[NatureNS] Cow Bay birds today

Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 14:05:46 -0400
From: iamclar@dal.ca
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca, Jennifer LeBlanc <ducksarefun@yahoo.com>
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Hi Jennifer et al.:

Your gull photos pose a fine puzzle.  They're certainly not Black-legged
Kittiwake and, although you mention that it was darker gray (back and upper
wing presumably) than a Herring Gull, they're not good for Laughing Gull
either. The latter would never have a white window on the outer primaries
(quite large on P10 - the outer, and smaler on P9).  The bird reminds me at a
glance of an adult hybrid Ring-billed and Black-headed Gull that Eric 
Mills and
I saw in summer 2005 at Stepheenville Crossing, NL. That bird had reddish legs
and bill, an incomplete dark gray hood (with chin and upper throat remaining
white), a basically Ring-billed wing pattern (without a white upper wing
panel), but with less extensive white windows than a Ring-billed. This
hybridization has also been invoked for a bird that turned up some months ago
in New York.

Still, without more photos (did you get any more?) one couldn't be conclusive
about the bird.

Quoting Jennifer LeBlanc <ducksarefun@yahoo.com>:

> While in Cow Bay today watching surfers we saw Common Eiders, White 
> Winged Scoters (a large flock, but I couldn't count them - I didn't 
> have my binoculars), unknown alcids (~5), Herring and BB gulls and 
> two gulls that I don't feel confident in identifying on my own.   The 
> links below  are pictures of the birds.  The back was darker grey 
> than a Herring Gull and they were much smaller than a HERG.  The legs 
> were black, although I thought there was a reddish tint.  Again, it 
> was hard to tell without binoculars.   We were thinking Black Legged 
> Kittiwake, but I also considered Laughing Gull.  If someone could 
> identify it, could you let me know?  Thanks!
>
> http://www.picturethemaritimes.com/kittiwake.jpg
> http://www.picturethemaritimes.com/kittiwake2.jpg
>
>
>
>
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