This morning I got out gull-watching at sunrise, and had a fantastic time!
For about the first half of my time this morning, I observed, then counted
the gulls. Herring Gulls made up the majority of the gulls seen, with
Ring-billed Gulls mixed in. Then one gull flew over with just
pale-as-could-be wings. I thought Thayer's or Iceland. After getting to
study the bird much closer, I was able to say Iceland Gull for this one
individual! Note the short bill, very pale primaries (paler than the overall
wings), and scrawled/detailed tertials. Tertials are the section of feathers
that just slightly overlap bird's tail (while the bird is perched). I just
got into gulls last winter, but since then, I'm really getting the
differences between Iceland Gulls and Thayer's Gulls. Also, the Iceland
Gulls are more petite-proportioned, whereas the just slightly larger
Thayer's Gulls tend to be a little more robustly-proportioned with the head
and body size.

Here's my checklist from about 1 1/2 hours of gull watching:

Location:     Duluth--Canal Park
Observation date:     11/7/09
Number of species:     6

Red-breasted Merganser     1
Ring-billed Gull     45
Herring Gull     264
Iceland Gull     1
European Starling     1
House Sparrow     2

Here are my photos from today!
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/park_pointcanal_park_2009

Good birdwatching,
Erik Bruhnke

Duluth, MN
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NATURALLY AVIAN - Guided bird tours & bird photography

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