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Index of Subjects --0016e6d27b850ca352048c9b3b26 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi, As long as that dark mark on the bill is real, and not a blob of mud, I don't see any reason why this isn't a Ring-billed Gull. Shades of gray and white can be deceiving in pictures, and in these the fog masks them even more. If the mark on the bill is a blob of mud, and the bill is actually plain, then Mew might be a possibility, but would be v. rare indeed in Summer (they 're pretty rare, at least for me, in Winter!). Richard On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:28 AM, Sydney Penner <sfp@sydneypenner.ca> wrote: > Hi all, > > I dropped in at Cherry Hill today and found a gull that puzzles me. The > puzzlement may just have been created by limited visibility (there was wind, > rain, and mist) and by confusion on my part. Still, I'm wondering if someone > might be willing to look at a few pictures (of rather low quality) and let > me know what they think. > > Here are two pictures that allow for a size comparison with a Herring Gull > at about the same distance: > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491907295283410 > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491902228246114 > > Here are two pictures from a bit closer: > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491912860227154 > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491906756103170 > > Some salient points: > > 1) The gull was quite a lot smaller than the numerous Herring Gulls in the > area. I know that there is some variation in Herring Gull sizes, but this > gull struck me as too small to be a Herring Gull. But maybe there is even > more variation than I think. > > 2) My next thought was that it was a Ring-billed Gull. But Ring-billed > Gulls were the common gull in New York where I lived for the last five > years, and I convinced myself that this bird just didn't quite look right to > be a Ring-billed Gull. That said, I definitely still think that Ring-billed > is a possibility. > > 3) One reason I doubted Ring-billed is the head shape: it looks more > rounded to me than what I would have expected. But here it would have been > really handy to have a few Ring-billed Gulls sitting around for comparison > purposes. > > 4) I kept trying to figure out what the colour of its legs was, but the low > visibility left me unsure. Generally, the legs didn't look yellow to me, but > one could definitely imagine yellow legs with the last of the photos linked > to above. > > 5) The eyes consistently looked dark to me, but, given the visibility, I'm > not sure how much I would stake on that. > > 6) One additional piece of information not evident from the photos: the > upper side of the tail was entirely white. > > A couple of the features I mentioned (head shape, eye colour) might suggest > Mew Gull. But (a) Mew Gull doesn't seem very likely around here and (b) not > all its features match Mew Gull well (e.g., I would have expected more > obvious white crescents on its wings if it were a Mew Gull). I also don't > have any experience with Mew Gulls, making such a judgement trickier. > > Anyway, if someone can tell me more about this gull, I would be grateful. > > Best wishes, > Sydney > > > Sydney Penner > 114 Willow Ave. > Berwick, N.S. B0P 1E0 > sfp@cornell.edu > -- ################# Richard Stern, 317 Middle Dyke Rd. Port Williams, NS, Canada B0P 1T0 sternrichard@gmail.com ################### --0016e6d27b850ca352048c9b3b26 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <br>Hi,<br><br>As long as that dark mark on the bill is real, and not a blo= b of mud, I don't see any reason why this isn't a Ring-billed Gull.= Shades of gray and white can be deceiving in pictures, and in these the fo= g masks them even more. If the mark on the bill is a blob of mud, and the b= ill is actually plain, then Mew might be a possibility, but would be v. rar= e indeed in Summer (they 're pretty rare, at least for me, in Winter!).= <br> <br>Richard<br><br><br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 = at 10:28 AM, Sydney Penner <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:sfp@sydn= eypenner.ca">sfp@sydneypenner.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class= =3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid= rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> Hi all,<br> <br> I dropped in at Cherry Hill today and found a gull that puzzles me. The puz= zlement may just have been created by limited visibility (there was wind, r= ain, and mist) and by confusion on my part. Still, I'm wondering if som= eone might be willing to look at a few pictures (of rather low quality) and= let me know what they think.<br> <br> Here are two pictures that allow for a size comparison with a Herring Gull = at about the same distance:<br> <a href=3D"http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#54994919072= 95283410" target=3D"_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHil= lGull#5499491907295283410</a><br> <a href=3D"http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#54994919022= 28246114" target=3D"_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHil= lGull#5499491902228246114</a><br> <br> Here are two pictures from a bit closer:<br> <a href=3D"http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#54994919128= 60227154" target=3D"_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHil= lGull#5499491912860227154</a><br> <a href=3D"http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#54994919067= 56103170" target=3D"_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHil= lGull#5499491906756103170</a><br> <br> Some salient points:<br> <br> 1) The gull was quite a lot smaller than the numerous Herring Gulls in the = area. I know that there is some variation in Herring Gull sizes, but this g= ull struck me as too small to be a Herring Gull. But maybe there is even mo= re variation than I think.<br> <br> 2) My next thought was that it was a Ring-billed Gull. But Ring-billed Gull= s were the common gull in New York where I lived for the last five years, a= nd I convinced myself that this bird just didn't quite look right to be= a Ring-billed Gull. That said, I definitely still think that Ring-billed i= s a possibility.<br> <br> 3) One reason I doubted Ring-billed is the head shape: it looks more rounde= d to me than what I would have expected. But here it would have been really= handy to have a few Ring-billed Gulls s