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February 2007

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From:
Chris Spagnoli <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Chris Spagnoli <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 11 Feb 2007 14:44:20 -0500
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I showed up yesterday and ran into Jen Brumfield and Kevin Metcalf
looking over the gull bonanza at East 72nd Street.  The story of the day
was the multiple lesser black-backed gulls that afforded such excellent,
close views.
 
In addition to the birds Jen listed, shortly after she left I noted an
obvious first-winter Thayer's gull swimming in the pool in front of the
bridge, probably the same bird Ray Hannikman later saw.
 
I wanted also to address identification of the Thayer's/iceland type
bird mentioned in Jen's post.  As she indicates, this was a really
interesting bird and a great opportunity to enjoy the mysteries of this
particular gull complex.  When we first saw it in flight it was flying
away from us and my initial impression was Thayer's, which I think may
have skewed our discussion of its identification.  As it flew about we
quickly noticed various iceland-like qualities of the bird.  It did
eventually settle on the water for excellent studies through the scope,
revealing (to my recollection):
 
Size and overall shape - smaller than herring, somewhat foreshortened
body and short neck giving an almost stocky and fat-bodied look in
flight
 
Mantle - comparable to herring, at most a shade lighter
 
Head - round, small
 
Eye color - dark brown
 
Bill - not closely studied, but I do not remember it being a
"herring"-type thick bill
 
Wingtips - limited grey (not black) markings on outer webs of first 2-3
primaries only
 
Streaking - very limited, diffuse, blurry, extremely light blotching
confined mostly to the foreneck (not the hindneck) and difficult to
distinguish from the background white color
 
After reviewing these characters and consulting Sibley, I would call
this a dark adult of the "Kumlien's" type of iceland gull.  Less likely
in my opinion, but still possible, is that it was a Thayer's/iceland
hybrid.  I would not call this a pure Thayer's due to the size, head
shape, and lack of dense or dark streaking on the head and neck.
 
As Jen stated, it was the most intriguing bird of the day, although I'm
also partial to adult glaucous gulls myself.
 
I would be remiss not to mention Jen's and Kevin's great bird-spotting
abilities - they got me on many of the birds we saw yesterday.  Frankly,
my gulling skills were a little rusty!
 
Chris Spagnoli
Lakewood

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