Clive,
The bird I saw and the bird you photographed are the same individual. The
plumage is very very worn and the missing feathers on neck and below the eye
form noticeable darkish spots that serve to id this individual bird. I am not
well versed in Gull identification. I have heretofore seen neither species. My
observations of the bird indicated that it was smaller the Herring Gulls with
which it was associating. So I originally posted it as an Iceland Gull.
However, that said the bill shape and head shape didn't seem to fit Iceland and
primary projection though present didn't seem very pronounced. However, size of
bird and bill color fit Iceland better. Again I don't feel qualified to id this
bird since several birders with far superior Gull ID skills are coming down on
both sides ie. Glaucous and Iceland. I fear the bird may end up being a hybrid,
but I will hope otherwise for the sake of a tic. I have tons of photos and
will include a flikr link below to some of the photos I took of the bird with
HEGUs. There are also photos of primary projection, bill and head shots, and
of the wings extended from above and below.
I have noted a photo of a Dwarf Glaucous Gull in one of the Gull books I own
either Grant or the Howell and Dunn book. I thought the later but can not seem
to relocate the photo. I also noted that there was considerable size
differentiation between some of the Gulls I observed at Chincoteague this last
week despite being the same species. All in all I don't know what to make of
this bird. It seems to fit Glaucous in terms of bill shape and size of bill
but not bill coloration. Head shape typically does not look rounded but
flattened with a long sloping forehead. I am hoping there will be a
conclusive debate on the id of this gull. Let me know if there are any problems
accessing the Flikr link below. Regardless of final name that gets attached to
this bird it has been a great learning experience! See link below for photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=sets
Best,
William Leigh
leightern@xxxxxxx
Bridgewater, Virginia
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 19:29:34 -0700
From: clivegharris@xxxxxxxxx
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Va-bird] Fw: Chincoteague gull
I noticed some discussion on this bird- presumably the one I saw a week or so
ago - and it being described as a Glaucous Gull. I do a lot of gulling both
here and overseas so am well aware of the difficulties in assigning some
immature birds- particularly badly worn ones such as this - to species but
would have trouble calling it a Glaucous Gull for at least two reasons, the
size of the bird and the pattern of the bill. I also believe it is a bird in
its 1st summer.
I saw the bird several times over two days and had the chance to compare it
both to Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull. It was the same size - in
terms of body - as the Lesser Black-backs and distinctly smaller than any
Herring Gulls around. While one can expect to see Glaucous Gulls in the size
range of a typical group of Herring, seeing one as small as a Lesser
Black-back would be highly unusual. On the other hand that's the right body
size for Iceland.
The bill pattern and color would also be very atypical for Glaucous which
have a bubble gum pink basal 2/3 and a very sharply defined black tip in
their 1st year (and decreasing black thereafter). The messy merge between
pink and black and the dull pink color on this bird would, if seen on a
large, Glaucous- sized white bird, make me think it was not a pure Glaucous
but had Herring genes mixed in there as well. The bill pattern is however
fine for an Iceland in its 1st year.
I can't see anything wrong for this bird being an Iceland gull. The size is
correct. Primary projection is variable but these are so worn it is hard to
tell but looks OK. There is no significant tertial "step" which one would
expect on a bulky bird like Glaucous - instead it has a very flat backed look
typical of the smaller "large" gulls. The bill also looks within the range
of Iceland to me - it is exaggerated in size in some views because the
forehead and nape have lost feathers but if you look at it compared to the
Herrings in the link below you can see it is not a large bill. Finally it
had a very distinctive chesty look in flight quite typical of Iceland rather
than the bulkier look of Glaucous.
http://harrisbirds.com/Kumliens%20Jun%20Va1.htm
It looks more likely a 1st summer bird to me given the dark eye and lack of
pale tip to the bill, though one can't rule out a 2nd summer. The heavily
worn plumage is perhaps also more likely on a 1st summer bird which has
weaker plumage than an older bird.
But I'd very much welcome anyone making a case for a Glaucous on this bird.
Regards
Clive Harris
Cabin John, MD----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Clive Harris <clivegharris@xxxxxxxxx>
To: VA Birds <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 10:18 PM
Subject: Chincoteague NWR - Iceland Gull and some other birds
I spent the last 3 days at Chincoteague on a family vacation and did a very
limited amount of birding chiefly at the ocean end of Swan Cove where it
adjoins the beach and the adjacent beach area.
There was good gull diversity. I was surprised to see a heavily worn 1st
cycle Iceland Gull on the beach near the parking lot at the top end of Swan
Cove but when I checked the list serv saw that it had been reported the
previous week. It is missing chunks of feathers off the forehead and nape so
the bill looks proportionately larger than it would normally. I noted a
Glaucous Gull had been reported as well recently - I did not see this. Over
the 3 days I saw at least 4 different immature Lesser Black-backed Gull, as
well as a couple of Ring-billed Gulls to add to Laughing, Herring and Greater
Black-backs. Pictures of the Iceland Gull are here:
http://harrisbirds.com/Kumliens%20Jun%20Va1.htm
In contrast tern variety was less than I had expected, with 6 species (Least;
Common; Forster's; Royal; Sandwich - max of 3; and Caspian - max of 3 as
well).
Shorebirds included:
2 Marbled Godwit, seen this morning flying over Swan Cove, both in heavy wing
molt so presumably 1st summer birds
10 Short-billed Dowitcher, one in typical breeding plumage for griseus and
the rest with very limited breeding type feathers
Willet - all seemed to be Eastern that I could see
Black-bellied Plover -c.10 one day roosting in Swan Cove, two of which in
dullish breeding plumage
Semipalmated Plover - one on Saturday 25th
Piping Plover - 3 different birds seen
American Oystercatcher
Black-necked Stilt - on causeway, 2 young seen with one pair
Regards
Clive Harris
Cabin John, MD
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