Hi all,

I managed to go see the bird at Hoover yesterday evening from around
6:30-7:00pm.  A big thanks to everyone for sending in updates
throughout the day!

When I arrived, it was standing next to a Ring-billed Gull the whole
time, which made for excellent comparisons despite the fading light.
Seeing it next to the Ring-billed Gull, I had the same impression
expressed by Bill:  too big to be an Elegant Tern (and therefore,
presumably, Lesser Crested?) but just right for Royal.  Bill color and
shape also looked good for Royal, as others have previously mentioned.
 I should mention that I had the pleasure of staring at my life Royal
and Elegant terns for quite a long time at relatively close range,
right along side one another on a beach in Sonora, Mexico. That was
around 10 years ago.

Also, comparing the tern and gull at various angles and in the fading
light, I noticed the tern's upper parts were clearly but only slightly
more pale than the upper parts of the adjacent RBGU. I think this may
also rule out some of the other old world Thalasseus terns.


Some of my favorite pics of the bird's bill (for comparing with online
photos of other terns) are this one by Laura Keene

   http://www.flickr.com/photos/keeneone/5508161880/sizes/o/in/set-72157626220763594/

and this one by Dane Adams (4th photo)

   http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/2011/03/royal-tern-in-ohio.html

Hopefully many of these and other great photos are sent in to the OOS
Records Committee for documentation (Instructions are available at
http://www.ohiobirds.org/records/documentation.php).

Good birding,
Paul Hurtado

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