February 2018 Quiz

AGE: The brown wing coverts and black tailband point to a small-ish 1st cycle gull.


IDENTIFICATION: This 1st cycle gull already shows all-gray upper scapulars and gray on the inner median covert. The gray is relatively dark - darker than, say, Bonaparte's. The smudging around the neck and breast recall Franklin's and Laughing Gull. The black bill and black legs are not only species-specific, they're seasonal characteristics in this species. The bill is rather heavy and the outlines of the eye crescents are relatively thin. On Franklin's, the bill appears shorter and thinner, and the head typically keeps a quasi-hood toward the back of the head. Inscribed in this hood are usually much more bolder eye crescents. These marks, along with messy underwing coverts, and black coming all the way out to the outer edges of the outer tail feather, all point directly to a 1st cycle Laughing Gull.

Brevard County, Florida. January.

Monthly Notables January 2018

Sightings:

• Mew Gull (1st cycle). Franklin County, Ohio. 02 January 2018.
• Continued from previous month.
• Ivory Gull (adult). Lake County, Illinois. 03 January 2018.
• 4th State Record.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Mohave County, Arizona. 03 January 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Cook County, Illinois. 04 January 2018.
• 3rd County Record.
• Slaty-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Los Angeles County, California. 06 January 2018.
• Ring-billed Gull (adult). Northern Peninsula - St. Anthony County, NL. 08 January 2018.
• Vega Gull (adult). Humboldt County, California. 12 January 2018.
• Laughing Gull (1st cycle). Mohave County, Arizona. 14 January 2018.
• Mew Gull (adult). Keith County, Nebraska.15 January 2018.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Nantucket, Massachusetts. 15 January 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Oswego County, New York. 16 January 2018.
• 2nd County Reocrd
• Mew Gull (adult). Kings County, New York. 16 January 2018.
• Likely a returning bird, first detected here as a 2nd cycle in 2015.
• Laughing Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 16 January 2018.
• Common Gull (adult). Oswego County, New York. 18 January 2018.
• Common Gull (adult). Essex County, Massachusetts. 20 January 2018.
• Returning adult from last winter. Silver leg band on right leg not matching last winter's banded adult. 
• Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 20 January 2018.
• Returning for at least the last 4 consecutive winters.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. 21 January 2018.
• First for Nova Scotia. 3rd for all of Canada.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Brevard County, Florida. 25 January 2018.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. 29 January 2018.

Miscellaneous:

Worthy of mention is an adult Western Gull found in Estero Las Aguas, Choluteca, Honduras on 04 January 2018. Not only is this a 1st for Honduras, it's also an overdue first record for all of Central America.

January 2018 Quiz

Age: The well-patterned wing coverts and undertail coverts suggest a 1st cycle large gull. Zooming in, the primary tips are pointed, also supporting a 1st cycle bird. Note that the dark gray feather splotching along the upper flanks, breast and hindneck, is presumably from a post-juvenile molt. These feathers are thought to be from the same molt that produced the post-juvenile scapulars seen here. Bear in mind that all the visible scapulars have been renewed (i.e., formative). The tertials and upperwing coverts are juvenile (i.e., 1st basic).


Identification: We can immediately rule out all white-winged species as none have primaries this dark in 1st cycle, coupled with renewed mottled scapulars. All of our large gulls begin with pink legs, so leg color is of no value here. Note that California Gull can superficially resemble this, but the wing projection is typically longer (difficult to ascertain from a single photo), the rear is sleeker and more attenuated, and the body doesn't appear as heavy. The bill is starting to pale and the overall size/proportions point to a standard American Herring Gull. The pale head with contrasting dark body is fairly common in this age group, quite early in the season.

Our January Quiz is indeed a 1st cycle Herring Gull. Winthrop Harbor, Illinois. November.