Clearly it is not sufficient merely to memorize the expected birds. One should carry a field guide or memorize the whole thing, and I did not today. I was biking east in Stewart Park on the path near the lakeshore this afternoon when I saw an adult gull (white tail, belly, breast, & neck; generally plain under the wings) overhead flying toward me above treetop level. It was small compared to the Ring-billed Gulls, with wings more extended straight, and had shallow but not rapid wingbeats. But what really caught my eye was it had a mostly black head. Fortunately it circled around the area of the ball field, tennis courts and pavilions 3 times, and I was able to get binoculars on it several times when it showed between trees before I lost it somewhere near the swan pond. I saw tiny black wingtips, each with a white "mirror" spot, set off from the rest of the wing by a band of white (i.e. classic FRANKLIN'S GULL, and, had I only remembered, wrong for Little Gull). The tops of the wings and back were a uniform gray which I thought initially was too pale for Franklin's, but the undersides of the wings were not dark like Little should be. Knowing I wasn't sure of the species yet, but that it wasn't a Bonaparte's or even a Laughing Gull, but something really unusual, I tried to get the word out. I gave the wrong species, but at least I qualified it as a "possible Little Gull".
When Paul Anderson arrived with the Sibley Guide installed on his iPhone, I checked it out and realized my error. I told him and Gary Kohlenberg, and Jay McGowan, and Livia (sorry, I don't recall your last name), and Tim Lenz to look instead for Franklin's Gull. We had been checking the skies, the lake, and the jetties for awhile, but figuring Franklin's is a somewhat land-loving species, I went biking around the local parks and playing fields where Ring-billed Gulls often gather. This afternoon the fields mostly had people instead. I'd worked my way all the way around to Treman Marina when I got Gary's call: Tim had found the Franklin's Gull on the Red Lighthouse Jetty. This was fortunate for me because I actually had a closer, better view from the lakeshore at Treman.
When at rest or with a dark background, instead of backlit in gray skies, the wings and back were clearly a dark gray, as they should be on Franklin's, and set off fore and aft by the broad white of the neck and of the white stripe near the wingtips. The wingtips themselves were small and black. Although the front of the crown and throat were white, the rear of the crown and the cheeks were black with a sharp line of high contrast to the rear, less so in front. It was gray enough around the eyes to set off the white arcs above and below. The bill and legs were black.
As a helpful hint when searching for a Franklin's Gull among a jostling crowd of our usual riff-raff of Caspian Terns, Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Great Black-backed Gulls (each in various plumages of course, and each large enough to completely block the view) the Franklin's Gull has legs which are only half as thick as those of Caspian Terns. The profile, as Gary pointed out is also different from the Laughing Gull which we recently saw. Laughing Gull is very long and slim, with a long flat head, as if someone grabbed the bill and wingtips of a sitting bird and stretched it. While the Franklin's bill may not have been much different, its head was rounder and its body more compact and round, with wings not extending so far back.
The Franklin's Gull stayed on the exposed weed-covered portions of the Red Lighthouse Jetty for quite awhile, occasionally moving aside when other Larids wanted its spot or got too aggressive. Then it went for a swim to the east for awhile, joined by a few Ring-billed Gulls. Eventually it swam back to the Red Lighthouse Jetty, climbed up and rested among the other Larids. I lost track of it at 7:42 when it shuffled several steps behind other birds. The light was pretty dim by then, and I had moved further away to be able to watch for incoming egrets (7:51).
I think the bird was seen by Tim Lenz, Gary Kohlenberg, Paul Anderson, Jay McGowan, Livia _____, Kevin McGowan, Bob McGuire, Meena Haribal, Chris Wood, Jessie Barry (who found it independently), and several others (please let me know who else). It's the third Franklin's Gull that I've been aware of in the Cayuga Lake Basin, and the first that I've seen.
--Dave Nutter
On Sep 06, 2011, at 06:27 PM, 6072292...@vtext.com wrote:
CayugaRBA FRANKLIN'S GULL, (not Little, sorry) Red lighthouse jetty
--Dave Nutter
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On Sep 06, 2011, at 04:54 PM, 6072292...@vtext.com wrote:
Possible LITTLE GULL Stewart Park
--Dave Nutter
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Possible LITTLE GULL Stewart Park
--Dave Nutter
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