I visited the Larimer County landfill this afternoon expecting to find the mother load of gulls, but was disappointed. There was a decent flock of 500 or so, with a couple of adult Lesser Black-backed and good numbers of Herring and California accompanying the throng of Ring-billed Gulls. I ended the day at Horseshoe Lake in Loveland, which continues to be excellent for gulls. There were 3 Lesser Black-backed (2 adults and a first-cycle) and plenty of Herring, California and Ring-billed, plus a pod of 35 Bonaparte's Gulls. Of note was a dark-mantled adult Herring Gull that fit the description for Vega Gull (Larus argentatus vegae). This bird would be a vagrant in Colorado although single adults that resemble this species have been showing up annually. It breeds mainly in Siberia. The Europeans consider it a full species separate from Herring Gull. There is a page dedicated to it in the Sibley Guide on p. 217. The Horseshoe Lake bird was a dead ringer for the "Adult Nonbreeding" plumage depicted in the Sibley Guide. Hopefully it will stick around and pose for documentation photos.
Nick Komar Fort Collins CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/1442213683.963110.1385607397519.JavaMail.root%40comcast.net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
