While Im not certain whether "the jury is in" or not on the dark gull at
Galveston, I am pretty confident that Bill and I photographed different birds
(his image appears to a lighter individual)
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
On Sat, Jun 15, 2019 at 16:48, Bill Eisele<transportationbill@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote: Troy, This was an email I was hoping I might see. I saw this "all
gray gull" early Monday morning on the jetty. Slightly larger than the nearby
laughing gulls. I do not have a good camera, but I snapped a bad picture or two
(and deleted most of them), but I kept one (shot through my scope with my
camera). The ID of this bird was eating at me, and I was hoping someone would
post an "all gray gull" from the beach area. I'm far from a gull expert. I have
updated my list accordingly, based upon your insights, photos and ID. There
were many ships coming through the day I was there too - so perhaps this bird
was a ship assist.
Here is my updated eBird list: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57289160
My updated notes on the bird are as follows in my eBird post - I am happy to
update as the experts weigh in: Found, identified and photographed much better
by Troy Hibbitts on 14 June (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57365113). When
I read Troy's TexBirds post, I was delighted because it described this mystery
bird I saw out on the jetty while searching for the Jaeger on this day (and on
14 June I am updating my eBird post). The bird was all gray on top and bottom,
and I passed it off as an odd laughing gull although it did appear slightly
larger than the laughing gulls near it, and it appeared to have all black
primaries with no white. I snapped a couple poor photos and thought to myself -
"maybe those poor photos will be useful if someone else happens to post an
overall gray gull at East Beach in the coming days." I'm far from a gull expert
so I didn't pursue it further because I had to leave the beach, and I didn't
have a chance to get back to it - so, I tried to let it go, but it was eating
at me - and then Troy's email was posted on TexBirds on 15 June. As Troy
indicated, there were many ships in the channel - as far as the eye could see
on this day. Perhaps this gull was a ship assist. I will leave this description
in here for now, but I do look forward to the experts weighing in. My horrible
photo through the scope doesn't do it justice - Troy's pictures from 14 June
are far better for ID.
Thank you for posting to TexBirds because I am not on Facebook.
cheers, Bill EiseleCollege Station, TX
On Sat, Jun 15, 2019 at 12:42 PM Troy Hibbitts <alterna2627@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Just putting the word out for those who don't use facebook. Yesterday morning,
my wife and I extensively photographed at close range a possible Lava Gull at
Galveston East Beach free parking area. While the experts are debating the ID,
I thought it best to get the word out and folks out looking.
eBird Checklist - 14 Jun 2019 - Galveston--Apffel Park / East Beach (UTC 062) -
32 species
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eBird Checklist - 14 Jun 2019 - Galveston--Apffel Park / East Beach (UTC...
Submitted by Troy Hibbitts.
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Troy Hibbitts
