October 2023 Quiz

 

September. California. 

Age: The overall fresh patterned coverts, mottled head and body, black primaries and dark tail suggest a 1st cycle.

Identification: Given the location, Western, Herring and California Gull are in the running. Several features support California Gull, including the small head, fairly straight bill that is already almost completely pale in September, as well as the long wing projection. The extensive white areas to the greater coverts are unexpected in American Herring. Western Gull is ruled out by bill size and overall structure. Also note the plain post-juvenile scapulars, which are common in California Gull, but usually dark-centered in Western. 

The October Quiz bird is a relatively large (m?) 1st cycle California Gull. 

October 2023 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Black-headed Gull (adult). Anchorage, Alaska. 03 October 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adults). Baffin County, Nunavut. 06 October 2023.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Otero County, New Mexico. 08 October 2023.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Rimouski-Neigette County, Quebec. 09 October 2023.
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult). Hughes County, South Dakota. 09 October 2023.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Lethbridge County, Alberta. 10 October 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult type). Red Deer County, Alberta. 12 October 2023.
• Common Gull (adult). Humber District-Corner Brook County, NL. 12 October 2023.
• Thayer's Gull (adult). Pima County, Arizona. 13 October 2023.
• 1st County Record.
• GRAY GULL (3rd cycle type). Walton County, Florida. 18 October 2023.
• Continuing 1st ABA record, on and off all month, completing 3rd prebasic molt. 
• Yellow-footed Gull (3rd cycle). Clark County, Nevada. 20 October 2023.
• Presumably a returning bird, first detected in March 2022 as a 1st cycle.
• Glaucous Gull (1st cycle). Cape May County, New Jersey. 20 October 2023.
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult). Galveston County, Texas. 21 October 2023.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Decatur County, Kansas. 22 October 2023.
• 1st County Record.
• Heermann's Gull (5th cycle). Duval County, Florida. 22 October 2023.
• Present all month, now in 5th basic plumage. 
• Laughing Gull (2nd cycle type). Pacific County, Washington. 22 October 2023.
• California Gull (2nd cycle). Clinton County, Illinois. 23 October 2023.
• Little Gull (adult). North Battleford County, Saskatchewan. 24 October 2023.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Union County, Oregon. 25 October 2023.
• 1st County Record.
• Short-billed Gull (juvenile). Renfrew County, Ontario. 26 October 2023.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Baffin County, Nunavut. 31 October 2023.

Notes:

• The Florida Gray Gull was reported throughout the month in Walton County, but it's obvious the bird moves to unknown locations at times where it goes unnoticed. Most secondaries are now replaced, revealing a rather broad white trailing edge consistent with 2nd/3rd basic feathers. Given the earlier images from June 2023, the most likely explanation is the bird is now in 3rd basic.  

• Nick Ramsey reports Chandeleur Gulls (presumed hybrid Kelp x Herrings from the Chandeleur Islands off the coast of Louisiana) were present on the islands on 30 October 2023. According to Donna Dittmann, this is a departure from years past where these hybrids would leave the area after breeding. 

• Lesser Black-backed Gull continues to expand its nonbreeding range in the interior. At Findlay Reservoir in Hancock County, Ohio, Edward Hicks recorded no less than 438 individuals, which is likely an undercount of birds arriving to roost at dusk. This serves as a new interior high count for North America, away from the Atlantic.
  
  The October 2023 eBird map shows an obvious incursion north, as far as southern Alberta (~ 4) and British Columbia, and as far west as Tillamook County, Oregon and Humboldt County, California on the Pacific. The number of singletons reported west of the Rockies is simply awesome. Finally, sightings from southern Baffin Island around Iqaluit have increased in the last 2-3 years, likely due to increased coverage.

September 2023 Quiz

 

Wisconsin. May. 

Age: Our quiz bird is in the center of the frame, in flight. The full tailband and dark ulnar bar across the upperwing suggest a 1st cycle. Given the month, it would be a one-year old, but it still hasn't begun its 2nd prebasic molt as all of the primaries are still intact. 

Identification: The trailing edge to the wing is important, and helps rule out Bonaparte's & Black-headed Gull. There is a trace of dusky pigment across the trailing edge of the outer secondaries and inner primaries, which rules out Black-legged Kittiwake. Given how bold and full the ulnar bar is (for a one-year old), the small bill and dusky cap, it is safe to say that the September Quiz bird is a Little Gull. The two-toned outer primaries (dark outer webs and paler inner webs) also support this ID. 1st cycle Little Gulls show pale wing linings, unlike older individuals which are marked boldly black. The even central tail feathers and full tail band rest any worries of a Ross's Gull. All the surrounding gulls are similar-aged Bonaparte's Gulls.

September 2023 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Swallow-tailed Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 01 September 2023.
• Apparently, the same individual seen in Santa Barbara County in July 2023.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Middlesex County, New Jersey. 02 September 2023.
• GRAY GULL (3rd cycle type). Walton County, Florida. 03 September 2023.
• 1ST CONFIRMED OCCURENCE IN THE ABA AREA.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). King/Kitsap County, Washington. 09 September 2023.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Hamilton County, Ontario. 10 September 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). De Baca County, New Mexico. 13 September 2023.
• Apparent 1st County Record. At least 4 sightings throughout NM this month.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Flathead County, Montana. 13 September 2023.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Anchorage Municipality, Alaska. 17 September 2023.
• Continuing adult completing prebasic molt. 
• Franklin's Gull (1st cycle). Kings County, Prince Edward Island. 19 September 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Benton County, Washington. 19 September 2023.
• Little Gull (juvenile). Humphreys County, Tennesse. 20 September 2023.
• 1st County Record.
• Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). Queens County, Prince Edward Island. 20 September 2023.
• Little Gull (juvenile). Kern County, California. 22 September 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2 - 2nd cycles). Calgary County, Alberta. 23 September 2023.
• Glaucous Gull? (2nd cycle type). Cumberland County, New Jersey. 24 September 2023.
• Continuing individual showing ghosted pattern on outer primaries.
• California Gull (adult). Aitkin County, Minnesota. 25 September 2023.
• Great Black-backed Gull (1st cycle). St Louis County, Minnesota. 26 September 2023.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. 27 September 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Calgary County, Alberta. 27 September 2023.
• Little Gull (adult). Keith County, Nebraska. 28 September 2023.
• Laughing Gull (2nd cycle). Pacific County, Washington. 29 September 2023.
• Continuing. 
• Heermann's Gull (5th cycle). Duval County, Florida. 29 September 2023.
• Atlantic Coast Bird. Present all month, completing 5th prebasic. 
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (196 individuals). Matagorda County, Texas. 30 September 2023.
• Likely a high county locally.

Notes:

*A tattered 1st ABA Gray Gull was found in Walton County, Florida on 03 September 2023 by Adam Pickos. The bird was associating with Laughing Gulls in and around Dune Allen Beach and continued/s to be seen through mid-day, Wednesday, 20 September 2023. After rumors of local residents having seen the bird since at least late June/early July began to circulate, photos of presumably the same gull at nearby Camp Helen State Park were shared (Marvin Bojo Friel; 05 June 2023). June photos show an individual with thin white tips to the secondaries and a grayish-white head pattern. The best explanation for the June plumage is 2nd alternate (2nd cycles averages thinner white tips to the secondaries and browner upperparts and outer primaries than adults). Between early June and early September, the tips to the secondaries became so worn, presumably, such that most traces of white were erased, now giving the impression of an individual undergoing its 2nd prebasic molt, especially given its transformed basic head pattern. The June photos, coupled with new flight feathers growing in September suggest the bird was actually undergoing its 3rd prebasic molt (and hence a 3rd cycle). At the conclusion of its current prebasic molt, this individual should be virtually indistinguishable from an adult, and in fact would simply be labeled an adult. After going missing for a couple of days, it was relocated about 40 miles to the west in the Pensecola Beach region on both 24-25 September 2023. It then returned to its original location at Dune Allen Beach on 29-30 September 2023.

Relevant to this month's highlight, Liam Ragan found Mexico's 3rd Gray Gull (alternate adult) at the mouth of the San Isidro River in Oaxaca on 18 September 2023. Mexico's records are all very recent at two-year intervals, from 2019, 2021 and 2023, with the most recent sighting serving as the westernmost record. These recent sightings, including the 1st Galapagos record from July 2023, support the hypothesis that extralimital reports of Gray Gull correlate with strong El Nino years. 

August 2023 Monthly Notables

 Sightings:

• Black-headed Gull (2nd cycle). Kent County, Delaware. 02 August 2023.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Bristol County, Massachusetts. 05 August 2023.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. 10 August 2023.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Calgary County, Alberta. 11 August 2023.
• Presumably returning individual since 2020.
• Heermann's Gull (1st cycle). Sitka City & Borough, Alaska. 10 August 2023.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Clark County, Nevada. 11 August 2023.
• California Gull (juvenile). Wagoner County, Oklahoma. 14 August 2023.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Anchorage, Alaska. 14 August 2023.
• Continuing. 
• Black-legged Kittiwake (apparent juvenile). Hamilton County, Ontario. 15 August 2023.
• Laughing Gull (juvenile). Lancaster County, Nebraska. 19 August 2023.
• Little Gull (2 - juveniles). Lake County, Indiana. 24 August 2023.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Anne Arundel County, Maryland. 24 August 2023.
• Franklin's Gull (1st cycle). Fairfax County, Virginia. 24 August 2023.
• Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle type). Cumberland County, New Jersey. 25 August 2023.
• Little Gull (juvenile). Columbia-Shuswap District, British Columbia. 26 August 2023.
• Heermann's Gull (5th cycle). Duval County, Florida. 26 August 2023.
• Atlantic Coast Bird.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult). Grays Harbor, Washington. 27 August 2023.
• Laughing Gull (2nd cycle). Pacific County, Washington. 28 August 2023.

August 2023 Quiz

 

Oregon. January.

Age: Adult and 1st cycle.

Identification: Beginning with the adult, it has a strong, bright yellow bill. The head pattern is densely smudged, and the primaries are slate-black with distinctive pale underside to the far wing. Every thing about this bird is consistent with a hybrid Glaucous-winged x Western (so-called Olympic Gull). The primaries are too pale for Western, but too dark for Glaucous-winged. The 1st cycle, similarly, has features intermediate between both species, and was identified as a hybrid.

July 2023 Quiz

 

July. Illinois.

Age: The well-patterned upperparts and pointed primary tips suggest a straightforward juvenile (1st basic plumage).

Identification: Surprisingly, a number of answers this month went with California Gull, which is a very fair guess. It's doubtful that California Gull can show this much white on the primary tips, although juvenile Ring-billeds regularly do. It's difficult to appreciate size in this single still, especially with no other birds in the frame. But this was a fairly small individual feeding around other small Ring-billeds. Given the location and time of year, juvenile Ring-billed it is.