All
the bird in the photo posted by Joelle is the same bird I posted as an Iceland
gull. The gull in question is definitely smaller than HEGU w/ which it was
photographed, hence my conclusion ICGU. I felt bill seemed shaped more like
glgu but decided the obvious size difference was less subjective. I do note
that in Dunn's book on Gulls there mention of a dwarf GLGU. At any rate I have
no experience w/ either species so if Ned feels this bird is a Glgu than that i
should retract ICGU. Will send photos next week for folks to look at.
Other birds seen this week : WHIB,MAGO, CWWI, PIPL (wild beach) w/ young. Tried
for Saltmarsh sparrows at Saxis but w/o success. Seasides were abundant.
I am typing this out on an itouch which is kind of a pain ... So please
excuse bird banding codes etc.
also 2 very distant not identifiable to species storm petrels flying low
zipping about just above the waves
Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:16:51 -0700
From: clyde_joelle@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [Va-bird] Glaucous Gull & Wilson's Storm-Petrel at Chincoteague NWR
To: leightern@xxxxxxx
The Glaucous Gull, when we saw it on Thurs., was in an area easily accessible
to the public. Turn Right when you get to the end of Beach Road on the Refuge.
It was between the Beach Parking Lot and the Tom's Cove Area, just to the right
of one of the porta-potties. (great landmark, huh?). We have been seeing this
bird weekly since mid-April, when it was about 5 miles south of its current
location. Each week it seemed to be moving slightly south, so it would be a
good plan to try and see it this weekend before it moves further S into a
closed area. If you don't see it by the 1st or 2nd porta-potty, keep going
south and scanning every gull in the parking lot - it is very white and stands
out like a sore thumb. I am attaching a picture of it we took this week. We
believe it is a 2nd year gull. Main distinguishing features between GLGU and
Iceland Gull are that GLGU had a larger bill; larger, squared off (as opposed
to rounded) head, and shorter primary extension. One reporter on the the VA
listserve reported it as a possible Iceland Gull, but I believe he has changed
that ID to GLGU. Ned Brinkley confirmed it was a GLGU after we sent him the
attached picture. Good Luck!
We got lucky with the Wilson's Storm-petel,as it was a fly-by when we were
about 5 miles south of the area of the beach that is closed to public access.
We only saw it for less than a minute or so, and then didn't see it when we
came by the same stretch of beach a 1/2 hr later. It is not typically a bird
that is seen that close to shore, so I don't think there is much of a chance
that it stuck around.
Joelle Buffa
--- On Sat, 6/25/11, William Leigh <leightern@xxxxxxx> wrote:
From: William Leigh <leightern@xxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [Va-bird] Glaucous Gull & Wilson's Storm-Petrel at Chincoteague NWR
To: clyde_joelle@xxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 11:48 AM
Clyde and Joelle,
Very excited about this gull. I will be in Chincoteague all next week. Is there
a way to reach Wild Beach or access Hook Beach by joining a bird walk or some
other group... etc Would love to see this Gull. Is this the same bird that was
reported as an Iceland Gull previously? I am also interested in seeing Wilson's
Plover. Do you know of any locations that might be good for this species? From
best I can gather some of the islands around Chincoteague are the best bets.
Also if this is the bird previously named an Iceland Gull can you explain the
various ID points you saw that make this a Glaucous Gull. I have looked at some
the photos of a Iceland/Glaucous Gull taken by another birder from this same
area.
thanks in advance for any information you can send me...
best,
William Leigh leightern@xxxxxxx
Bridgewater, Virginia
Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2011 07:50:21 -0700Morris & Joelle Buffa
From: clyde_joelle@xxxxxxxxxxx
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Va-bird] Glaucous Gull & Wilson's Storm-Petrel at Chincoteague NWR
On June 23, as part of our weekly shorebird/gull/tern survey at Chincoteague
NWR, we found the 2nd year Glaucous Gull on the Tom's Cove side of the beach
parking lot. This is the same bird we have been seeing weekly since early
April on Wild Beach just a few miles north of its current location.
We also saw a Wilson's Storm-Petrel flying just off the Hook (beach several
miles south of the parking lots), a species not seen from the shore that
often but more commonly seen from boats offshore. The Hook is currently
closed to the public for the protection of ground nesting birds.
Clyde
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