VA BIRDers,
About 1.5 hours before sunset today I scoped an adult California Gull on the
Potomac River side mudflats of Hunting Creek - I was on the Stone Bridge of the
GW Parkway just north of the Dyke Marsh picnic area.
My visit conincided with low tide; I arrived about 430pm and left about an hour
later. The subject bird was out on the river side mudflats close to some
larger larids, about 175 yds. I scoped the bird at 60X. The sun was from
behind me and over my right shoulder. Identification details follow:
Intermediate in size between Ring-billed Gulls and first/second winter Herring
Gulls that were adjacent in same field of view. Mantle was intermediate in
color between Ring-billed and Great Black-backed Gulls (representative of the
later just a few feet outside the field of view) and is described as "gray" and
considerably lighter than that of a Laughing Gull or Lesser Black-backed Gulls,
both of which were not present. The bill was larger in proporation to the head
width than that of the same ratio for Ring-billed Gulls. The gonys ended with
a red spot and a distal black smudge. The head was somewhat larger than the
Ring-billeds and lacked any dark markings. The eye appeared brown (this is
judged as not 100% due to distance involved). The mantle was solid in color
and the folded primaries showed the typical black with white spots. The legs
were greenish-yellow. Due to nearby adult Bald Eagles, the subject bird (and
most others) took flight briefly and showed above an
d below wing pattern. I paid particular attention to the below pattern and
took notes: wing underside had largish white area near tips outlined in black
with extensive black coloration between wing tips and joint of wing - the black
was approx. 3-4 primaries in length. From the black coloration a light gray
line enamated and extended towards the body - I could not discern it past the
wing bend/joint as it blended into the surrounding background color which was
whitiish. In flight, the top side of the tail was white - it showed no banding
above or below.
Lesser Black-backed Gull is ruled out due to size (should be nearly Herring
Gull in size), lack of dark coloration on nape which should still be obviously
present at this time, eye color (not 100%), bill length in proportion to head,
color of legs, mantle color not being dark enough, gonys spot coloration, and
underside of wing not showing distinctive gray line from dark area of wing tip
to the body.
California Gull has been found previously in this area during the month of
March.
Kurt Gaskill
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