I think Gene's and Ben's testimony establishes all three of us were
looking at the same bird, so it got a lot of scrutiny yesterday, and I
hope persistent observers will be able to find it again today. It's a
real rarity because it's so far south of Lake Erie, and is so late
(Peterjohn cites only one spring record, on the same date [!] from
Cleveland in 1987). It suggests that we may need to revise some of the
expectations we have about the rarity of "rarities," given the extra
information that a new plethora of careful observers, and the technology
to share observations, provides. Congrats to Alex Hughes for picking
this one out and describing it well.
        I now have no doubt Ben photographed the same bird I stared at for so
long. The timing of his looks at it, mine (also Joe Hazelbaker's), and
Gene Stauffer's later, match up. I think the mantle color looks OK;
possibly Ben was able to take his photos in less than glaring light.
This and the other features, some of which--like the whitish tips to the
mandibles--I forgot to mention, add up to nothing other than a
California gull.  As to the "dark eye," the only contention remaining, I
maintain that Ben's photos of this bird next to a herring gull do
suggest, though not clearly enough, what I observed---a black pupil in a
lighter, though darker than pale. iris. My looks were close enough that
the bird could have been in my hand. Most photos I looked at (Dunn &
Howell, Olsen & Larsson) seem to show an opaque black iris, but Ben's
photos 3-5 seem to suggest what I saw, a black spot floating in a
contrastingly lighter coffee&cream background.
        In view of all the other confirmations, I think California seems
confirmed as the ID. There may be some age- or subspecies-related
(California has a distinct Great Plains subspecies albertaensis--whose
range is much closer than the nominate's--that may show some subtle
differences) variation in eye color.
        I urge listers and folks interested in gulls to look for this bird. It
has been not hard to find when it's around. Just use a scope to look for
any bright clean-looking adult gull in the relatively small flocks of
dingy off-plumage ones, then for the darker mantle and the bill coloration.
Bill Whan
Columbus

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