye and greenish tinge to the bill match up nicely with Thayer's Iceland Gull, as does the extent of pigment on the primaries.

Our August Quiz photo is indeed of a Thayer's Gull (left) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (right).
Chicago, Illinois. January.

Monthly Notables July 2018

Sightings:

• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). San Mateo County, California. 02 July 2018.
• Laughing Gull (1st summer). Clay County, Iowa. 03 July 2018.
• 1st County Record.
• Bonaparte's Gull (1st summer). Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. 09 July 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (4th cycle type). Inuvik County, NW Territories. 09 July 2018.
• Mew Gull (1st summer). San Luis Obispo County, California. 10 July 2018.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (1st summer). San Mateo County, California. 12 July 2018.
• Possible first local summer record.
• Franklin's Gull (1st summer). Newport County, Rhode Island. 16 July 2018.
• 13th State Record.
• Glaucous Gull (1st summer). Suffolk County, New York. 17 July 2018.
• Mew Gull (2nd summer type). Humboldt County, California. 19 July 2018.
• Sabine's Gull (2 first summer individuals). St. John's County, Newfoundland. 19 July 2018.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Lambton County, Ontario. 21 July 2018.
• Iceland Gull (1st summer). Chatham-Kent County, Ontario. 22 July 2018.
• Glaucous Gull (adult). Monroe County, New York. 23 July 2018.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (1st summer). Kiholo Bay, Hawaii. 23 July 2018.
•  Continuing from June. 
• Iceland Gull (3rd summer). Yukon County, Yukon Territory. 26 July 2018.
• Putative Kumlien's Iceland Gull. 
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd summer). Portage la Prairie County, Manitoba. 27 July 2018.
• Glaucous Gull (adult). Niagara County, New York. 27 July 2018.
• Apparently the same out-of-season adult seen in Monroe County on 23 July 2018.
• Franklin's Gull (adult type). St. John's County, Newfoundland. 28 July 2018.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (4th cycle type). San Diego County, California. 28 July 2018.
• Great Black-backed Gull (2nd summer). Oliver County, South Dakota. 29 July 2018.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Ventura County, California. 31 July 2018.

Notes: 

• Some promising news with respect to Heermann's Gulls in the state of California. Local birders and conservationists Joanna & Byron Chin documented two separate nesting sites with perhaps up to 11 young successfully fledged in Seaside. Efforts are underway to build and maintain a small man-made island on Roberts Lake. This island will replace the old sunken island that the colony used in the past. Check out this inspiring video by Byron where a drone is used to survey the lake: https://www.facebook.com/SeasideHEEGs/videos/500183813749205/
• A small Iceland Gull colony of approximately 150 birds was discovered on 17 July 2018 in northern Quebec along the Hudson Strait. The observer who reported the birds, Alexandre Anctil, made the sighting overhead from a helicopter. The adults - rearing young - are described as pale and gray-winged, not dark-winged. Alexandre explained to me that from a distance, he thought the gulls would be the more expected Glaucous Gull. This colony is one of the largest of its kind to be found at such a southern latitude (61.682593N 71.767582O). The age breakdown is estimated to be 100 adults and approximately 50 chicks.