Tyler Rd. Glaucous Gull - 29 Dec 2007
0930 Hrs. I stopped by the Visteon HQ ponds on Tyler Rd and scoped the ponds from the cemetery next door. Few gulls were present: mostly Ring-bills and (1) Great Black-backed Gull. However, a single white-winged gull I believe to be an adult Glaucous Gull was found preening along the edge of the ice. It was too windy and too dark to take single frame digiscoped images, so I set up to take a video at full zoom on the scope (60X) and 3X on the camera.
Why I think its a Glaucous? The white wing tips rule out Thayer's (black wing-tips) and Glaucous-winged Gull (gray wing-tips). The eyes appear a bit dark, but I believe them to be yellow with dark (pink) orbitals. There is relatively little dusky streaking on the head, and the bird appeare to be as large as the nearby GBBG. A Kumlien's Gull would have gray-black wing-tips, while the L. glaucoides Iceland Gull is a bit smaller overall with more a whiter look and smaller, more slender bill (this bird appears to have a large bill!).
I'm certainly no expert here, and would welcome any dissenting opinions.
Grace Lake (Visteon Pond), Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 29, 2007 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Stationary
3 species
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 24
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 1
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) 1 Why I think its a Glaucous? The white wing tips rule out Thayer's (black wing-tips) and Glaucous-winged Gull (gray wing-tips). The eyes appear a bit dark, but I believe them to be yellow with dark (pink) orbitals. There is relatively little dusky streaking on the head, and the bird appeare to be as large as the nearby GBBG. A Kumlien's Gull would have gray-black wing-tips, while the L. glaucoides Iceland Gull is a bit smaller overall with more a whiter look and smaller, more slender bill (this bird appears to have a large bill!).
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Grace Lake (Visteon Pond), Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 29, 2007 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Stationary
3 species
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 24
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 1
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) 1 Why I think its a Glaucous? The white wing tips rule out Thayer's (black wing-tips) and Glaucous-winged Gull (gray wing-tips). The eyes appear a bit dark, but I believe them to be yellow with dark (pink) orbitals. There is relatively little dusky streaking on the head, and the bird appeare to be as large as the nearby GBBG. A Kumlien's Gull would have gray-black wing-tips, while the L. glaucoides Iceland Gull is a bit smaller overall with more a whiter look and smaller, more slender bill (this bird appears to have a large bill!).
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
