VA Birders:
Three hours at the Fauquier County landfill today (12/21/03, for the Plains
CBC) produced single Thayer's, Iceland, and Glaucous gulls (all photographed),
and 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, among only 800 or so individuals of the more
common gull species. The Thayer's and Iceland gulls, both first-winter birds,
are first-county records (pending acceptance by VARCOM). The Thayer's was
toward the dark extreme for the species, while the Iceland was a pretty pale
Kumlien's (i.e., not something that one would confuse with a Thayer's).
The Glaucous was likely the same bird seen by Todd Day and Sue Heath over the
past couple of days. I'm not sure of this bird's age, as the all-dark eyes
suggest a first-winter bird, but a hint of pale coloring at the tip of the
upper mandible and the paucity of dark markings anywhere but on the under- and
upper-tail coverts suggest a possible second-winter bird.
Steve Rottenborn
Jeffersonton, VA
rotten.born@xxxxxxxxxxx
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