Hello VA-Birders,
Rob Hilton asked me to post this for him, as he is not signed up with VA-Birds.
It is good that he checked the flats after the walk!
Thanks,
Jay
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Hilton" <aimophila10@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <azure.jay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 5:32 PM
Subject: Lincoln's Sparrow no, but adult California Gull at Hunting Creek
Hi Jay,
After the Dyke Marsh bird walk was over I spent some
time searching in vain for the Lincoln's Sparrow near
the stone bridge.
While I was there, I joined George Wheaton and Sandy
Holton (?), who had found an interesting gull that
turned out to be an adult California Gull. It was on
the inland side of the stone bridge, on the mud flats,
and for about 40 minutes after about 1220 pm we
observed it (Geoge and Sandy left after about 20 or 25
minutes). It was spent most of its time sleeping, but
when it wasn't sleeping, its dark eye and four-colored
bill were easily visible. The bill had a red gonydeal
spot, with some black on the upper mandible just in
front of the red. In front of these two spots, the
bill was a brighter yellow than behind the spots. The
back and upperwing color was distinctly darker than
the adjacent Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, and it was
intermediate in length between those two species. The
legs were a greenish color. Briefly present on the
mud flats was a (near) adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Kurt Gaskill joined me after 130 pm, by which time all
the gulls had left the inland side, and we eventually
relocated the bird floating in the water a few hundred
feet southeast of the stone bridge, on the river side.
A bird that appeared to be a second-winter Lesser
Black-backed Gull was out there among the regular
gulls.
Would you mind posting this to the Virginia list? I
am still not subscribed to it.
Thank you,
Rob Hilton
aimophila10@xxxxxxxxx
Silver Spring, Md.
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