Black Hollow Reservoir hosted about a thousand gulls, and views were good, albeit distant, in the late afternoon sunlight, viewing from the high point along CR 19 about 1.5 north of Hwy 14. These gulls feed off and on at the North Weld County landfill 2 miles east, where they are difficult to view, and access is denied to birders. Three gulls sported black backs. One was a typical smallish, long-winged, head-streaked basic adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. One was probably a subadult Great Black-backed Gull sporting a massive bill with a big dark smudge near the tip. This may be the same large-billed dark-backed gull photographed 10 miles further west in Wellington 24 hrs earlier by Brad Biggerstaff. Photos of both birds and discussion are at http://www.pbase.com/quetzal/mysterygullaf.
The third was a full adult with clean white head, size of Herring Gull, and large yellow bill with large red spot. This gull was short winged. Legs and feet were briefly seen and appeared bright yellow. Poor photos and discussion of its identity are at http://www.pbase.com/quetzal/mysterygullag. The photos were taken 4 miles further south after most of the flock flew to a roost site at Windsor Reservoir (not Windsor Lake). The short wings and large size are probably not a coincidence, so this bird could be an accidental in Colorado, perhaps Western Gull, which can have strong yellow tint to legs (which are usually pink) in high breeding condition. Or it could be Colorado’s first Yellow-footed Gull. Or something else? Unfortunately, these two reservoirs do not have public viewing close to where the gulls hang out, but there are publicly accessible roads that permit long-distance viewing through telescopes. Hopefully, these gulls will visit Windsor Lake where viewing is much easier. Nick Komar Fort Collins CO www.pbase.com/quetzal -- 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. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
