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All: Made a circuit this of Back Cove, Hartlen Pt., HRM, where I met Dave Currie. We saw no evidence of recent arrivals - robins, Song Sparrows, and chickadees as usual, plus one singing Golden-crowned Kinglet (with my "Songfinder"). On the harbourside beach, there was one "Ipswich Sparrow" and the usual springtime gathering of Iceland Gulls. In fact, I counted over 135 of these at HP plus towards E. Passage. To illustrate the phenomenon I've put a small slice of the main flock at the end of the gulls and terns folder in NS-RBA photos. Many of these appeared to have pure white primaries and some had pale bases to their bills, and this has been true of spring gatherings there in previous years. This is characteristic of "true" Iceland Gull (the Greenland-nesting nominate subspecies), although some Nunavut colonies of "Kumlien's" do include pure white-primaried individuals. However, the mantles of the gulls were all very white. suggesting there had been considerable sun-bleaching of any darkish marks during winter/spring, and some or many of the birds with pale bases to the bill may have been 2nd-cycle (2nd-winter) birds, and those I looked at more closely were not especially small or small-billed, like many "true" "Icelands." There have been some pretty convincing "true" Icelands here, but it may only be safe to consider photos of individuals with small, pale-based bills and pure white primaries taken earlier in winter. S
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