Thanks for the details Eric. I had seen it on the RBA memo but had not seen any further discussion of it so I inquired via Texbirds but didn't get any feedback. I understand the non-birder would have never seen Texbirds, we are lucky they got a picture to an expert. I should have known something was happening (experts were looking) but since I wasn't getting any replies or seeing information on a possible "really rare bird", I was puzzled. Graham asked me for further information but I never had anything to give him. Rita Clements Dale, Tx (Bastrop County) 512-601-1355 (home) 512-940-4260 (cell) -----Original Message----- From: texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eric Carpenter Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 10:00 AM To: johnribble@xxxxxxx Cc: Graham Floyd; Texbirds Subject: [texbirds] Re: Mysterious Gull in Austin It is really much more simple than that. A non-birder photo'ed an adult dark-backed gull from his boat on Lake Austin near Tom Miller Dam on July 7th. The non-birder and a non-Austin birder canvassed the area via boat the next day (July 8th) for several hours and found no sign of it. I heard about the bird from somebody else later that afternoon and received a photo of it third hand and let Kenny and a few others know (who I felt were the best candidates to actual go look for it). We looked for it later that afternoon and then Kenny has canvassed the area several times as well since that time and there's been zero sign of it. The bird in the photo that was sent to me certainly looks like an adult Western Gull. I'm unclear what the mystery is nor why Graham didn't just ask whoever he heard about the bird from for more details directly. I don't have many more details than that. Had Kenny or I or anybody refound the bird, you can be sure that there would have been better communication about it. It was a one-day wonder that is probably long gone unfortunately. -- Eric -- Eric Carpenter Austin On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 4:47 PM, John Ribble <johnribble@xxxxxxx> wrote: > Dear Graham, > I don't know what happened to the gull but I can think of several scenarios. > 1. Someone of ornithological bent, who doesn't care whether birders see birds, saw and identified(maybe) the bird and photographed it. The picture and possibly the specimen will be part of a paper to be published later. Be on the lookout for it in print and collections. > 2. Come to think of it the others are too preposterous to even mention. > I do know that a number of people have looked for the bird and not found it. I do not understand why people would want to keep others from seeing the bird. Maybe it's caged. > John Ribble > Austin, TX > > > > > On Jul 16, 2013, at 10:06 AM, Graham Floyd <spcgraham.floyd@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> Texbirders, >> I know a few of us are interested in this report of a Western Gull in >> the Austin area. Does anyone have any specifics? >> >> Graham Floyd, >> San Antonio, TX >> >> >> Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at >> //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds >> >> Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking >> permission from the List Owner >> >> > > > Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at > //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds > > Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking > permission from the List Owner > > -- Eric Carpenter Austin Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner