FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Franklin's Gull, Prince William County Landfill

[Susan Heath <sheath@xxxxxxx>]

VA Birders,

I spent an hour and half at the Prince William County landfill this 
morning from 9:00 until 10:30.  Around 10:00 I found a gull that I 
believe was a Franklin's Gull though it was not either of the 
individuals that Steven Rottenborn saw on Saturday morning.  What first 
jumped out at me about the bird was the black on the sides of the head 
which contrasted strongly with very bold white eye cresents that touched 
behind the eye.  The black was very dark and surrounded the eyes and ear 
covert area but it did not extend across the back of the head.  I then 
noticed the bird was not an adult but clearly was not a first winter 
Laughing Gull.  It was white underneath and did not have the brownish 
cast over the head, neck, and sides of breast of a first winter Laughing 
Gull.  As with one of the birds seen by Steve, most of the upperwing 
coverts were plain gray first-winter feathers.  The bird appeared 
slightly smaller than the Laughing Gulls but I thought that may have 
just been wishful thinking on my part.  I then turned my attention to 
the bill and was struck by how much smaller it was than the surrounding 
Laughing Gulls.  Easily 2/3 the size and it did not have the 
characteristic droop of the Laughing Gulls.  I did not see obvious 
apical spots in the primaries but these do not show on one of the birds 
seen by Steve (at least not in the photo I saw).  I watched it a while 
and when it preened it's tail the outer tail feathers appeared white 
while the rest of the tail had the dark band across it.  I finally 
decided to flush it but I planned this poorly and the bird flew right 
into the sun and over the crest of a hill so I did not get a good look 
at the tail.  Unfortunately, I did not have time to find it again. 

 My only problem with the bird was the pattern on the top of the head 
and back of the neck.  It was not the clear white contrast that I 
expected.  The hindneck was not gray or brown as in other juvenile 
Laughing Gulls but it had some faint black streaking and I just couldn't 
get a sharp contrast between the hindneck and the top of the head.  
There was a strong contrast between the black surrounding the 
eye/ear/cheek area and the forehead and the sides of the neck.  After 
looking over the photos in PJ Grant's Gull book however, I'm pretty 
convinced the bird was a Franklin's.  Some of those photos show a bit of 
gray over the top of the head and down the neck somewhat similar to the 
bird I saw.

Sue


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