- Date: 02/12/2012
- Time: 02:00:00 PM
Gulls Identification
Field Trip
GULL IDENTIFICATION FIELD TRIP, Sunday, Feb 12
This short trip to our local landfill and wastewater treatment plant will focus on gulls, gulls, gulls, those rakish scavengers from the north that perplex birders but yet form the most coveted of phenomenon: multi-species flocks. Steve Hampton will provide on-site instruction into discerning the various plumages from juveniles thru adults, as well as learning the different species. Expect to see California, Herring, Ring-billed, Thayer’s, and Glaucous-winged Gulls, as well as Glaucous-winged x Herring hybrids. Western, Glaucous, and even Kumlien’s Iceland, Lesser Black-backed, and Slaty-backed Gulls have all been present at this time and place in recent years, so you never know. Meet at Mace Blvd Park and Ride at 2:00pm. Return by 5pm. For more information, contact Steve Hampton at stevechampton@gmail.com or 756-3551.
***************************HIGHLIGHTS****************************
Eighteen intrepid souls ventured to the scenic environs of the local landfill and sewage treatment facility to study gulls for the afternoon! Yes, this trip is not recommended for NBSO’s (non-birding significant others). We started by parsing thru Thayer’s, Herring, California, and Glaucous-winged Gulls, seeing first year, second year, and adults of each. That makes for 12 different types of birds right there. The real drama started when a Peregrine Falcon swooped onto the levee and started plucking what may have been a coot with the enthusiasm of a small kid with a pile of birthday presents. As feathers flew, we seized the opportunity to scan thru the gulls one last time, as they were all standing in rapt attention watching the falcon prepare its dinner. At this time we located an interesting gull, very pale, with white primaries, and very sparsely but neatly patterned upperparts— Iceland Gull? We thought so at the time, but our views were distant. We got word days later, after closer looks were obtained, that the bird was too large for Iceland Gull and is probably a small female Glaucous-winged x Glaucous Gull hybrid. That’s gulls for you. We stayed until the rain got heavy enough for us to call it a day.
Steve Hampton
