[wisb] Al's misidentification question

From: "Steve Thiessen" <stevethiessen@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "wisb" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 11:22:17 -0600
 Leave it to Al to bring up a question. Winter doldrums up there?
 Anyhow ,I'm glad to see that our Ebird team has a Thayer's/Iceland line. After 
looking at photos of darker Kumlein's and lighter Thayer's, I would have a hard 
time being completely sure on calling many of these gulls in flight. My eyes 
are alot slower also. Hope I don't have to get a camera. To see if there's a 
dark mark on p-5 or if p-10 has a faint line across it can be tough at 200 
yards or even at 30. Sometimes you get that perfect view and sometimes you 
don't.
 I remember a couple of us still needing Iceland one year. I'd say there's one 
and then end up saying well maybe not. Or even this year looking out from 
Virmond.
We were seeing a few Thayer's, this fall ,(Cynthia B. was there) fly by. Were 
the lesser marked  ones Kumlein's? I doubt it ,but I can't be sure
 On our eagle trip a  week ago I miss ided a bald as a golden. Sounds hard to 
do, but given the right set of curcumstances it's easy. Presuming something is 
a big down fall. We were watching distant eagles over the bluff, across the 
river from the Arena landing. There was one dark smaller eagle that never flew 
the same as the balds. I was thinking it was a male golden. These eagles were 
very far and back lit, so getting field marks were hard. But we could see a 
lighter head and base of tail and no other markings. After I while ,an eagle 
that I thought was the same one (and it could have been) set it's wings and 
came across the river down from us. It didn't check the bill and was looking at 
the plumage. I didn't see gold on the neck ,but it was light and being back lit 
I thought it was good. The plumage didn't have white on the under wings and the 
tail was paler towards the base.
 Going down the road we came upon the same (we think) and it was a bald. The 
head just had some even whiteness to it, the underpart just had some scattered 
whitish feathers, and the tail had a dark terminal band and was dusky the rest 
of the way. So anyways we had a back lit dark eagle that flew different and 
gave the appearance of a golden, as far as plumage. But it was't. And I thought 
I had them down pat. Guess not.
 Steve Thiessen Stoughton Dane co.
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[wisb] Al's misidentification question

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