To get back to the confusing gull from a few days ago, the overall consensus was that this bird is likely a slightly-off 1st cycle Herring Gull. This herring gull shows the densely-marked (with light coloration) head, with dark eyes. As I observe gulls more and more, I'm realizing that the eye color and bill colors vary almost independently at times, relative to the progress of the gull's molt (shedding feathers). Herring Gulls show dark eyes until typically their third (at times only second) year of life. Gulls show such a great amount of variance, and this individual gull is an odd but beautiful example of that! One of the biggest thing about this gull are that the wing coverts match up for a 1st-cycle Herring Gull (the coverts are the "shoulder area, down to the upper belly" portion of the folded wing. Other than that, this gull shows some "advanced" traits, where although it is of 1st-cycle plumage, it is going through a faster-than-usual molt of the scapulars (low of the neck/far upper back) feathers, and the yellowish bill already. The term "retarded" is sometimes used when talking about gulls in an unusually slow-state of molt, where other feathers linger on, even though it is of a slightly older age. Something new I read this morning... that the primaries (outermost portions of the wings) tend to be more pointed on 1st-cycle Herring Gulls and subtly rounded at the tips on 2nd-cycle gulls. Not sure if this is readily noticeable in the field, but something new that might be fun to try and pick out while gull-watching. Hope this didn't overhwelm you or confuse you, but I wanted to share with you, what I've learned about aging this unique Herring Gull. Thanks to all who gave feedback on this gull. Here are the photos of the Herring Gull mentioned earlier. In the first photo, note the other 1st-cycle Herring Gull, and the amount of variance within bill color! http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/132242484 http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/132242519 http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/132242489 http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/132242518 Yesterday I visited Sax-Zim Bog from 2:30pm until dark, and although I only had enough time to go down a few roads, the few birds observed were spectacular! Our first bird was a sharp-looking Northern Shrike! We pulled over, as far as I noticed it off in a distant field, and it flew all the way to the road, hovered no more than 5 feet in front of the car, then decided to fly and hover nearby... two more times (all before landing). The latter two hovering acts were no more than 40 feet from the car, but when we first pulled up, I thought the Shrike was about to fly into the car. Northern Shrikes are so beautiful, and live such hardy lives... the feeding habits of a raptor, with the bill of a falcon, and the high-strung/high-metabolism of a songbird. We saw a Northern Hawk Owl in the bog, all the time nearby were Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers and Hairy Woodpeckers calling feverishly, as they ate seeds and suet. We watched the Northern Hawk Owl for at least 40 minutes, and was in for a big treat... We saw it make several attempts to swoop from branch to branch as it eyed up potential meals on the ground. Finally on the third swoop, it stooped down in the snow, and came up with a rodent! Pictures below are in sequence of how we saw the Northern Hawk Owl - starting with being perched, then triangulating, then flying, then standing on one foot while eating the rodent with the other foot :-) http://www.pbase.com/image/132282295 http://www.pbase.com/image/132282296 http://www.pbase.com/image/132282293 http://www.pbase.com/image/132282297 http://www.pbase.com/image/132282292 Hairy Woodpecker in flight (within distant vicinity of owl): http://www.pbase.com/image/132282298 As we were slowly leaving the bog, we located a gorgeous Great Gray Owl. Pictures don't do it justice... http://www.pbase.com/image/132282290 http://www.pbase.com/image/132282288 Good birdwatching, Erik Bruhnke Duluth, MN NATURALLY AVIAN - Bird photography and guided birdwatching tours www.pbase.com/birdfedr www.naturallyavian.blogspot.com birdfedr@xxxxxxxxx #################### You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn. To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn. Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn.