> From Andrew Dasinger > 3/19 - East Hartford, near Cabela's - 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd > yr) and 1 possible CALIFORNIA Gull (near adult). In a mixed flock of > gulls congregating in a wet field, between Cabela's and United > Technologies Research Center. Viewed from rear parking lot and > perimeter driveway of United Technologies Research Center. Gull > activity had tailed off in the last few days as puddles dried up, but > the heavy rains yesterday brought in a flock that built up to around > 150+ gulls in the late afternoon. (When I arrived in the morning, > there were zero gulls, so afternoon is definitely the time to look.) > > I'd appreciate someone with more expertise in the gull department > checking this out!! Shouldn't be a problem to drive onto the UTRC > campus. (Note - I am not at this location today; I'm at my other > office in S. Windsor) > > Details: After seeing gulls fly in all afternoon from my office, I > decided to check the flock out after work (having recently seen an > Iceland Gull in the same spot last week). I would estimate there were > 80% Herring Gulls, 10% Great Black-backed, and 10% Ring-billed in the > flock. Some birds were actively bathing in puddles (despite the > rain), others were loafing in loose flocks (but not sleeping), a few > (Ring-billeds) were foraging in the grass for food, and several > (Herring) were pulling up clumps of dead grass (premonitions of nest > building?). To be perfectly honest, I don't have a great deal of > patience for sifting through gull flocks, but the location is > convenient and I could scan from my car. > > During a scan of the flock (gulls continued to arrive in ones and > twos), one bird immediately caught my attention. It was intermediate > in size between Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, though more toward the > Herring gull end of the spectrum. It was walking around quite a bit, > more so that the other gulls, although I didn't see it pick up any > food items. Besides the size, what struck me were the exceptionally > long primary projections (well beyond the end of the tail) and a > mantle color that was a shade darker than the Herring Gulls. (By the > way, I should mention that I was without a scope; all observations > were with my old 10x Nikons I leave in the car. I estimate that at > various times the bird in question was 100 to 200 feet away, so > viewing even with just binoculars was actually pretty good.) The bird > looked to be close to adult - the only reason I hesitate is that there > seemed to be some mottling in the feather coloration on the back. > Another difference in comparison to the Herring Gulls was that this > bird appeared shorter necked as it waddled around. I couldn't get a > good look at leg color - my impression was of gray or gray brown. The > head was more or less white - but I did pick up what looked like faint > streaking behind the eye. The bill was yellow, with a red gonys spot. > Again, with only binoculars I couldn't see any more detail on the bill > markings or the eye. On the primaries it looked like there was a > larger spot on the outermost primary and then small spots on the tips > of the other primaries. When sitting with wings folded, the primary > tips showed as small white spots. After it splashed around in a > puddle for a while, I also got a quick look of it in flight showing > this pattern. The tail was white and unmarked. Definitely an > intriguing bird. > >