[Birdtalk] A Glutton for Gulling

[Kristin Purdy]

I must be a glutton for punishment. I returned to Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake County today for more gull study and came across the WESTERN GULL after 45 minutes to an hour of scanning the birds in the east pond. The gull was swimming on the west side of the pond; I was scanning from a position almost due south of the bird on the road that runs along the south edge of the pond and 100-150 feet away.

Lu Gidding's cautionary advice not to scan for a darker-mantled bird was very helpful. The mantle only appears to be a shade darker than that of California Gulls and the color didn't stand out. I scanned for head/beak size and shape and facial expression and when I finally saw the bird, the appearance konked me over the head. This bird has tiny eyes in comparison to any other species presently at the ponds, a shallow crown placing the eye high on the side of the head, a long sloping forehead and of course, a massive bill. My first look was head-on and the bird's face grabbed my attention even without a profile view. 

I never found Tim's Thay-landic Gull and had to remain happy with adult and juvenile Thayer's. Two Glaucous were in the east pond today--the (a?) second winter bird that I call THE BIG WHITE ONE and what appeared to be a darker juvenile bird. 

At the risk of sounding gull-crazed, I offer this advisory: be on the lookout for an extremely pale 2nd winter Thay-landic Gull--an older bird than Tim reported. I saw the bird in the west pond just west of the entrance gate at around 2:00 pm. The bird was mid-sized between California and Herring Gulls and very white with sporadic pale gray scapulars against a white base color. The shade of gray was comparable to nearby Ring-billed Gulls. The bird sported faint checkering against a white base along the wing coverts, pale brown wing tips--I could say tan, and a pale band of the same color across the end of the tail. The bill was pink with a black tip, but the pink was so very pale I almost could not discern the color. In addition, the bill was thicker than a California's, the eye was dark and the legs were pink. I haven't researched this bird in Olsen and Larsson yet, but if I blended the characteristics of the 2nd winter Thayer's and Iceland Gulls depicted in big Sibley on p. 218-219, that would be the gull I saw. And it tended toward the paleness of the Iceland rather than the murkiness of the Thayer's.  

I'm pleased to report this gull is competing well in the garbage wars. He or she won the aerial dogfight and splash-dive competitions and surfaced with the prize. 

Lee Kay Ponds is located in Salt Lake County, 5 miles west of I-215 at exit 21, California Ave, south side of the road. 

Kris
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://secureserver.securesites.net/pipermail/birdtalk/attachments/20070110/a2800071/attachment.htm