Monthly Notables July 2021

Sightings:

• Iceland Gull (2nd cycle). Monroe County, New York. 01 July 2021.
• Laughing Gull (2nd cycle). Monroe County, Michigan. 02 July 2021.
• Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle). Monmouth County, New Jersey. 03 July 2021.
• Black-tailed Gull (adult type). Lake & Peninsula County, Alaska. 03 July 2021.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Marin County, California. 05 July 2021.
• Franklin's Gull (2nd cycle). Sonoma County, California. 05 July 2021.
• Franklin's Gull (2nd cycle). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 06 July 2021.
• Little Gull (2nd cycle type - 2). Marinette County, Wisconsin. 06 July 2021.
• Laughing Gull (adult). Muskingum County, Ohio. 08 July 2021.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Kenai Peninsula County, Alaska. 10 July 2021.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Keith County, Nebraska. 10 July 2021.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Norfolk County, Ontario. 11 July 2021.
• Heermann's Gull (juvenile). Ketchikan Gateway County, Alaska. 16 July 2021.
• 5th for Ketchikan. 
• Sabine's Gull (adult). Lyon County, Nevada. 19 July 2021.
• Little Gull (adult). Chittenden County, Vermont. 22 July 2021.
• Black-headed Gull (2nd cycle). Ocean County, New Jersey. 26 July 2021.
• Common Gull (adult). Cape Race, Newfoundland. 26 July 2021.
• Short-billed Gull (juvenile). Clatsop County, Oregon. 26 July 2021.
• Likely a new early "fall" arrival record for this age group.

Notes:

1. Ring-billed Gulls nested in Jackson County, Colorado this season. Nicholas Komar reported more than 40 half grown chicks on 03 July, 2021 at Walden Reservoir, marking the first confirmed breeding in the state since 1900.
2. 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls reported by Peter Paul in Queens County, New York should be a high count for the county (07 July 2021). Summering Lessers are more common farther east on Long Island, such as in Nassau County. 
3. 13 Little Gulls were reported in a "colony" in Churchill, Manitoba by Ashley Westphal on 22 July 2021.
   
   

July 2021 Quiz

 

January. Washington.

Age: The pointed primary tips, neatly patterned wing coverts and tertials, and overall appearance suggest a 1st cycle gull. The warm mottling on the breast and underparts are also typical of a 1st cycle.

Identification: This appears to be a member of the white-headed gulls (as opposed to the smaller tern-like or hooded species). The bill is strikingly petite and "short". At first glance it would seem this is an Iceland Gull due to the pale primary edges, icy-gray post-juvenile scapulars and overall frosty appearance to the upperparts. But we'd be pressed to find a 1st cycle Iceland with this much solid gray on the back in January. This is a 1st cycle Short-billed Gull (L brachyrhynchus), formerly known as Mew Gull in North America. Individuals with this plumage aspect are sometimes described as "mini Thayer's", and overall the plumage patterns are similar. In the field -- which can't be appreciated here -- the diminutive size of this species would be quite obvious.