Hello VABirders,
At the Prince William Co. Landfill this morning, I saw two 1st winter Iceland
Gulls, unless I make that one Iceland and one pale Thayer's. These guys can
be so difficult! The pale Iceland has been here for five weeks and is easy to
id. I noticed the darker Iceland earlier this week and saw it again today. The
darker bird had more darker centered tertials (with some mottling on the tips,
unlike the speckled pattern on the Iceland's) and primaries (edged in white)
that were a little bit darker than the mantle. I like to describe the color as
coffee and cream, or similar in color to the Starbucks Frapuccino Iced Coffee
in the bottle. The darker bird had more of a pronounced tail band, unlike the
speckled tail of the Iceland's. The 1st winter Glaucous really stood out
amongst the gulls...a large, very white bird with a bicolored bill. I wonder if
the other Glaucous is still at the Fauquier Co. Landfill? A handful of Lesser
Black-backed Gulls (adults) were seen, too.
I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but I'm really getting addicted to
gull watching. I can only imagine what the guys at the landfill must think of
me spending all those hours staring at the gulls!
Laura Catterton
Manassas, Virginia
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
