[wisb] Re: gulls/Sheboygan County
- From: "Jym Mooney & Carol Lee Hopkins" <hopmoon@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <Wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 19:06:05 -0600
I had a small Glaucous Gull this afternoon at McKinley Marina in Milwaukee.
I saw it land and immediately noted its all white wingtips, but the bird
seemed small for a Glaucous. Unfortunately it got in amongst the Herrings
and I had great difficulty gauging wingtip extension. I took some (very
bad) photos, and finally decided that it was definitely a Glaucous, albeit a
smallish one, similar in size to the largest Herring Gulls in the same area.
The head looker rounder than expected, not blocky. I am assuming it was a
female.
Other Milwaukee gulls today include an adult Thayer's this afternoon at
South Shore Yacht Club, and FIVE juvenile Great Black-backed Gulls this
morning at McKinley Marina.
Jym Mooney, Milwaukee
-----Original Message-----
From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Tom Wood
Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2012 6:17 PM
To: Wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [wisb] Barrow's Goldeneye, gulls/Sheboygan County
The mystery gull is an adult gull with white wingtips that Jerry and Kevin
DeBoer saw at North Point. Jerry thought it had all the characteristics of
an Iceland Gull except for size and asked me to post what I thought if I saw
it. Unfortunately, when I got there, some children were chasing the
birds and when I finally located what I suspect to be the gull in question,
it was about a quarter mile out. I'm afraid I'm not going to be of much
help,
but here are my findings:
Points against Iceland are the wingtips which appeared to me to be unmarked
white. This would put it in the Glaucoides race, which I have never
seen. Wintering birds in Wisconsin are mostly, if not all ,of the Kumleini
race and show at least some faint gray barring on the wingtips.
Additionally, the size
may be a problem. Jerry felt it was the same size as a Herring Gull , which
due to the variation in Herring Gull size might not be a problem ,except to
me in the
photo Kevin took, it seemed slightly larger than the Herring Gull. Iceland
Gulls are slightly smaller than most Herring Gulls.
Poiints for Iceland are that the the wingtips extended beyond the tail (far
enough? At 1/4 mile I can't decide). The bill seemed shorter and less bulky
than
a Glaucous Gull's bill, the head rounder and not flat on top like a
Glaucous, and my general impression of the size was that it was less bulky
than a Glaucous
Gull. However at this distance it is too hard to tell. If I was forced to
make a decision, I would probably pick a small Glaucous Gull.
The easy way out is for Jerry or Kevin to post their photos and let John
Idzikowski, our state gull expert, identify it.
Thomas Wood, Menomonee Falls, Waukesha County
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- » [wisb] Re: gulls/Sheboygan County - Jym Mooney & Carol Lee Hopkins
