Pictures relating to the following are at http://www.stevewalternature.com/
It was good to hear Mike Cooper's January 12 report that the presumably same Iceland Gull is back and doing well at Iron Pier Beach. I photographed this bird on January 7, 2012 (lower left) and as an immature February 16, 2009, making it over 5 years old now. Mike's report was timely in that I consider this to be the prototypical Kumlien's Gull, with gray in the wingtips, and I referred to it for comparison to a surprising looking individual at Jones Beach West End Sunday (wing, upper right). The markings in its wings were black and a bit more extensive than the Iron Pier bird, and its head a bit more angular than might be expected. I discussed this with Shai Mitra, who indicated that a bird matching my description has been seen there sporadically over the years. In fact, he produced a picture he took January 2, 2006 (top left). If indeed the same bird, it would be at least 11 years old now. But on top of that, he mentioned seeing a black marked individual in Suffolk county. The next day, Sean Sime reported a black marked bird in Brooklyn. What's up with that? I haven't seen literature mentioning the existence of Iceland Gulls with black in the wingtips. The absence of markings is, however, mentioned for a tiny percentage, as seen in the bird photographed at Point Lookout February 24, 2013 (bottom right). Appreciating a variability in Kumlien's Gulls that they may not get enough credit for. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
