Hi Andrew,
This is a 'pinkfoot', most likely an Olympic Gull basedon bulk/large
bill size, the black on the upper primariesnot showing well on the
underside, along with the superdense hood which is typical. Some
Olympic do havefairly dusky gray rather than bright pink legs and
feetwhich potentially could look quite dark in flight - inparticular
if you are mostly just seeing the folded feet.Also given the location
it's possible the lower legs andfeet could be quite mud stained from
use of nearbypastures.
Phil
-----------------------------------------From: "Andrew Ferre"
To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc:
Sent: Saturday February 9 2019 10:32:39PM
Subject: [obol] Black legged gull
I am looking for some assistance identifying a gull we observed
this morning at Nehalem State Park (Tillamook Co) after last night's
storm. We had plenty of time for observations with multiple fly-bys,
despite the poor photos. Of note is the black legs, along with a
yellow beak, white primaries, black wing tips with white tip and dark
hood (head and neck). However, the hood was not as dark as it appears
in the gull02 photo. I am very confident in the black legs observation
(not a shadow, etc), as we had great lighting from over our shoulder
and multiple looks. Any help or input with the ID would be greatly
appreciated.
Many thanks. Andy Ferre'
