Hi Shai,
Thanks for sharing your images and field notes. This is a very neat bird.
Though, I wish you had some flight shots of it to share.
In looking at your photos, my first impression was a diminutive HERG (Herring
Gull). It has a bulky/chesty look and the bill seems more in line for Herring
than Thayer’s to me.
Additionally, the pattern of the scapulars contrasting with dark primaries also
does not seem to bode well for Thayer’s. Again, just my view. Your point about
the plumage is well taken but how could we rule out a diminutive Herring Gull
from a Northern population?
I would love to see a spread wing and tail shot of this bird. If anyone gets
another crack at this bird and able to get such images, please do share them
here. This is a cool bird and a good one to study and discuss.
For now, I am in the Herring Gull camp. With apologies to my Sifu.
Cheers,
--------
"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of
others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~ Frederick
Douglass
風 Swift as the wind
林 Quiet as the forest
火 Conquer like the fire
山 Steady as the mountain
Sun Tzu The Art of War
> (\__/)
> (= '.'=)
> (") _ (")
> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device!
Andrew Baksh
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com
> On Nov 23, 2019, at 5:08 PM, Shaibal Mitra <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> This afternoon, Patricia Lindsay and I identified a juvenile Thayer's Gull
> at Argyle Lake in Babylon village, southwestern Suffolk County, Long Island.
>
> This hatching-year Larus retained full juvenile plumage. At this date this is
> expected for Thayer's and Iceland Gulls, not unusual in Lesser Black-backed
> Gulls, but would be extremely rare in smithsonianus Herring Gulls, all of
> which we saw today had replaced their juvenal scaps and mantle feathers with
> formative feathers.
>
> The focal bird was smaller, smaller-billed, and rounder-headed than
> smithsonianus. The bill was also darker than on any same-aged Herring Gull
> seen today, generally appearing all black (but showing subtly paler base on
> good, close looks). The folded wingtip and tail appeared black, the
> dorsal-aspect primaries tipped with fine, creamy chevrons. The blackness of
> these feathers was far beyond any dark-end kumlieni Iceland Gull in my
> experience. In addition to the points mentioned above regarding structure,
> molt, and bill color, this bird differed from smithsonianus Herring Gull in
> showing a pale, Iceland Gull-like underwing pattern. This was clearly visible
> on my best scope views of the undersides of the wingtips when perched, and in
> excellent binocular views in flight. Unfortunately, the bird changed position
> on the rooftop immediately after my initial studies of it and before I began
> photographing it. Thus, the photos show only a hint of the extensively pale
> inner webs of the primaries, and incomplete views of the retained juvenile
> dorsum. Both of these things were seen previously, however, and conformed to
> the descriptions above.
>
> All photos were taken 1:49-1:52 EST, at which point all of the gulls in the
> area went up due to a bread-scattering event on the other side of the lake. I
> had great views of the bird in perfect light as it flew east to west the
> north of us, but Pat was not on it with the Lumix when it flew, so no flight
> shots. We lost track of it as the flocks milled around over the lake and
> could not re-find it.
>
> Photos can be seen here:
>
> https://flic.kr/p/2hPTG9s
>
> Shai Mitra
> Bay Shore
> --
>
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
>
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
> 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01
>
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
> --
>
--
NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
