VA Birders,
As previously reported by Todd Day, I had 2 first-winter Franklin's Gulls at
the Prince William County landfill along Rt. 234 near Dale City this morning (4
October). Photos of both birds came out great, and I'd be happy to e-mail them
to anyone who wants to see them. I wasn't surprised to finally see this
species here, as I'd been expecting it -- given both the large number of
Laughing Gulls that show up here in mid/late fall and the number of other rare
gulls that we have seen at this location in the past few years, Franklin's
seemed like a strong possibility. Today's record was the second record of
Franklin's Gull in the Virginia Piedmont, the first being at the Dulles Airport
pond on 12-13 April 1997.
When I first arrived at the landfill at around 7:40, there were few birds
present, and only about 200 Laughing Gulls were present when I found the first
Franklin's. By the time I left around 9:20, there were easily 3500 Laughing
Gulls, 275 Ring-billed Gulls, 70 Herring Gulls, and 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(2 adults, 2 second-winter) present.
For anyone interested in looking for these birds, I'll offer the following
tips. Superficially, the overall appearance (and especially, the head/neck
patterns) of the two first-winter Franklin's are more like basic
adult/second-winter Laughing Gulls than first-winter Laughing Gulls. These
birds lack the obvious gray/brown wash over the head, neck, and sides of breast
that the first-winter Laughing Gulls have, so when sifting through large
numbers of Laughing Gulls, don't have as your search image a dark, brownish,
first-winter type gull. Focus on the birds' heads for those having relatively
large, and most importantly more or less solid, areas of black around and
behind the eye contrasting strongly with the whitish nape/hindneck, sides of
neck, and forehead. The broad white crescents above and below the eye really
stand out. After finding a bird with a relatively large amount of black and
strongly contrasting white eye crescents, look for the finer points to confirm
the ID (as some adult/second-winter Laughing Gulls can show a similar head
pattern)-- slightly smaller size (but proportionately more rounded body) than
Laughing Gull, smaller and straighter bill (lacking the droop of a Laughing
Gull's bill), and small white apical spots on the primaries (which should not
be present on a first-winter Laughing). Try to get a look at the diagnostic
tail pattern -- black band that is limited to the tips of the tail feathers
(rather than covering most/all of the tail as on a first-winter Laughing Gull)
and that doesn't extend to the outer rectrices -- the outer two pairs are
mostly white.
One of the two Franklin's had an extensive blackish half-hood and really stood
out in the crowd of Laughing Gulls. This individual also had undergone
extensive upperwing covert molt, so that most of the upperwing coverts were
plain gray first-winter feathers. The second Franklin's had reduced black on
the head, and retained all its juvenile upperwing coverts; this bird was
slightly fresher overall than the first, and the white apical spots on the
primaries were slightly larger. The 3 Bald Eagles present repeatedly flushed
the birds, allowing ample opportunity for study of the tail and wing patterns.
When birding the landfill, please check in at the scales or the office, and
respect all instructions about where to drive and park.
Steve Rottenborn
Culpeper County, Virginia
rotten.born@xxxxxxxxxxx
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